Born in Lüdinghausen as the fifth child of a peasant family, Kamphaus received his Abitur from the. He studied theology and philosophy at the University of Münster and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and was ordained as a priest on 21 February 1959 by the bishop of Münster,. He worked as Kaplan in Münster and Ahaus. From 1964 he was responsible for the diocese's Predigtausbildung. Kamphaus earned a doctoral degree from the University of Münster in 1968 with the dissertation Von der Exegese zur Predigt. Über die Problematik einer schriftgemäßen Verkündigung der Oster-, Wunder- und Kindheitsgeschichten, on the topic of preaching about the biblical stories of Easter, miracles and the youth of Jesus. From 1971 he led the diocese's continuing education of preachers. From 1972 he taught pastoral theology and homiletics at the University of Münster. From 1973 he was also Regens of the diocese's Priesterseminar.
On 3 May 1982 pope John Paul II announced Kamphaus as bishop of Limburg. He was ordained on 13 June by cardinal Joseph Höffner. He chose as his motto "Evangelizare pauperibus", quoted from. Kamphaus lived in an apartment in the Priesterseminar, while a family of refugees lived in the bishop's residence. He spoke of a "Bundesrepublik Erde" granting peace, freedom and justice for all, and said that Christians need to stand side by side with the victims, the hungry, the injured, those who flee and cry. In 1999 Kamphaus was the only German bishop who opposed the pope in the matter of, the counseling of pregnant women in difficult situations. In his diocese, women were able to receive "Beratungsscheine" which made unpunished abortions possible. He said that prayer and meditation helped him to take the side of the women in need, against the pope. A papal decision of 8 March 2002 "stripped the bishop of his authority over the counseling centers in the Limburg diocese." Kamphaus said: "I am still convinced that our way of counselling women would save the lives of many more children". He also commented
that the Vatican's action would leave a "deep wound" in the German diocese, but said that he had concluded his resignation would not help to heal that wound. Instead, he said, he would continue to act as bishop, "wounded but unbroken" by the unusual disciplinary measure.
A private association, "Donum vitae", took over the counseling, as in other dioceses before. , 15 August 2005 From 1999 to 2006 Kamphaus was president of the Commission for International Church Affairs of the German Bishops' Conference which is responsible for international collaboration and the dialogue between religions. He travelled to Africa, Asia and Latin America, requesting more solidarity and social justice. On his 75th birthday, Kamphaus submitted his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI, who accepted it. A farewell service was held in a vespers service that day. His successor was Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst.
Aulhausen
After his retirement, Kamphaus has served as minister of the St. Vincenzstift, a home for people with physical and mental disabilities, in Aulhausen, where he lives. He realized that the humanity of a society can be seen in its way to deal with illness and disabilities in all phases of life. Kamphaus himself suffers from tremor. Facing the challenge to preach for handicapped people, he found: "Es geht darum, unsere großen biblischen Wörter zu elementarisieren, ohne dabei banal zu werden." He stressed the importance of songs for the mostly illiterate people, and he realises: "Das Allerwichtigste ist, einfach da zu sein. Entscheidend ist nicht so sehr, was ich sage oder tue, sondern dass ich hier wohne und lebe."
Awards
Kamphaus accepted only two of the many awards offered to him:
