The Independent News Source
NCR on Kindle - NCR classifieds - YouTube - Twitter - Facebook - Email Alerts - RSS
PDF versionTriumph of theologians over diplomats in Vatican
by John L Allen Jr on Jun. 30, 2010
Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Archbishop Rino Fisichella and Bishop Kurt Koch (composite from CNS file photos)Rome
In what’s already a turbulent time, Pope Benedict XVI has triggered another Vatican earthquake, changing the guard in three senior leadership positions. Among those exiting the scene is the Catholic church’s most prominent ecumenical leader over the past decade, while the new arrivals complete the ascent of personal friends and theological protégés of the pontiff to the Vatican’s top positions.
The Vatican announced today two key personnel moves:
- Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec replaces Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re as Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, responsible for recommending new bishops to the pope all over the world;
- Archbishop Rino Fisichella becomes the first President of the new Pontifical Commission for Promotion of the New Evangelization, a new Vatican department devoted to reawakening the faith in the West, especially Europe.
Tomorrow, announcement of a third transition is expected: Bishop Kurt Koch of Basel, Switzerland, will replace Cardinal Walter Kasper as President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Commission for Religious Relations with Jews.
Kasper has been the face of the Vatican’s ecumenical outreach since 2001. He recently held a farewell session with reporters in Rome, describing the effort to restore Christian unity as the “construction site of the church of the future.”
Ouellet, Koch and Fisichella all have longstanding ties to Benedict XVI.
Fisichella, a veteran of the Roman scene, collaborated with Ratzinger in the preparation of John Paul II’s encyclical Fides et Ratio, while Ouellet and Koch both move in the theological circles associated with the journal Communio, which was co-founded by Joseph Ratzinger. (Read more about Fisichella and the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization here: Pope launches council to fight secular 'Eclipse of God'.)
NCR: February 3-16, 2012
Subscribe to NCR to get all the news and special features that aren't always available online. In this issue:
- US News: Bishops Host Conference on Immigration
Conference fields advocates' questions on law, policy
- Special Section: Deacons. Serving as parish administrator; roles of wives; and more
- Study: Black Catholics are more engaged
New study by Notre Dame researcher about parish involvement in America
All three over the years have argued for what Benedict XVI describes as a “hermeneutic of continuity” regarding the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), stressing that Vatican II did not repeal earlier teachings and traditions.
In July 2009, Koch addressed that point in a letter to the priests of Basel:
“Instead of accusing others, and even the pope, of wishing to go back to before the council, everyone would be well advised to look over their own books and reassess their own personal position on the council,” he wrote. “Not everything that was said and done after the council, was therefore done in accordance with the council.”
One striking twist to today’s news is that as of now, neither the Secretariat of State nor the Congregation for Bishops is led by a product of the Vatican’s diplomatic service. Traditionally, both posts have been held by men who come out of the diplomatic corps – preserving a balance, observers have usually argued, between the church’s spiritual and doctrinal priorities and its social, political and humanitarian interests.
In sound-bite fashion, one might say that today’s appointments complete the triumph of theologians over diplomats under Benedict XVI.
The pope did make one diplomatic move of note today, naming Archbishop Celestine Migliore, currently the Vatican’s representative to the United Nations, as his new nuncio, or ambassador, in Poland.
In terms of timing, it’s traditional for the Vatican to make a flurry of moves in late June ahead of the pope’s annual summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo. This year, Benedict XVI will leave for his summer residence next Wednesday after the conclusion of his General Audience.
In brief comments to reporters this morning, the Vatican spokesperson, Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi, said that the legal document formally creating the new Council for Promotion of the New Evangelization is not expected to appear soon because work on the document is ongoing.
Lombardi also confirmed that the pope met this morning with Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard of Brussels. While he did not offer any details, the meeting follows a series of June 24 police raids in Belgium on church properties as part of a sex abuse probe and comes amid an escalating diplomatic row between Rome and Belgium over the incident.
Related Stories
Seven days that shook the Vatican, Allen's Friday All Things Catholic column
Friday Vatican potpourri, a "reporter’s notebook" round-up of footnotes and nuggets from a dramatic week
Triumph of theologians over diplomats in Vatican
Three archbishops and the American Catholic future
Interview with Archbishop Jerome Listecki
Interview with Archbishop Dennis Schnurr
I do not know enough about
I do not know enough about the direction that the new Vatican appointments will take the Church, and will be searching to learn more, but I do know that the renewal of the Church, maybe especially in Europe, will have to come from a new ecumenism and joint sense of commmitment with other Christian Faiths, a proclaimed letting go of arrogance on the part of the Church with respect to politics and secrecy and a de-emphasis of the myriad of canonical legal codes that have built up over centuries - so that the Church becomes a part of peoples lives again in the real world of today bringing not more legal codes and strictures but more freedom of spirit, compassion and Grace through the Love of Christ. Yes - a letting go of control and allowing more diversity - this is what drives renewal.
I would answer that renewal
I would answer that renewal is not fueled by watering down theology. Also, you say that the Church is arrogant in respect to politics; do you mean to say that he Church hold positions that are Unpopular (abortion, homosexuality, contraception women priests etc)?
While I agree that there does need to be a consolidation and re-definition of legal codes, I do not think that eliminating canon law will help. If you look at most protestants in most of the world, you will see that those who make it up as they go along tend to be doing very poorly.
