Cardinal Clemens August von Galen

CLEMENS AUGUST VON GALEN was born on 16th March 1878 in Burg Dinklage in Oldenburg. As the eleventh of thirteen children, he grew up in the safeness of a deeply religious family. After studying philosophy at Fribourg (Switzerland) for a short period, he resolved to become a priest. Upon his ordination, he became a minor canon of Münster Cathedral.

In 1906 he became chaplain of St.

Matthias’ Church in Berlin. This was for him the beginning of 23 years of pastoral work in the capital of the Reich. After several years as curate of St. Clement’s he was appointed parish priest of St.

Matthias in 1919. In Berlin he lived through the difficult times of the First World War, the troubled post-war period and a great part of the Weimar Republic.

Great demands were made upon him by the diaspora situation in Berlin.

After the death of Bishop Johannes Poggenburg, Clemens August von Galen was made Bishop of Münster. The consecration took place on 28th October 1933. As his motto he chose: Nec laudibus nec timore-- "Unconcerned about praise, unaffected by fear."

Already in his first Lent pastoral letter in 1934 Bishop Clemens August exposed the neo-heathen ideology of National Socialism. Time and again he stood up for the Church’s liberty, for that of the church associations, and for the protection of religious education, by presenting petitions to the competent state authorities and by pleading these rights in public speeches and sermons.

Above all, his numerous journeys through the districts of the diocese to conduct confirmations—in spite of all the chicanery of the National Socialist Party and the Gestapo—became incontestable demonstrations of faith and solidarity.

In a great sermon in Xanten Cathedral, preached in the spring of 1936, Bishop Clemens August accused the National Socialist regime of discriminating against Christians because of their faith, of throwing them into prison and even killing them.

"My Christians! It will perhaps be held against me that by this frank statement I am weakening the home front of the German people during this war. I, on the contrary, say this: It is not I who am responsible for a possible weakening of the home front, but those who, regardless of the war, regardless of this fearful week of terrible air-raids, impose heavy punishments on innocent people without the judgment of a court or any possibility of defence, who evict our religious orders, our brothers and sisters, from their property, throw them on to the street, drive them out of their own country. They destroy men’s security under the law, they undermine trust in law, they destroy men’s confidence in our government.

And therefore I raise my voice in the name of the upright German people, in the name of the majesty of Justice, in the interests of peace and the solidarity of the home front; therefore as a German, an honourable citizen, a representative of the Christian religion, a Catholic bishop, I exclaim: we demand justice! If this call remains unheard and unanswered, if the reign of Justice is not restored, then our German people and our country...will perish through an inner rottenness and decay."

The Gestapo came to Brishop von Galen’s episcopal palace in Münster to arrest him after he had spoken from the pulpit, not for the first time, against the gassing of the mentally ill (not only Jews were gassed). He asked permission to retire for a moment to change his clothes, which was granted. After a while he came back in full episcopal regalia with mitre and crozier and said "Well, gentlemen, shall we go?" They left with their tails between their legs.

Immediately after the war – but only then – the bishop was made a cardinal.

He died only some months later. ■

_______________ Sources: churchinhistory.org/pages/booklets/ vongalen(n).htm "Pamino" @RemnantNewspaper.com