Andreas Frick, Chief Executive of the Catholic aid organisation Misereor, comments on the death of the former Bishop of Limburg, Franz Kamphaus:

"In grateful memory, Misereor mourns the loss of the former Bishop of Limburg, Franz Kamphaus. The clergyman, who died on Monday at the age of 92, was responsible for the Catholic aid organisation Misereor within the German Bishops' Conference from 1991 to 1999 and had a lasting influence on the organisation and its work. Kamphaus' motto "Do as God does - become human!" was and still is a valuable guiding principle for Misereor in its commitment to global solidarity and justice, for human action and a better world.

In the spirit of Misereor, Kamphaus liked to choose clear and unambiguous words. Time and again, he took an offensive stance in favour of disadvantaged people in the global South and did not shy away from conflict with politics and society. During the Misereor Lenten campaign in 2000, for example, he complained that Germany was a giant when it came to economic globalisation, but a dwarf when it came to the globalisation of solidarity. Two years earlier, with regard to the motto of the Lenten campaign at the time, "The poor first", he had criticised the fact that this goal was still far from being achieved. Instead, the motto was still often: "The rich first!"

As a Misereor bishop, Kamphaus often travelled to countries characterised by great poverty and need. He also took part in numerous campaigns and was part of a human chain in Cologne, for example, which called for comprehensive debt cancellation for countries with particularly high poverty rates.

Misereor is wholeheartedly grateful to Bishop Kamphaus for his self-sacrificing and beneficial work on behalf of suffering, marginalised and unjustly treated people. His words and deeds will remain an incentive and inspiration for the organisation in the future."