Freedom does not mean doing what you want to do, but being able to do the right thing. The Church has guided us for 2000 years in this journey, and the last thing I want them to do is drop it all in service to "modernism".
Thanks Mr. Allen for another fair article. You bring up interesting points about where the new Cardinals come from. I wonder, do you think that it is good that theologians are in these positions?
Janus: DB didn't say anything
Janus: DB didn't say anything about watering down theology.What has been watered down and needs to be proclaimed is a call to authentically following the gospel living found in St. Paul's 7 letters and the book of Acts. Obviously you believe the hierarchy is not arrogant because as the pope recently stated that the new archbishops are free from constraints of all local laws, all national laws, and all international laws because of their connection to the pope. Sadly we have seen in our own day the consequences of this belief, how the hierarchy has put itself above all laws because none of them has been prosecuted for causing the sexual abuse of children. Because the hierarchy sees itself above the law, they covered up the abuse of children and allowed more and more children to be abused. Thus their decisions directly caused the abuse of more children not only in the U.S., but in countries on every continent(Antarctica excepted). The unlimited arrogance of the hierarchy has revealed their corruption in this worldwide "Bishops' Scandal."
Janus: In fairness to DB,
Janus: In fairness to DB, nothing was said about "eliminating" canon law. Your comments about "most protestants doing very poorly" may be accurate for the few protestant acquaintences you know, and certainly some reformation churches have seen a decline in membership, however the growth rates for independent evangelical and pentecostal churches have more than made up for any losses (see "The Next Christendom" by Philip Jenkins). Your fear that the hierarchy "will drop it all" in service to modernism is unfounded (I'm not sure what you mean when you say "all") If you literally mean "all" that an awful lot to drop 2000 years. As one familiar with the history of the church I would respectfully take issue with the claim that the hierarchy "has guided (and protected) us for 2000 years.I believe the credit belongs to the Holy Spirit who often rescued the church inspite of the hierarchy. I reccomend a book titled "Jesus Wars" by Philip Jenkins as a sampling of bishops' conduct during the 1st 500 years of the Catholic Church. It will give some balance to your assessment of the hierarchy.
Janus: "...the Church has
Janus: "...the Church has guided us in 2000 years of this journey..."
Your inference is that the Church has had non-changing teachings for over 2000 years...that it's teaching has always been correct...you seem to want to forget our Church's history....early scientists who challenged the Church's theology that the earth was the center of the universe were threatened with burning at the stake unless they recanted....Galileo was forced to lie to save himself - think of a human body being broiled over a fire pit in the square of St. Peter's today.....then there's the two English Catholic priests whose names I cannot remember at this moment who were burned together by St. Thomas Moore for the horrific theological sin of translating the Bible into English... "Burn Them!" was part of our Church's teaching...if you disagreed with Church teaching you were ordered by the holy fathers to be fried to death by civil authorities while the holy fathers stood by your flames saying their prayers for the repose of your soul....of course all those public fryings have stopped, but credit for that must go to those obstreperous bad old secular states who were influenced by the disgusting European Enlightenment...and lest we forget there's our Church's theology of blaming of the Jews for Christ's death with the consequent suffering and death of millions of Jews "in (the) 2000 years of this journey..." (finally changed by JPII)...,and there was the theological pronouncement by one of the Popes that Mary Magdalene was the prostitute that Jesus saved in the Bible narrative (since corrected and changed by JPII) which has been used by some in our Church who are misogynist to denigrate and keep women in a 2nd class status within the Church...
You see Janus, you conveniently ignore or forget our Church's past history...you pretend that this 2000 year jouney has all been sweetness and light....that as long as we follow the direction of our hierarchy that everything will be OK as it has been for 2000 years......your view of how the Holy Spirit works through our Church is immature to say the least and has enabled the hierarchy to get away such egregious spirit killing things without any accountability...(do you ignore the terrible way the hierarchy has handled the child rape crisis?)...the laity have a role of responsibility in our Church also....but we have been excluded by our power seeking hierarchy....and please don't call me a Protestant in an effort to dismiss me...this powerful hierarchy we have did not develop in the early Christian post Resurrection communities but rather as a result of much later involvement with the Imperial Roman secular Empire.....
The churches moral and
The churches moral and theological teaching HAS always been correct. The church NEVER held the theological position that the earth had to be the center of the universe, and Galileo was not persecuted because of this. Galileo was told that he may not teach his theory as FACT because it was unproven. (Final proof didn't come until 1832). Galileo got his ideas from Copernicus, whom the church never even bothered. In fact, it was the church that helped Copernicus to write his book (The local bishop even paid for his secretary and urged him to publish). Galileo was censured because he stated that the Bible taught error. Yes, he was technically put under "house arrest" at one point - he was housed in a palace and provided with a rather lavish pension by the pope. But his theory of heliocentrism was never condemned.
Dear Tim...thank you for the
Dear Tim...thank you for the information on Galileo....I checked the Catholic Encyclopedia and Wikipedia....both of which list references...I certainly have a lot more specific information on Galileo and Copernicus now....the two accounts both agree and disagree on certain "facts" and each source certainly has its own emphasis in relating the story of these two early scientists and their journey with the Church hierarchy and Inquisition of their day...there are differences between the two stories in each source...so the specifics are unresolved for me....
