This week in Christian history: Wheaton College holds first classes; Oral Roberts dies

Hans Küng censored by Catholic Church – Dec. 15, 1979

This week marks the anniversary of when controversial Swiss theologian Hans Küng was censored by the Roman Catholic Church due to his critiquing of certain Catholic teachings.

The Church’s Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued the censorship declaration, noting that they had warned Küng about his views a few years earlier.

Specific concerns included Küng opposing teachings such as papal infallibility, which states that the pope cannot err on matters of faith when speaking as the bishop of Rome. He was also a proponent of opening the priesthood to women. 

“The Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the aforesaid document of 1975 refrained at the time from further action regarding the above-mentioned opinions of Professor Küng, presuming that he himself would abandon them,” stated the Congregation.

“But since this presumption no longer exists, this sacred congregation by reason of its duty is constrained to declare that Professor Hans Küng, in his writings, has departed from the integral truth of Catholic faith, and therefore he can no longer be considered a Catholic theologian nor function as such in a teaching role.”

Küng passed away in April at the age of 93.