Raymond Alphonse Lucker

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The Most Reverend

Raymond Alphonse Lucker
Bishop emeritus of New Ulm
SeeNew Ulm
InstalledFebruary 19, 1976
Term endedNovember 17, 2000
PredecessorAlphonse James Schladweiler
SuccessorJohn Clayton Nienstedt
Other post(s)Auxiliary Bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis (1971–76)
Orders
OrdinationJune 7, 1952
ConsecrationSeptember 8, 1971
Personal details
Born(1927-02-24)February 24, 1927
Saint Paul, Minnesota, US
DiedSeptember 19, 2001(2001-09-19) (aged 74)
Saint Paul, Minnesota, US

Raymond Alphonse Lucker (February 24, 1927 – September 19, 2001) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm in Minnesota from 1976 to 2000. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis from 1971 to 1976.

Biography

Early life

Raymond Lucker was born in

Twin Cities.[2]

He received his early education at the

Thomas Langdon Grace, Second Bishop of St. Paul".[2]

Priesthood

On June 7, 1952, Lucker was

Cathedral of St. Paul.[4] His first assignment was as assistant director of the archdiocese's Office of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.[1] He served as assistant director until 1958, when he was named director of the office and professor of catechetics at St. Paul Seminary, serving in both positions until 1969.[3]

In 1964, Lucker was sent to further his studies at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, where he earned a Doctor of Sacred Theology degree in 1966 with a thesis titled "The Aims of Religious Education in the Early Church and in the American Catechetical Movement".[2] During his studies in Rome, he participated in the Second Vatican Council.[1]

Following his return to Minnesota, Lucker served as superintendent of education for the archdiocese from 1966 to 1969.[3] He received a Ph.D. in Education ("Some Presuppositions of Released Time") from the University of Minnesota in 1969.[2] From 1969 to 1971, he worked in Washington, D.C. as the director of the Department of Education for the newly created United States Catholic Conference.[3] During his tenure as director, he was named an honorary prelate by Pope Paul VI.[1]

Auxiliary Bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis

On July 12, 1971, Lucker was appointed

consecration on the following September 8 from Archbishop Luigi Raimondi, with Archbishops Leo Binz and Leo Byrne serving as co-consecrators.[4] In addition to his episcopal duties, he served as pastor of St. Austin's Parish in Minneapolis (1971–74) and of the Church of the Assumption Parish in St. Paul (1974–76).[3] While at the Church of the Assumption, he also served as director of the Archdiocese's Liturgy Office.[1]

Bishop of New Ulm

Lucker was named the second bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm on December 23, 1975 by Paul VI.[4] His installation took place on February 19, 1976, at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New Ulm.[4]

During his 25-year tenure, Lucker earned a reputation as one of the most progressive Catholic bishops in the country.[5] He was a pioneer in the national movement to reform Catholic education, helping the nationwide development of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine and the National Conference of Diocesan Directors.[3]

In 1989, he engaged in a public disagreement with Cardinals Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) and Cardinal John J. O'Connor over the state of catechesis in the United States.[2] During a meeting in Rome, Ratzinger allegedly said, "The developments in catechesis in the post-conciliar period, to a large extent, [have] been turned over to the so-called professional. This, in turn, has led to an excess of experimentation...making it all the more difficult to recognize that of the Gospel." O'Connor was reported to have said, "Basically confusion and diversity in catechetical materials have left an entire generation in a state of ambiguity. Some bishops are bludgeoned into compliance...and some bishops are browbeaten by directors of religious education so that bishops' feelings of inadequacy are heightened." In response, Lucker declared,

"If what the two cardinals say is true, then there is no catechetical renewal and we have to go back to the '50s. Or, if it is not true, then we have an enormous communications problem with our own bishops and with many other people."[2]

The following year, he again criticized Cardinal Ratzinger after the Vatican announced it would give the world's bishops five months to express concerns about its draft of a universal catechism for adults; Lucker said, "A textbook is not the center and the focus of catechesis."[2]

Lucker was also a harsh critic of the Vatican's bureaucracies, once saying, "I'm convinced that the biggest obstacle to the renewal of the Church is the Roman Curia."[6] He once placed one of his parishes under interdict until every member received psychological counseling after the parishioners objected to a nun, who was trained in New Age spirituality, decided to replace a crucifix in the church's sanctuary with a "cosmic pillow."[7]

Lucker also served as episcopal moderator of

National Conference of Catholic Bishops' Administrative Committee and the committees on Latin America, Evangelization, Diaconate, Laity, Catechetical Directory, and Charismatic Renewal.[3]

Retirement and legacy

On November 17, 2000, Pope John Paul II accepted Lucker's resignation as Bishop of New Ulm after he was diagnosed with malignant melanoma.[4] Raymond Lucker died at Our Lady of Good Counsel Home in St. Paul on September 18, 2001, at age 74.[1] He is buried at New Ulm Catholic Cemetery.[1]

Viewpoints

Ordination of women and birth control

Lucker expressed his support of

ordination of women.[8] On the particular issue of women's ordination, he once remarked, "Basically, the Church's argument against the ordination of women—which has been taught for at least 800 years—is that women are inferior. But we don't believe that women are inferior anymore. There is a lack of argumentation for the teaching. And the argumentation is weak."[7]

Clerical celibacy

He also opposed

clerical celibacy, supporting the ordination of married men to help alleviate the worldwide shortage of priests.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Bishop Raymond Alphonse Lucker". Herald Journal. 2001.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h McDonough, William. "Ray Lucker". Talbot School of Theology. Archived from the original on December 25, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Most Reverend Raymond A. Lucker, S.T.D." Roman Catholic Diocese of New Ulm. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Bishop Raymond Alphonse Lucker". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
  5. ^ a b "NEW ULM'S BISHOP LUCKER IS RETIRING TODAY". St. Paul Pioneer Press. November 17, 2000.
  6. ^ "Bishop exhorts Catholics on reform". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. November 4, 2000.
  7. ^ a b Likoudis, Paul. "Bishop Raymond Lucker: A Tragic Figure of the 'New Catechetics'". CatholicCulture.org.
  8. ^ McClory, Robert J (May 7, 2004). "Bishop takes issue with late predecessor". National Catholic Reporter.
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Bishop of New Ulm
February 19, 1976 – November 17, 2000 		Succeeded by
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