I am relatively new at these blogging dialogues - perhaps I should say exchanges...I have started this blogging business to clarify exactly where I do stand on these current issues in our Church and to hear what other people have to say.....I guess it is the nature of blogging that one only looks for errors in another's statement and responds only to correct those errors in the other's viewpoint....I certainly do this at times...I think I have reached the end of this blogging business today.......
I found it telling that you only responded to the Galileo information and not the other points regarding the Church's teaching on how to handle heretics....the distinction whether the Church burned people for disagreeing with ex-cathedra doctrine or just plain old every day Church doctrine must have been lost on those tied to the stake who were about to be broiled......look up Giordano Bruno in the Catholic Encyclopedia and Wkipedia for instance...
I was most struck by your statement that "the Church's moral and theological teaching HAS always been correct." Certainly that is said as a statement of FAITH - not fact....we accept things on faith regarding our religious path because we were not present at the time to witness the events of the life of the Christ nor did we have the experience of GOD sitting us down and laying out the whole story for us in a one-to-one conversation...we CHOOSE to believe, to have faith....and we believe and love with our whole heart and soul...but let us not fall prey to arrogance or pride...billions of other people who believe in the Judeo-Christian God, ie Jews and Muslims, and yes even Protestants believe and have faith in the God of Abraham that is just as strong as ours.....and yes ALL of us people of the BOOK have killed each other by the millions to prove that our "Church's moral and theological teaching HAS always been correct."
I must thank you Tim for your very clear statement of your belief....this exchange has been been an epiphany for me today...I realize now that there's no real dialogue here and that I must go elsewhere for that and for the wisdom I need to proceed on my path........continue to chase after these liberal progressive Catholics here at the NCR for whatever your reasons....So long.....M.
The pope's infallibility is
The pope's infallibility is inoperative and cannot be exercised as head of a Roman synod out of communion with the rest of Christendom. Unless and until, the Church is united the pope is perfectly capable of teaching error in faith and in morals. The Holy Spirit guides the entire Mystical Body acting in concert and not simply the bishop of Rome.
What drives renewal is
What drives renewal is truth—THE truth. Diversity certainly has a place, one well-expressed in the maxim "in necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas." Diversity in matters that are unsettled is healthy, but the emphasis must be placed on unity in proclaiming those truths at the core of the Catholic faith, and in turn placing them at the core of our individual identities as Catholics. The dissent—illegitimate heresy rather than legitimate diversity in unsettled matters—must stop, and the bishops must lead, remembering that their office is as both pastor and ruler of their diocese.
What will not save the Church, by contrast, is pretending that she is simply one flavor among many equal flavors, one that people can choose or not according to their own peculiar tastes. We have tried that road. While it may overstate the matter to say that postconciliar innovation has caused the falling away of Catholics, that falling away at very least coincided with those reforms, and those reforms are at minimum already a failure as a remedy. Going back to what does not work, particularly when it may have caused the problem in the first place, is insanity.
The problem is not excessive legalism, it is a failure in the Catholic identity caused by so-called Catholics, including some theologians, who would place themselves above the Church (and indeed, above God) and daily whisper seductively for others to join them in a state of sub rosa schism.
The schism is already here
The schism is already here and worsening. Until the Church returns to the central teachings of the gospels loud and clear; establishes a renewed scripture- centered focus; relies less on trumped up events in the lives of saints of dubious origin or spiritual value; calls for a renewed ascetism by ALL the clergy; gives a new tolerance to debate and the need for discussion within the Church,and restores a universal Catholic ethic based upon the teachings of the best minds in the Church in the preservation and perpetuation of western ideals, the Church will be dismissed as little more than a museum piece trying to defend it's own power, wealth, and centuries of clerical authoritarianism. Not to mention and a secret world centered on preserving hypocrisey and sinful behavior by it's clergy. All of which is coming to light with more revelations to follow.
A clerical ethos founded upon arrogance entwined with preserving the past for the past's sake (the worst kind of syncretism and historicism) is a stance which is rapidly being dismissed by Catholics and non-Catholics worldwide. It is seen by more and more, inside and outside the Church, as increasingly intolerable. If the power of the state is needed to punish popes and priests, so be it.
The "trumped up events in the
The "trumped up events in the lives of saint of dubious origin"? Which saints are you speaking of? Care to name them? And this talk of "returning to the central teachings of the gospels" sounds a lot like Protestantism to me. We all can see how the protestant housess, built on shifting sands, are holding up.
The truth lies in the Latin Mass done well and done globally. It's time to end the heresy of the Vat II excesses and return to the FAITH. Don't worry, our Lord is taking us there right now whether people are ready or not. Just look around, Belgian commando Church raids, fanatical muslims hellbent on jihad, heretical statements from Austrian Bishops, social unrest due to financial meltdown. It's all happening very quickly and rapidly. The faithful will return to the Church when they have no where else turn. The priests will return to doing things well when they must beg their alms from the faithful.
You have got to be kidding
You have got to be kidding right? All this misery for untold millions and millions of people is because God wants a return to the Latin Mass? Jesus didn't even speak Latin. What kind of God do you believe in?
You must still have a job.
Amen.
Amen.
Durwood You do understand
Durwood You do understand that rants like this are informative, in that most Catholics in the pews don't find the Church as odious as you (and NCR) do.
