Hans Küng

Theologian, Catholic priest, and author

• Born: March 19, 1928
• Place of Birth: Sursee, Switzerland
• Died: April 6, 2021

Education: Pontifical Gregorian University

Significance: Hans Küng was a Swiss theologian who wrote and taught extensively about the Catholic Church. Küng was a very controversial figure who disagreed with some long-standing Catholic doctrine. Küng was barred from teaching Catholic theology in 1979 after the Church found that his writings contradicted its teachings. Although Küng was punished for his views, he continued to write and teach throughout his life. Furthermore, he was never excommunicated, or removed from the Catholic Church, and he remained a priest.

Background

Hans Küng was born on March 19, 1928, in Sursee, Switzerland. His father was a shoe salesman. He had five younger sisters. As a young man, he traveled to study in Rome for seven years. He spent part of that time studying at Pontifical Gregorian University, and he was ordained a diocesan priest. He traveled back to Switzerland and later moved to Germany. He earned a doctoral degree in theology. His thesis focused on the idea of justification and was based on the work of Karl Barth, a Protestant theologian. He became a professor of theology, and he focused on dogma and ecumenism. Ecumenism is developing relationships with and work with people of other faiths. This work can be among people in different sects of the same faith (e.g., Catholics and Protestants), or it can be among people of different faiths (e.g., Christians and Muslims).

Küng eventually became director of the Institute for Ecumenical Research at the University of Tübingen, where he taught for most of his career. He became a professor emeritus in 1996. Küng also worked as the president of the Global Ethic Foundation, which is an organization based on Küng's theology that promotes dialogue among different religions. When Küng was in his mid-eighties, he was diagnosed with macular degeneration, which leads to vision loss. He was also diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Küng eventually lost his ability to read, but he continued to work for as long as possible.

Life's Work

In the early 1960s, the Catholic Church underwent important changes because of the Second Vatican Council, which was a group of bishops, priests, Catholic laypeople, and observers from other faiths who met and made changes to Church doctrine. After the council was called by Pope John XXIII, Küng published the book The Council and Reunion: Renewal as a Call to Unity, which outlined what changes might come about because of the council. The council's role was to make reforms to the Church, and the Mass and other Church institutions were changed because of it. Küng, then only in his early thirties, became an adviser on the council. The work of the council helped shape the Church in many ways.

After the Second Vatican Council, Küng remained an outspoken theologian. His views seemed to differentiate in significant ways from those of the Catholic Church. In 1967, he published one of his most famous works, The Church. A few years later, he published Infallible?: An Inquiry. This book shocked many Catholics as it clearly spoke against Catholic doctrine, which claims that the pope cannot be fallible (or wrong) when he makes declarations about dogma. (Papal infallibility does not mean that the pope cannot lie or cannot be incorrect about many things; this belief refers only to a pope speaking about dogma.) The book questioned papal infallibility concerning the 1968 papal encyclical Humanae Vitae, which stated the Catholic belief that using any type of birth control is sinful.

Küng's work was investigated by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in the early 1970s. The CDF is a part of the Catholic Church that was created by the pope in 1542. In its current form, the CDF is meant to protect Catholic doctrine and teaching. Therefore, this body can investigate Catholic theologians who may be teaching theology that contradicts traditional Catholic teaching. After researching Küng's work and having a number of discussions with Küng over the course of years, the CDF determined that Küng was teaching material that did not align to the doctrine of the Church. The CDF announced that Küng could no longer teach Catholic theology. Although Küng was sanctioned by the church for his teachings, he was never excommunicated or removed from the priesthood for his work. (In the Catholic Church, excommunication is the revocation of a person's membership in the church.) Küng had to stop teaching Catholic theology, but he remained a professor of ecumenical theology at the University of Tübingen.

The decision by the CDF was difficult for Küng personally, as he was a firm believer in his faith. Nevertheless, he continued to write and teach ideas about religion. In 1995, Küng cowrote the book Dying with Dignity: A Plea for Personal Responsibility with his friend Walter Jens. The authors claim that they believe voluntary euthanasia can be a moral choice, even though this directly contradicts Catholic doctrine. The book analyzes the ethics and morality of euthanasia and people choosing when they die.

He also published his memoir in 2002. My Struggle for Freedom recounts his decision to become a priest when he was eleven.

Even though Küng continued throughout his career to espouse views that differentiate from those of the Church, he was never further punished by the Church. He remained a priest and an important figure for more liberal Catholics who believed the church should be reformed. He died on April 6, 2021, at age ninety-three.

Impact

Küng had an important impact on Catholic theology, despite his being barred from teaching it. His involvement in the Second Vatican Council helped influence the future of the Church. Furthermore, work in ecumenism was an important aspect of his career. He promoted dialogue among people of different faiths. Küng was also important because he gave a voice to a group of Catholics who wanted to see reforms occur in Catholic doctrine. Nevertheless, Küng realized that the Church would likely never change doctrine it held for hundreds of years.

Personal Life

As a Catholic priest, Küng was compelled by his vows to remain celibate. Küng disagreed with the Catholic Church's stance on priests' celibacy, but he never married.

Bibliography

Boudinhon, Auguste. "Excommunication." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company, 1909.

"Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith." The Holy See, www.vatican.va/roman‗curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc‗con‗cfaith‗pro‗14071997‗en.html. Accessed 27 Feb. 2017.

Grill, Markus. "Controversial Theologian Hans Küng." Der Speigel, 12 Dec. 2013, www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/controversial-theologian-hans-kueng-on-death-and-church-reform-a-938501.html. Accessed 27 Feb. 2017.

Livingston, James C., and Francis Schüssler Fiorenza. Modern Christian Thought: The Twentieth Century. Fortress P, 2006.

Martin, Douglas. "Hans Küng, Catholic Theologian Critical of the Church, Dies at 93." The New York Times, 8 Apr. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/world/europe/hans-kung-dead.html. Accessed 4 Apr. 2024.

Stanford, Peter. "Hans Küng Obituary." The Guardian, 8 Apr. 2021, www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/08/hans-kung-obituary. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.

Whitehead, Kenneth D. "Küng, Hans (1928–)." Encyclopedia of Catholic Social Thought, Social Science, and Social Policy. Edited by Michael L. Coulter, Richard S. Myers, and Joseph A. Varacalli, Scarecrow P, 2012.