Berlin, Germany, Jan 16, 2008 / 21:33 pm
Cardinal Karl Lehmann, head of Germany’s Catholic Bishops Conference, has announced his resignation as chairman of the conference for reasons of health, the Associated Press reports.
The 71 year-old Bishop of Mainz was elected head of the bishops’ conference in 1987, and had been re-elected for a six-year term in 2005.
"The recent appointments of new bishops has shown that it's time for a changing of the guard, it's time that a new generation takes over," Cardinal Lehmann wrote.
Observers consider Cardinal Lehmann, a close associate of his fellow German Pope Benedict XVI, to be a relatively liberal theologian.