Thanks for the valuable intelligence on what your side actually thinks.
It's well to speak of the
It's well to speak of the "continuity of hermeneutics", but perhaps more to the point to speak of the "hermeneutics of continuity". The common ground of faith and reason is truth, not some fixated notion of "The Truth." Truth is no respecter of a hermeneutics that is inconsistent with truth. The hermeneutics that disrespects the continuity of truth deserves no respect.
Nearing the 8th decade of my life I ask myself “what have I learned that matters?" That my life has been/ is the “common ground initiative,” as is every life. The common-ground-initiative is the ceaseless task of reconciling faith and reason — what is Divinity Consciousness — DIVINICON.
What is truth? Truth is knowledge that corresponds with reality — as reality is transformational, so is truth. Like energy, truth is everywhere distributive in all reality, which means, it is subjective in substance and objective in essence. Objective truth, as object, is not absolute even as objects are not absolute. The energy of objects is attenuated by other objects, and objects attenuate "free energy." The common-ground objective of conscious self-reflection is the ongoing process of faith/ reason reconciliation, of the perpetual enlargement of the knowledge base of truth, of energy attenuation.
So what enlightenment have I come to? Truth is no respecter of religion or politics, especially when religion and politics collude for purposes of control. The process of truth is the process of rationality, of reconciling learning, experience and faith, by way of communication, consciousness and conscience; and self-consciousness is authenticated in truth, the common ground of faith/ reason.
Truth IS the bridge to common ground — is the "Common Ground.” Truth is life’s conscious quest, the life-quest initiative — the common ground of the quantum-electric impulse.
Make the quantum leap; seek only truth for the truth will set you free. Know that “truth is beauty, beauty, truth; that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.” (G. Keats)
http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail.aspx?bookid=72717
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978330561
Comments like this is why
Comments like this is why this Vatican II (adult) Catholic had contemplated leaving the church. Enough religious facism!
I disagree with you. With
I disagree with you. With all due respect, renewal will come when the Church has returned to true fidelity to the Gospel. It will be a faithful, purified remnant that will re-evangelize the world, not the mushy post "spirit of Vatican II" crowd. I welcome the changes at the top, because the status quo wasn't working. Pray for Pope Benedict XVI and for the Church. He needs our prayers desperately. His burden of leadership is immense, and he has many enemies arrayed against him, including those in the Church hierarchy who, like Judas, seek to derail the message of the Gospel because it is too hard to swallow. By the way, have you read the code of canon law? Canon law is much simpler to understand than the body of case law and legal code of the US. The problem is not that the Church is too legalistic. The real problem is that the members of the Body of Christ are too lukewarm and worldly. It is for this reason that the Church has collapsed in Europe and other places in the world. Remember the warning Jesus gave to St. John at Patmos: "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold, nor hot. I would thou wert cold, or hot. But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, not hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth." Rev. 3:16-17 Renewal will come when enough people return to prayer, the sacraments and a moral life.
Renewal will come when the
Renewal will come when the pope, cardinals, bishop, and clergy themselves will provide a godly example. It cannot be anymore: "Do as I say, not as I do" and "pay pray and obey" as it has been most of 2000 years. At this point in history, the leadership has lost all credibility. Their criminal and immoral actions have betrayed the teaching of Christ. Their lifestyle, the decadent pomp of their ceremonial attires in the face of worldwide abject poverty and misery is inexcusable. They are The Scandal for all the world see.
Diversity equals
Diversity equals disintegration when it comes to a religion.Religions (I do not belong to one and never have...God does not write books or have an official fan club!) live or die by the inalterability of their doctrines,which lose all credibility as eternal divine commandments if they "change with the times".A religion is defined by its teachings and those who adhere to them,not by its members and what they choose to believe.Loss of identity means extinction,not renewal.
Bullfeathers.
Bullfeathers.
True renewal comes from
True renewal comes from fidelity to God and His Church. Anything less than this is the usual watered down pseudo-spiritual drivel spouted by the vanishing generation of clerics that used Vatican II to impose their own delusions in place of Church teaching. Any one who faithfully adheres to Vatican II would be faithful to the Church and her teachings. Instead, we have a generation that uses Vatican II in the same way a magician uses "abracadabra"--to disguise their slight of hand.
There will be no renewal without an authentic adherence to the Catholic faith as handed down by the Apostles. No bumper-sticker mentality will ever do this. Only fidelity to God, His Church, His Sacraments--and OBEDIENCE to the Holy Father.
Anything else comes from Hell.
Hammond organ, please. "Give
Hammond organ, please.
"Give me that old-time pseudo-spiritual drivel,
Give me that old-time pseudo-spiritual drivel,
Give me that old-time pseudo-spiritual drivel,
It's good enough for me."
Joe, I see your message in
Joe, I see your message in big bold letters. Sadly reliance on obedience to the pope will not be your salvation or anyone elses. Jesus did not say we will be judged according to such an obedience standard. The judgement of salvation as you well know rests on the 2 commandments referenced by Jesus, namely LOVE of god and LOVE of neighbor.
