LIEBER, MAURICE. – Statesman and publicist, b. at Blankenheim on 1 Oct. 1790, d. at Kamberg on 29 Dec. 1860.
In 1831 he published at Frankfurt a vigorous work in defence of ecclesiastical celibacy; a few years later he waged an effective campaign against the Prussian government for its imprisonment of the Archbishop of Cologne, Mgr von Droste-Vischering (*Die Gefangennehmung des Erzbischofs von Köln und ihre Motive*, Frankfurt 1837-1838). In the Nassau Parliament and in the press he continued his battle in support of the Church and her rights; he took part as an expert on ecclesiastical questions in the episcopal conferences of Würzburg (1848) and Freiburg (1851); he was one of the founders of the *Katolischer Verein Deutschlands* and presided over its congresses at Breslau (1849) and Salzburg (1857).
When a serious crisis between Church and State broke out in the Rhenish provinces in 1853, he entered the fray with a book that caused a great stir: *In Sachen der oberrheinischen Kirchenprozess* (Freiburg in Br. 1853). Alongside his political and journalistic activity he devoted himself to social welfare and founded a hospital at Kamberg, as well as several other charitable institutions. His son Ernest (1838-1902), following in his footsteps, became one of the leaders of the Catholic Party in the German Parliament.
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