Johann Baptista Baltzer

He was at first an enthusiastic follower of Georg Hermes in his attempt to reconcile the newer German philosophy with the Roman Catholic teaching, but definitely broke with his school in 1839 and associated himself with the speculations of Anton Günther.

In 1853 he went to Rome at the request of Cardinal Schwarzenberg for the purpose of preventing the proposed condemnation by the pope of Günther's writings.

After the papal condemnation of Günther's teachings, Baltzer submitted indeed, but his independent spirit led him into further difficulties.

Baltzer was a strenuous opponent of the definition of papal infallibility and was a promoter of the Old Catholic movement in Silesia.

For his life, consult Friedberg (Leipzig, 1873) and Meltzer (Bonn, 1877), both favouring Baltzer's attitude, and Franz (Berlin, 1873), representing the other side.