I carefully looked for at least a mention of the word "LOVE" in your statement, sadly I saw no evidence of love in it. I did hear your angry words of derision and condemnation. In my experience such anger has a lot of hurt and pain beneath it. I can only pray for you, that you may receive the peace of Christ in this life. I personally sought out a process called Healing of Memories and I used the recommended prayer and Jesus healed my pain. I give you this testimony because only the Lord knows what to heal, and because I see in your words a strong belief in the Savior. Peace.
2 Corinthians 5:18 and Romans 8:1
Deacon Bill..you are awesome.
Deacon Bill..you are awesome. Amen, brother!
This religious quackery
This religious quackery deserves only one comment, and I will quote Pogo from the comic strip penned by Walt Kelly not so long ago, as the crow flies: "FOOEY".
"...Pope Benedict XVI has
"...Pope Benedict XVI has triggered another Vatican earthquake..."
Maybe in YOUR ecclesio-static world, Mr. Allen, but for the rest of us on the planet EARTH, this amounts to considerably less than the proverbial "TEMPEST in a TEAPOT!"
Who really cares WHAT these old white men are doing? Not even the Vatican gardeners who've seen countless hierarchs like them come and go...........
And WHY?
Precisely because as you say...."the new arrivals complete the ascent of personal friends and theological protégés of the pontiff to the Vatican’s top positions."
Curial leche-culs of the world UNITE!
It's pretty sad when the pope has to IMPORT new members of the CHOIR so he can continue to preach to them!
Agreed. Would those on the
Agreed. Would those on the Titanic notice that the captain has appointed new deputies to govern their descent? And if by "theology" you mean a narrow interpretation detached from common-sense and comprehensive theologies and disciplines, then yes, "theology" has triumphed.
Yes, in-house activity is not
Yes, in-house activity is not earth-shattering, earth-shaking, or even earthy in this case. Cronies and people he is familiar with is the typical political moves of a person in power. That they are more in line with theologians isn't all bad, just what it is. However, it does appear to be a closing of the ranks or circling of the wagons, and certainly Euro-centric not church-centric.
Craig, do you understand
Craig, do you understand yourself to be a protestant, an atheist, or merely a schismatic?
RC: Recovering Catholic!
RC: Recovering Catholic!
There has been scant
There has been scant attention paid to a sociological phenomenon in American society, and elsewhere: the recovering Catholic. In clinical circles this can be found, and as part of the therapeutic repetoire of psychiatrists. I think it is time to give credence to the idea that there is another minority suffering from abuse in our midst, and it is those who have been emotionally and psychologically scarred by the instransigent dogmatism of cultic aspects of our church.
Anonymous, maybe he
Anonymous, maybe he understands himself as thoughtful, critical and intelligent.
The Holy Spirit is guiding
The Holy Spirit is guiding Pope Benedict. He is already known as "The Pope of Christian Unity".... but this is not due to his political acumen. It is due to the Pope's humility, open to the grace of the Holy Spirit.
I'm saddened at how many NCR commentors do not like the way that the Holy Spirit is leading the Church. This IS the renewal of Vatican II (please read Lumen Gentium again, if you have not done so recently).
I hope you will not be left behind, in an brief era of arrogant silliness that future Catholics will laugh about.
I do agree the Holy Spirit is
I do agree the Holy Spirit is helping the Pope.
She's leading him in a direction he can't control.
Inexorably ... the Truth, the whole Truth, and ...
nothing but the Truth will be revealed
while the third person of the Blessed Trinity presides.
I am suggesting that there
I am suggesting that there needs to be a renewal through freedom of Spirit, not cracking down with the law. I don't mean to get rid canon law or water down theology, but to open the doors to the Spirit.
I'm very slightly hopeful
I'm very slightly hopeful that the appointments of these "personal friends and theological proteges of the pontiff" will hasten the continuing "breakdown" of the institutional church as it slowly and unwillingly crawls toward "breakthrough".
God knows, we need to get this church back on track with Vatican II and its promising trajectory.
May God so will!
I would suggest that in the
I would suggest that in the name of Truth in Advertising that the Phoenix Abortion Saga be promulgated all over Europe by Pope Benedict. I'm sure that will bring young couples flocking to the churches.
People may hesitate to join a
People may hesitate to join a church whose doctrine makes their lives a little harder in some respects, or with whose doctrine they disagree in some particulars. But NO ONE joins a church that lacks the backbone to preach and live what it believes. A church that would abandon the gospel to gain members is no longer a church at all.
Exactly. Look at the Church
Exactly. Look at the Church of England.
Look at Ted Haggard or some
Look at Ted Haggard or some of the other Evangelicals. They are gaining members, many of them ex Catholics and they don't live the Gospel at all. The love everybody thing must not be in their bibles.
God bless the Holy Father. It
God bless the Holy Father. It is great to see him work, and I follow his writings quite closely, well... at least in terms of his homilies and addresses. It is wonderful to see this Pontiff working so effectively to renew and restore the Church to holiness and Tradition, in a true continuity with the Second Vatican Council, which we never got, at least not here, in Ireland. Long live Pope Benedict!
