Kurt Koch

infobox bishopstyles
name=Kurt Koch
dipstyle=The Most Reverend
offstyle=Your Excellency
relstyle=Monsignor
deathstyle=none |

Kurt Koch, ThD (born March 15, 1950) is a Swiss prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, currently serving as Bishop of Basel.

Born in Emmenbrücke, he was ordained to the priesthood on June 20, 1982.

On August 21, 1995, Koch was elected Bishop of Basel and was confirmed as such by Pope John Paul II on the following December 6. He received his episcopal consecration on January 6, 1997 from John Paul II himself, with Archbishops Giovanni Battista Re and Jorge María Mejía serving as co-consecrators.

When a group of Swiss intellectuals and theologians called for John Paul's resignation on May 20, 2004, Bishop Koch described the act as "disgusting and disloyal" as it was, moreover, the Pope's eighty-fourth birthday [ Catholic News Agency. [http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=1177 Swiss bishops denounce calls for Pope to retire] May 20, 2004] . In 2006, he voiced his disagreement with opposition to building Muslim minarets in Switzerland, but also asked for greater religious freedom for Christians in Muslim countries [NZZ Online. [http://www.nzz.ch/2006/09/03/eng/article7030736.html Swiss bishop comes out in favour of minarets] September 3, 2006] .

On June 27, 2007, Koch, along with several other Catholic prelates, attended a briefing from Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone at the Apostolic Palace on Pope Benedict XVI's impending "motu proprio" allowing wider celebration of the Tridentine Mass [Catholic News Service. [http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0703702.htm Pope meets bishops, discusses decision on pre-Vatican II liturgy] June 29, 2007] . He later defended the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's document clarifying the expression of "subsistit in" in "Lumen Gentium", although acknowledged that the document could be appear confusing or hurtful to Protestants and ecumenical Catholics [Catholic News Service. [http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0703953.htm Protestant groups dismayed at new document on identity of 'church'] July 11, 2007] . The Bishop also said that document and its reception showed the differences between the ecumenical goals of Catholics and the Orthodox and that of Protestants [Ibid.] .

Koch is also the current President of the Swiss Episcopal Conference, and sits on the Swiss Council of Religions.

References

External links

* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bkoch.html Catholic-Hierarchy]
* [http://www.bistum-basel.ch/seite.php?na=3,4,1,0,f Diocese of Basel - in French]