Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs 25. (1972) - Festschrift für Hanns Leo Mikoletzky

HOLLAENDER, Albert E. J.: Offiziere und Prälaten. Zur Fuldaer Bischofskonferenz, August 1945

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Albert E. J. Hollaender

In the evening I attended the closing ceremony in the Cathedral. This was in the form of benediction, sermon by Archbishop Kolb of Bamberg, adoration of the relics of St. Boniface and procession. Captain Kenny and myself were given seats in the front pew. I had hoped the sermon would contain some of the Bishops’ decisions but it turned out to be no more than a pious exhortation to the faithful.

Capt. Kenny and myself were addressed by name at the beginning of the sermon and as the procession passed out of the Cathedral each Bishop bowed to us, including Cardinal Faulhaber, who halted to give us a personal blessing. This appeared to cause some satisfaction to the congregation.

AUGUST 24th.

I called to pay my respects to the Bishops in the morning. They expressed their gratitude for the help we had afforded them during the Conference and the Bishops in the British Zone asked me to convey their thanks to the British element of the Control Commission for the assistance given them in providing petrol, travel facilities, etc.

In a final interview with the Archbishop of Cologne I was handed a document addressed to the Field-Marshal as British Representative of the Control Council. Similar papers were entrusted to Bishop Graf von Preysing of Berlin, to hand to Russian, American and French representatives.

The Archbishop informed me that he and three other Bishops, whom he did not name, were travelling that morning to Frankfurt for a conference with Mr. Murphy n).

CONCLUSION and SUMMARY

The Bishops considered the conference a success. Most of their deliberations were on the lines of the points raised by the Archbishop of Paderborn and the Bishop of Osnabrück at a meeting with Control Commission representatives on August 14th at Lübekke •>). Briefly these points were touched on: —

1. Return of children to Russian zones.

2. Communication with Rome and the Nuncio.

3. Inter-zonal communication between bishops, clergy and laity.

4. Restoration of Church property.

5. Spiritual ministrations in Wehrmacht and civilian camps.

6. Denominational schools.

7. Release of priests and theological students.

8. Local diocesan boundaries.

9. Catholic trade unions.

10. The Concordat.

11. Catholic Youth movements.

12. The food problem in the coming winter.

13. Preservation of Law and Order.

14. Discharge of prisoners.

15. Publication of Religious Literature.

As will be seen, many of these problems are closely connected with the

h) sic L.

'*) Botschafter Robert Daniel Murphy, US Diplomat und Staatsmann, géb. 1894. 1944 Politischer Berater für Deutschland, S(upreme) H(eadquarters) A(llied) E(xpeditionary) F(orces); 1945—1949 Politischer Berater der US Militärregierung in Deutschland, Secretary of State for Political Affairs.