What triumph? Abp Fisichella
What triumph? Abp Fisichella is noted for his defense of abortions in emotional circumstances. Will Cardinal Ouellet really be responsible for a sea change in the type of bishops appointed? The past pattern has been "don't rock the boat" types who entrust things to diocesan bureacracies. With respect to Fisichella it has been said that it would seem that, with his novel doctrine on tolerating abortions in situations of "emotional distress", Archbishop Fisichella will have the utmost success in "new evangelization" efforts in cocktail parties and formal dinner events from Berlin to Paris, from London to New York, from Madrid to Buenos Aires. The new Pontifical Council is brought forth with a stain the size of Brazil... Auguri, monsignor Fisichella!
yikes! ouellet, fisichella &
yikes! ouellet, fisichella & koch! pope's 'ascent of personal friends and theological proteges': self-serving sycophants, men of groveling compliance and ambition for prestige, position, power, yeh, Jesus wants that! NOT!
ouellet's long long history of complicity in the RCC's corrupt abuses in Quebec's orphanages, residential schools, churches. another clergy criminals enabler. yeh, he fits right in with the criminals- enabling pope B16. more continuity of the ruptured rotteness of the hierarchy with this 'trinity' of the travesty of these 'theologians'. whitewashed sepulchres of filth indeed. sad times for the church.
Kasper was great and will be very much missed . history will confirm Kasper's integrity and genius and confirm Benedict 16th's depravity and misdirection of the church.
Interesting appointments, but
Interesting appointments, but I am not sure what this means for the future of the Church. In the article it states that they are friends of the Pope and have worked with him in the past. I am not sure that is a good sign. We may be headed backwards into the Middle Ages. All of us have to pray that the Holy Spirit is really involved this new direction.
Back into the Middle Ages??!!
Back into the Middle Ages??!! I hope so!!!
Actually many of Pope
Actually many of Pope Benedict's episcopal appointments in North America have worked in the curia and were well-known by then Cardinal Ratzinger. Now some are returning to key
curial leadership. Interesting trend in what I thought is a universal church.
Nobody cares. This is not
Nobody cares. This is not earthquake. Is a fart in a distant medieval memory land. Far, far away.
Bishop Geoffrey Robinson made
Bishop Geoffrey Robinson made an astute observation in trying to understand the sex-abuse scandal and the how the Church conducts itself. The good bishop states that there are two parties in the Church: "The Proclaimers of Certainties" and the "Seekers of Truth." My judgment is that the majority of those commenting today are members of the former party.
Proclaimers of certainty do not like change. In fact many actually fear change, always expecting that change will go badly and make things worse. Some of them will say look at the horrible state of the Church, it's Vatican II and liberals who have brought about this sad state of affairs. The idea that things would, in fact, be even worse, much worse, without Vatican II, revisionist theology, and the thousands of lay people who have entered into various ecclesial and social justice ministries.
Seekers after Truth have much greater appreciation of change. They understand that some change may be risky, but they have confidence that, in the long run, good will prevail. They understand that Vatican II did not create a "different," "separate," and "oppositional" theology, but the Council found new ways to express the perennial Gospel values. Because their search is for Truth, they look to see how "others of good will" have uncovered Truth. No one ever grasps the fullness of Truth here on earth, ecumenical dialogue is necessary and that these are things that under the protection of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Father and some theologians speak of a "“hermeneutic of continuity” regarding the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), stressing that Vatican II did not repeal earlier teachings and traditions. I've read an awful lot and I have never heard any theologian crying out that "... earlier teachings and traditions" were repealed at Vatican II or afterward.
Many theologians today, are doing what theologians have always done: asking the old questions in terms that people today can understand. They grapple with providing possible "answers" that take into the experiences of ordinary people, the findings of contemporary social and natural sciences. For example, moral theologians now speak of "personalist-relational" marriage ethics that can be glimpsed in the 1930s marriage encyclical.
I'm not sure exactly what a, “hermeneutic of continuity” is. The only continuity I see is continuity with the Medieval period through the 19th century, with an emphasis on the 19th century. Why not place as much or more emphasis on continuity with the early Church?
Maybe if the Vatican bureaucrats could enter more deeply into and listen to the faith experiences of the People of God, what theologians grapple with as more and more of them get silenced, and the findings of the natural, social, and behavioral sciences, and see the Holy Spirit mediated through these "natural elements," we might see compassion and service. Compassion for each other is the first step to healing.
"Catholic used to mean
"Catholic used to mean universal. Now it means a type of Christian institution that has become narrow in its thinking, closed to the Spirit, unable to recognize the richness of diversity or the beauty of creation. Catholic Christian is a type of Christian. Christianity is what we have in common with many other types of Christians. Catholic is only an adjective describing Christian. Roman Catholic (another defining adjective of Christian) many times refers to those Catholics stuck in old wineskins, in narrow vision and thinking. Catholic Christian in the original sense of the term is one who is ecumenical, open, all-embracing of race, of language, of new insights, of cultures (multi-dimensional)."
David L. Corcoran in "Responses" portion of In the Meantime #8.
"Catholicism is engaged in a long, historical conversation, and we all are invited by Jesus to join that conversation. While participating in that conversation, we must understand the need for new knowledge, new insights, and new connections. It is not enough to conserve: non basta conservare." (Attributed to a pope, possible JXXIII)
Our RC Church will not be
Our RC Church will not be fully relevant to the Kingdom until we let go of the medievalism that afflicts our Church and recover a New testament Christianity without a medieval papacy, without medieval bishops. A Church whose Christ called married men to be his Twelve; who allowed women to minister to him; who warned against fancy costumes and lording it over others. We have a sick church which needs healing and a thorough pruning.
