KIEFL, FRANZ XAVER. - Catholic theologian and writer, b. at Höhenrain (Nieder-Bayern) on 17 Oct. 1869, d. at Ratisbona on 5 June 1928. Ordained priest in 1894, he was first engaged in the care of souls and then (1900) in theological teaching. Endowed with a speculative intellect and well versed in the history of dogma and Protestantism, as well as in contemporary philosophy, K. was able in his numerous writings to address various problems not only of theology, but also of the social order and pedagogy. Especially noteworthy are his role in the controversies concerning the theology of H. SCOTELLUS (v.) and his discussions with the Protestant pedagogue F. W. Foerster.
Principal writings: Der Friedensplan des Leibniz (1903, 2nd ed., 1925); Die Ewigkeit der Hölle und ihre spekulative Begründung (1905); H. Schell (1907); Die Stellung der Kirche zur Theologie von H. Schell (1908); Leibniz (1913); Die Theorien des modernen Sozialismus über den Ursprung des Christentums (1915); F. W. Foersters Stellung zum Christentum (1918); Foerster und der Katholizismus (1918); Die Staatsphilosophie der kath. Kirche u. die Frage der Legitimität in der Erbmonarchie (1928).
Jaroslav Škarvada