Julius Döpfner

Julius August Döpfner (August 26, 1913—July 24, 1976) was a German Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1961 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958.
==Biography==
===Early life and ordination===
Julius Döpfner was born in Hausen (today a part of Bad Kissingen) to Matthäus and Maria Döpfner. He was baptised two days later, on August 28. Döpfner had a sister, Maria, and two brothers, Paul and Otto. Entering the Augustinian-run gymnasium at Münnerstadt in 1924, he later attended the Seminary of Würzburg and the Pontifical German-Hungarian College in Rome. Döpfner was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Luigi Traglia on October 29, 1939, and then finished his studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University, from where he obtained a doctorate in theology in 1941, writing his dissertation on Cardinal John Henry Newman. He worked as a chaplain in Großwallstadt until 1944.
===Bishop===
On August 11, 1948, Döpfner was appointed Bishop of Würzburg by Pope Pius XII. He received his episcopal consecration on the following October 14 from Archbishop Joseph Kolb, with Bishops Joseph Schröffer and Arthur Landgraf serving as co-consecrators. At age 35, Döpfner was the youngest bishop in the Church at that timeCardinals of the Holy Roman Church. Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: DÖPFNER, Julius.
===Archbishop and Cardinal===
He was named Bishop of Berlin on January 15, 1957, and became the youngest member of the College of Cardinals when he was created Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria della Scala by Pope John XXIII in the Consistory of December 15, 1958. 
Promoted to Archbishop of Munich and Freising on July 3, 1961, Döpfner participated in the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), and sat on its Board of Presidency. Along with Cardinal Raúl Silva Henríquez, he assisted Cardinal Léon-Etienne Duval in delivering one of the closing messages of the Council on December 8, 1965Christus Rex. To Women.
The German prelate was one of the cardinal electors in the 1963 papal conclave, which selected Pope Paul VI.
From 1965 to 1976, Döpfner was Chairman of the Conference of the German Bishops and thus the spokesman of the Catholic Church in Germany. He was often described as papabile, but he died at age 62 in the archiepiscopal residence of Munich.
==Views==
===Church reform===
The Cardinal, who was considered liberal in his positions,Time Magazine. Council of Renewal October 5, 1962 Time Magazine. Catholic Freedom v. Authority November 22, 1968 Time Magazine. The Loyal Opposition November 2, 1962 criticised the Church's "antiquated forms" and its "resisting ideas, forms and possibilities to which perhaps the future belongs, and we often consider as impossible that which will finally manifest itself as a legitimate form of Christianity".Time Magazine. The Unfinished Reformation February 7, 1964 
===Birth control===
He was deeply involved with the question of birth control.Time Magazine. Lex Dubia Non Obligat April 22, 1966 Time Magazine. Birth Control: Pronouncement Withdrawn June 21, 1968
===Ecumenism===
He also supported ecumenism. 
==References==
==External links==
*Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church profile
*Catholic-Hierarchy profile
Category:1913 births
Category:1976 deaths
Category:People from Bavaria
Category:People from Bad Kissingen
Category:German cardinals
Category:German Roman Catholics
Category:Roman Catholic Archbishops of Munich and Freising
Category:20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops
Category:Participants in the Second Vatican Council
Category:Burials at Munich Frauenkirche
Category:Cardinals created by Pope John XXIII
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