Hans Hermann Groër

Hans Hermann Wilhelm Cardinal Groër, OSB (October 13, 1919—March 24, 2003) was an Austrian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Vienna from 1986 to 1995, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1988.

Biography

Hans Wilhelm Groër was born in Vienna to Sudeten-German parents, with whom he moved in 1929 to Czechoslovakia, where they remained for the next decade. He attended seminaries in Hollabrunn and Vienna (where he received his doctorate in theology) before being ordained to the priesthood on April 12, 1942 by Theodor Cardinal Innitzer. Groër then served as a chaplain in Petronell and Bad Vöslau until 1946, when he began work as Prefect of Studies at the minor seminary of Hollabrunn. He entered the Order of Saint Benedict in 1974 and took the name Hermann upon his solemn profession of vows on September 8, 1980.

On July 15, 1986, he was appointed the fifteenth Archbishop of Vienna, succeeding Franz Cardinal König. Groër received his episcopal consecration on the following September 14 from Cardinal König, with Archbishop Karl Berg and Bishop Stefan László serving as co-consecrators. He was created Cardinal Priest of "Ss. Gioacchino ed Anna al Tuscolano" by Pope John Paul II in the consistory of June 28, 1988.

Controversy

Cardinal Groër was removed from office by John Paul II for alleged sexual misconduct. Officially, the Pope accepted the resignation letter which Groër had written on the occasion of his 75th birthday. This made Groër, who had adamantly refused until his death to comment in public on the allegations, one of the highest-ranking Catholic clergymen to be involved the sexual abuse scandals. [ [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-99228021.html Obituary: Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer; Disgraced Archbishop of Vienna.(Obituaries) - The Independent (London, England) - HighBeam Research ] ]

Upon request of the Holy See, he spent several months in Dresden and later retired to St. Joseph's Priory. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/78503.stm BBC News | EUROPE | 'Exile' for disgraced Austrian cardinal ] ] Groër died in Sankt Pölten at age 83, and is buried in a Cistercian cemetery in Marienfeld, Austria.

Trivia

*Groër harbored great devotion to the Virgin Mary, and was named spiritual director of the Legion of Mary for Austria in 1974.

References

External links

* [http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios-g.htm#Groer The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church]
* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bgroer.html Catholic-Hierarchy]

ee also

*Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal
*Roman Catholic priests accused of sex offenses
*Crimen sollicitationis
*Pontifical Secret
*Deliver Us from Evil (2006 film)
*Sex Crimes and the Vatican (Panorama Documentary Episode)
*Barbara Blaine founder of SNAP (Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests)
*Red Hot Catholic Love, "South Park" television episode