George Henry Speltz

George Henry Speltz (May 29, 1912 – February 1, 2004) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church.

[4] He then served as assistant pastor of St. John's Parish and superintendent of Loretto High School in Caledonia, Minnesota, until 1941.

[1] In 1944, he earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in economics from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.[2] His thesis was entitled: "Decentralization and the Social Obligations of the Land".

[5] Returning to Minnesota, Speltz served as vice-chancellor of the Diocese of Winona (1944–47) and superintendent of diocesan schools (1945–49).

[3] In 1984, he initiated a ban to deny church weddings to couples who live together before they marry, unless they agreed to live apart before their wedding; he said cohabitation: "...calls into question fundamental moral values that have long been central to the Christian tradition: the sacred character of sex and of the Christian family.

"[7] On January 13, 1987, Pope John Paul II accepted Speltz's resignation for health reasons as bishop of the Diocese of Saint Cloud.