Renewal has to come from the
Renewal has to come from the Pope, the cardinals, the bishops, and priests. The 2000 years formula of "Do as I say, not as I do" and, "pay, pray, and obey" are not working anymore. The decadent life style, pompous splendor of ceremonies in the face of worldwide abject poverty; and criminal and immoral behavior of the leadership is the scandal for the entire world to see. They have lost all credibility. They demand absolute fidelity to the gospel from the laity, all the while they completely ignore it by their action
God Bless Pope Benedict XVI
God Bless Pope Benedict XVI and the Catholic Church
Koch wrote: “Not everything
Koch wrote:
“Not everything that was said and done after the council, was therefore done in accordance with the council.”
Right, bishop, dude, the Vatican Council was a timid beginning of the opening of the window to the Holy Spirit of Truth and Peace and Love.
The one wojtyla and Ratzinger and all you rest hastily heavily slammed shut upon all of our fingers.
like on Ernest.
Yes, on Father Ernesto Cardenal, but I was thinking that other Ernest . . .
Never mind.
I guess he wasn't shown Saturday mornings in Basel.
and so adios to peace and love and truth and trust and faith and mercy and compassion and Church.
You remain with your definition of Rightness and we poor without your love . . .
Speaking of Communio, funny how Ratzinger earlier served as the Reverend Father Edward Schillebeeckx's right hand man at Concilio . . .
Now THAT was a theological quarterly worth reading! & In perfect continuity
Still avalable at amazon . . .
Ratzinger at
Ratzinger at Concilio?????????
Still more evidence of the man's "turning a 180".
Goes to show what fear can do to a guy!
What a shame.
Thank you for a balanced and
Thank you for a balanced and insightful article, Mr. Allen.
If you have a moment, would you please explain for your readers how exactly the Church's "spiritual and doctrinal priorities" at odds with her "social, political, and humanitarian interests"? Some examples would be most helpful.
I would also like to know, please, what exactly the presence of "diplomats" does to "balance" this conflict. Again, specific examples would be most helpful.
Thank you again!
If the Holy Spirit was
If the Holy Spirit was listened to, there would be no canon law. We would not be afraid of homosexuality, female priests and a true accounting of the arrogance of Our Paternalistic Church throughout the ages. We all know enough about the Love of God to know that if Jesus came again, he wouldn't show up in the middle of the Mass. He would show up in the middle of the masses and ask for a true accounting of how we have treated each other and he would tell us that if we had not looked after those who are"different" than us, we haven't done our jub. Tradition is important, but it is not everything. We need to examine those traditions and ask about theiir relevancy in today's world. It is time to put away childish things and stand naked before God and others and Love God with all our heart and soul and love others as ourselves( this includes homosexuals, married priests and female priests. Tradition is only good if it has created a loving healthy society of God not an arrogant fractured childish belief system.
Why are we so fearful of
Why are we so fearful of homosexuality, marriage of priests, and female priests. If we had been listening to the Holy Spirit in terms of renewal, these would be nonissues. If we followed the Gospels, we would have no need for the excessive volumes of Canon law. Doesn't all this finite definition of right and wrong parallel the arrogance of the scribes and pharisees. If we could stand to look in the mirror, we would see ourselves. Jesus wanted us to Love God and each other, but we have allowed secrecy and arrogance to rule instead. The one thing that gives me hope is to imagine where Jesus would show up when he comes again. It would not be at Mass. It would be in the middle of the masses. Like the Jewish Society of the old testament, Tradition has become our God. Our Patriarchal leadership is bogged down with the yellow pages of Canon Law. God is not in Canon Law. As Julian of Norwich said "God is nearer to us than our own soul, for he is the ground on whom our soul standeth." If we are truly looking for renewal in our church, we won't find it in tradition, because tradition only works when it produces healthy outcomes for all of our members. Some of the traditions of our church are simply not relevant to a truly healthy loving society.
Thank you for your insights.
Thank you for your insights.
Dear Julie...Your words are
Dear Julie...Your words are like a healing balm to me...your compassion is too much missing in these days of difficulty for the People of God...would that others in our Church could have your clarity and charitable sense of inclusiveness...Thank you...God bless you!....M., a Catholic in exile...
While your words may sound
While your words may sound full of love for your neighbor, that's not actually the case. Love for your neighbor is not the same as love for the sins of your neighbor.
We are not fearful of homosexuality. We call it what it is: a sin. Homosexuality has been known as sin since the days of Abraham. The practice of homosexuality is rejected by God, remember Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 13:13 and on). Saint Paul addresses the issue in two of his letters, Romans 1:27 and 1 Timothy 1:10. So you see, God rejects the sin of homosexuality in both, the OT and the NT. The Catholic Church just follows God's teachings.
Marriage of priests: it's a church discipline. All men who want to offer their lives to God's service know the Church demands from them to be single and chaste. If you want to marry, don't become a priest. It's like the army, if you don't like the military discipline don't become a soldier.
Female priests: can you picture a priest's wife wanting to know what are the sins of her friends he hears on confession? "Tell me what Jenny confessed!" The result would be the Sacrament of Confession being desecrated on a daily basis. A lot of women like gossip, whether they are the wives of a priest or they themselves are priestess. Imagine the TV series title: "Desperate priest-wives" or "Desperate priestess". Better leave it as it is. It has worked fine for 2,000 years.
