SCHRADER, KLEMENS

Theologian; b. Hanover, Nov. 22, 1820; d. Poitiers, Feb. 23, 1875. He studied at the German College in Rome and was ordained in 1846. Two years later he entered the Society of Jesus and in 1850 returned to the German College as prefect of studies. In 1851 he was appointed to the faculty of the Roman College. He shared with C. passaglia an interest in the Fathers of the Church and collaborated with Passaglia's work on the Immaculate Conception, De immaculata Deiparae semper virginis conceptu (3 v. Rome 1854). Though scholastic in method, he sought to incorporate into his teaching the best of positive theology. He learned several oriental languages to assist his study of ancient Christian sources. He taught dogmatic theology at Vienna from 1857 until he was forced to resign ten years later rather than take the oath of fidelity to the constitution of 1867. His somewhat narrow devotion to the papacy gave rise to his most competent work, De unitate Romana, (2 v. Freiburg im Breisgau 1862; Vienna 1868), and to his part in the editing of the periodical Der Papst und die modernen Ideen (Vienna 1864–67). He considered Pius IX's syllabus of errors a series of definitions, and he interpreted it so strictly as to equate freedom of conscience with indifferentism and liberal with atheistic.

He was on the planning commission for vatican council i and in 1872 became director of studies for the new theological faculty at Poitiers to which he brought great renown. His almost unintelligible literary style lessened his influence perhaps even more than his extreme dogmatic position; yet he had and deserved the respect of his contemporaries for his learning and his devotion to principle that led him to stand the walls of Rome in 1870 ministering to the spiritual needs of the defenders of the papacy.

Bibliography: a. ferretti, "De vita et scriptis R. P. Clementis Schrader," in C. Schrader, De theologico testium fonte (Paris 1878). h. hurter, Nomenclator literarius theologiae catholicae 5.2:1527–29. j. de blic, Dictionnaire de théologie catholique 14.2: 1576–79.

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