on 19 July 1937 and provoked strong negative reaction. It was widely recognized that Meisner was criticizing the stained-glass window in Cologne Cathedral by Gerhard Richter, which was unveiled just weeks before and of which he disapproved. Amoris laetitia In April 2016, Pope Francis issued the apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia. Meisner and three other cardinals (Carlo Caffarra, Walter Brandmüller and Raymond Leo Burke) submitted dubia (doubts) in private, followed by a public letter ("Seeking Clarity: A Plea to Untie the Knots in Amoris Laetitia") in November 2016, asking Francis to clarify various points of doctrine. The first dubia asked about the reception of the sacraments by the divorced and remarried. The public letter asked about fundamental issues of the Christian life and referenced Pope John Paul II's encyclical Veritatis splendor. In April 2017, following no reply to their letter, the cardinals requested a meeting with Francis, but there had been no response to this request by June 2017. While waiting for a response from Francis, Pope Emeritus Benedict wrote a letter complimentary of Cardinal Meisner, in spite of the latter being "a fierce critic of Francis who spoke out against the pontiff allowing remarried divorcees to receive holy communion", according to The Guardian. Select published works Die Fürstin und der Kardinal: Ein Gespräch über Glauben und Tradition, with Princess Gloria of Thurn and Taxis (Verlag Herder, 2008) Notes References External links Biography at catholic-pages.com 1933 births 2017 deaths Clergy from Wrocław People from the Province of Lower Silesia 20th-century German cardinals Archbishops of Cologne Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Recipients of the Order of the White Lion Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Honorary Knights of the Teutonic Order 21st-century German cardinals