As for your reference to "listening to the Holy Spirit"... who's to say who is the Holy Spirit talking to? Have you seen the 40,000+ different messages THS is supposedly giving to the protestant denominations? Are we going to allow that to happen in the Church as well? As far as we know, THS guides the Church Leaders. As church members we must believe THS is doing this. When we stop believing this, "other spirit" starts to talk to us. Be careful, you may be hearing the wrong spirit. Oh yes, this wrong spirit will tell you "God wants these changes!"
The arrogance of the scribes and pharisees stopped 2,000 years ago. It was replaced with the humility and wisdom of the Apostles and their successors, guided by THS. That was Jesus' promise. Remember that Jesus gave this promise in a private conversation between Him and His Apostles. It wasn't a public promise to all of His followers, it was private promise just to the Chosen Ones during the Last Supper (John 16:13).
By the Gospel of John we know that not everything Jesus told and taught the Apostles was recorded in writing in the New Testament (John 21:25). On the other hand, in the other three Gospels we hear Jesus saying: "Heaven and earth will pass away, BUT MY WORDS WILL NOT PASS AWAY" (Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31, Luke 21:33). I ask you... where can we find the words of Jesus not recorded in writing in the Bible? Where are they today? Let me stress the "my words will not pass away" part in those passages. That means His unrecorded words are alive today. Where can we find them? The answer: the only place where we can find them is in the TRADITION of our Church. So you see, Tradition is also The Word of God. If you reject Tradition, you reject the Word of God. You may not like Tradition and you can reject Tradition as the protestants do, but you cannot denied that in the Tradition of the Church are the unrecorded Words of Jesus. So my advise to you is don't throw away Tradition so fast. In doing so you are throwing away God's Word, not men's words.
And finally, Jesus has been present in the Mass for 2,000 years, every single day in every single Mass. Jesus comes to all continents of the earth on a daily basis.
Last Saturday I attended a
Last Saturday I attended a poor parish ceremony in Santiago, Chile. About 200 parishioners celebrated their holy deceased pastor, Fr. Esteban Gumucio, the author and composer of the song "On the Road to Emaus" which is sung world wide now. He composed many other profoundly compassionate songs. People sung them, in a video the cancer sick priest said goodbye to his bethren. He lived poorly, in love with Jesus, faithful to his sheep, whom he tended heroically. The spirit of inclusion and joy was felt in spite of the winter cold and thanks to the coffee pots. Not everybody was Catholic. But all were taken by his spirit of service in simpicity. There was no dwelling on laws or rules but on the spirit, as Jesus preached. So sometimes, one has to look towards the poorest to see where the future lies. Towards the parousia we all go, Vatican and questioners alike.
Are you sure that Pastor
Are you sure that Pastor Gumucio was an authentic Roman Catholic presbyter?
Rome's arrogant, imperial, "orthodox" behavior --- including perks, pomp, and privilege all --- would suggest otherwise.
I'll endorse this presbyter's legacy over that of Bennie, any day of the week and twice on Sundays!!!
Looks like nepotism to me.
Looks like nepotism to me.
I thank the Lord for the one
I thank the Lord for the one true Catholic Church, led by the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. I wish that all of the writers in the National Catholic Reporter were obedient and loyal to the Magisterium. I truly believe that all of the recent appointments by the Holy Father will bare good fruit.
Obedience to Christ and His Church brings liberation.
And here I thought all along
And here I thought all along that Walter Kasper was a theologian.
Uh, JP, you seem to have
Uh, JP, you seem to have things a little backwards. You want to dump "returning to the central teachings of the gospels" as Protestantism, while pushing the Latin Mass. Wonder where Jesus would fit into your theory. As I recall, he didn't speak Latin but preached what we know as the gospels.
The orthodox/exclusive/circle-the-wagons folks are certainly missing the message. Come, Holy Spirit!
Men gossip too, Priests,
Men gossip too, Priests, bishops, cardinals, the pope, archbishops get together and gossip too. They too can spread rumours, talk destructively of each other, repeat lies and slanders.
Prieldedi, men including clergy, gossip too. So to claim women can not be ordained because only "women gossip" is ludicrous.
Bishops, Cardinals, the Pope
Bishops, Cardinals, the Pope and Archbishops do not share confessions heard. After 2000 years -and who knows how many millions of confessions heard by priests-, from emperors, kings and queens to presidents, generals and Popes... not once has been recorded of a priest breaking his oath to keep the confession to himself. Even if a murderer confesses to a priest of a crime, the priest can't tell who the murderer is. This speaks volumes to keep things as they are. If it's not broken, don't fix it.
In a marriage between a man and woman in which one of them is a priest, I believe that sometime in the confidence of their marriage that oath will be broken at the insistence of the other spouse.
The main reason not to ordain women as priests is not gossip, I just used it as an illustration. I could have used as an example a priestess in a parish where she's the only priest available, who is in labor and at the same someone is dying and wants to confess. She can't be there and the person probably dies without confessing. A single male priest goes anywhere, anytime, anyone needs him. But the main reason why the Church doesn't ordain women is because Jesus, surrounded by many women Himself, chose only men to be priests. He knew better than any of us. We should trust Him.
Post new comment