German cardinal criticized for Nazi-era word

Sep 16, 2007, 18:34 GMT

Cologne, Germany - Commentators in Germany assailed Cardinal Joachim Meisner, 73, on Sunday over his use of a taboo, Nazi-era word in a sermon about art.

The archbishop of Cologne had said two days earlier that the Nazis had tried to destroy God, then expanded his attack to godless art, which he said was 'degenerate' (entartet).

The word has vanished from everyday German since the Nazis used it to purge museums of 16,000 artworks they hated and held a 1937 show of 'Degenerate Art' to denigrate the artists.

The German Council of Jews criticized Meisner, calling him 'a well-known intellectual firebrand who is not offending for the first time.'

Stephan Kramer, the council's secretary, told the newspaper Tagesspiegel am Sonntag that Meisner had breached a limit.

'If that sets an example, we should not be surprised if Nazi beliefs become respectable again,' he said.

Bernd Neumann, state secretary and Germany's top federal arts official, said, 'Even if it is being taken out of context, this remark is utterly unacceptable in content and language if it uses the word 'degenerate'.'

Leading Catholic theologian Hans Kueng told the newspaper Welt am Sonntag that Meisner should not use 'primitive language' to discuss complex topics.

The cardinal became a priest in East Germany, opposed the communists and now heads Germany's biggest and richest Catholic diocese. He was travelling in Romania and not available for comment Sunday.

The cardinal's top aide, vicar-general Dominik Schwaderlapp, said on Cologne Catholic radio that Meisner felt hurt that he was being accused of saying the exact opposite of what he had really meant.

Meisner was not only criticized for deliberately using the word to achieve a shock effect, but also for his fundamental attack on 'anti-God' culture and his appeal for art to relate to humanity and God.

The cardinal said at the opening of his archdiocesan art museum, the Kolumba, that art was 'not there to be just aesthetically appreciated but to excite the viewer and open the eyes and heart to a new dimension.'

Meisner then called totalitarianism a 'perversion' and quoted remarks by Pope Benedict XVI at the Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp that the Nazis had 'wanted to kill the God who ... spoke to humanity.'

'Let us not forget that there is a connection between culture and religion that cannot be surrendered,' Meisner said.

'Wherever culture is disconnected from the cultic - the worship of God - religion atrophies as an obsession with ritual, and culture degenerates and loses its focus.'

Kueng was among those who rejected the substance of Meisner's views.

'All true art is about the meaning of life, but you can't ban artists from depicting chaos, ugliness and evil,' said Kueng.

Thomas Sternberg of Germany's lay Catholic committee said, 'I'm sorry for a man who makes every gaffe you can.' He said Meisner had impugned the autonomy of the arts.

Meisner is archbishop of Cologne, one of Germany's most art-loving cities, with brash artists, millionaire collectors and rich modern-art museums. The Kolumba shows medieval and modern works by figures such as Andy Warhol.

The cardinal's outspoken style has caused trouble in the past too. Three years ago he used the term 'holocaust' when criticizing abortions and was attacked by Jewish groups. He subsequently agreed he should not have said so.

Quoting the Nazis for rhetorical effect remains a taboo among public figures in Germany.

The controversy comes in the same month as the sacking of a telegenic German television host, Eva Herman, after she told a launch for her anti-feminist book that 'even the Nazis' supported family values.