Cordes was born in Kirchhundem on 5 September 1934,[1][2] and graduated from the Gymnasium of Attendorn in 1955. He studied medicine for two semesters in Münster, and philosophy at the Philosophical Faculty of Paderborn as well as in Lyon, France.[1] After studying at the Faculty of Theology Paderborn, Cordes attended the University of Mainz, where he was also an assistant to Professor Karl Lehmann; Cordes was also the first student to defend his thesis ("Sendung zum Dienst. Exegetisch-historische und systematische Studien zum Konzilsdekret 'Über Leben und Dienst der Priester'", 1971).
Cordes died in Rome on 15 March 2024, at the age of 89.[1][2]
Views
In an article in the Catholic Herald, Cordes argued that secularization came from the early 17th century British idea that democracy should be handled as a religious and moral principle, in line with the Reformation idea of the priesthood of all believers. He argued that such a principle would be fatal to the Church if the laymen-centered theology of the Second Vatican Council were to be applied in a similar way. He claimed the German press tried to turn the Williamson affair into a Benedict affair.[3]
