Napier, Archbishop of Durban. John Paul accepted his resignation for reasons of age on 29 April 2004. In retirement Lobinger lived with Hubert Bucher and Oswald Hirmer, until their deaths in 2008 and 2011 respectively, in a nursing home for priests in Mariannhill, a suburb of Durban, the headquarters of the Congregation of Mariannhill Missionaries. Pastoral theory Working as missionaries, Lobinger and his colleagues at Lumko became advocates of inculturation to promote evangelization in a non-European context. They experimented with and documented ways of engaging parishioners in Church life. Confronted with the shortage of priests, Lobinger has advocated the creation of a new type of Catholic priesthood. He does not advocate the ordination of married men as peers of celibate priests. Instead he argues for the ordination of groups of married men, respected community elders, playing no role outside their local community. He also believes that the presence of these teams of married elders would enhance the laity's image of the celibate priesthood. Speaking with reporters in January 2019, Pope Francis provided an outline of Lobinger's views as presented in his book Priests for Tomorrow. He called Lobinger's proposals "interesting" and "a matter for discussion among theologians", while repeating his own insistence on maintaining celibacy as general practice while considering the ordination of married men to serve linguistic minorities and geographically remote communities. Francis also interpreted Lobinger to mean that the elders would enjoy only one of the three gifts conferred by ordination, leading prayer and celebrating the sacraments, but without the other ministries of teaching and governing. Lobinger objected that this interpretation diminishes the role of the elders in a way he did not intend, but allowed that "this is a time of moving into new territory and one must find a way". Writings (Dissertation at the University of Münster Faculty of Catholic Theology, 1971) With Adolf Exeler und Heinrich Aertker: With Paul M. Zulehner: With Paul M. Zulehner und Peter Neuner: Notes References Further reading External links Catholic Hierarchy: Bishop Fritz Lobinger Paul M. Zulehner, Priester für Morgen (Priests for Tomorrow) Bischof Fritz Lobinger, Mitbegründer des LUMKO-Institut 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in South Africa 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in South Africa Roman Catholic missionaries in South Africa German Roman Catholic missionaries Clerical celibacy People from Passau 1929 births Living people Roman Catholic bishops of Aliwal