My previous posts on this are here
Key ones worth a visit (IMHO) are :
dot Commonweal the comments section here ( in response to Hans Kung interview with der Spiegel - full interview here.I found this next one particularly interesting because of the detailed analysis and depth of first hand knowledge shown.
It puts into perspective what happened in the church around and after Vatican II that have contributed to some of the present day problems of polarisation and power struggles in the church. It is by Gioivanni Franzoni, a former Benedictine Abbot, a Catholic theologian and an eyewitness to Vatican II. He was one of the youngest “Council Fathers” at age 36 at that time.
He gave a presentation at the 31st Congress of the “Asociacion de Teologos y Teologas Juan XXIII” in Madrid earlier this month.
The title of his presentation can be read in English here“Iglesia Descalza” (Vatican II: Lost and Betrayed).
William Lindsey's slant on things here at Bilgrimage is always worth reading.
The Franzoni article gives an excellent background summary to some of the polarisation and power struggles we are witnessing in extremis now.
Other events have also acted as a watershed e.g the evolutionary progression in law for human rights re homosexuality and women has truly made the stance of the Catholic church stad out as an abhorrent anachronism.
Kung had to speak out on this visit to Germany- his silence would have been perceived as a weakness but no surprises that he then is set upon by his opponents and kangaroo courts eager to judge and denigrate him.
For me, Kung will always be the Pope who never was but should have been! The treatment meted out to him by those who sought the tiara of power did not destroy his integrity. Whenever he puts his head above the parapet he is inevitably shot at.
I had to laugh at the spin on this article from der Spiegel which has the extract below
"Pope B XVI's speech to the German Bundestag has been the most parsed
since his arrival. Even before he got to Berlin, Vatican observers,
studying the speech on the plane on the way to Berlin, were astounded at
what they read. It was as if the old Joseph Ratzinger had returned, the
theology professor who never really wanted to become pope.
He did not mince words. He spoke about nature and reason and demanded
from the parliamentarians an increased sense of moral responsibility for
ecology and equality. It was a very political speech. It was
courageous. And it was unique."
What IS astonishing about these words of Pope Benedict here is that it is not unique at all- it is virtually taken out of the mouth of his old sparring partner Hans Kung from his book "What I Believe".
The Pope is stuck where he was back when the students started to protest in Tubingen - the threat of relativism of those times is what has haunted him ever since and it is that nightmare vision that has fixated and paralysed him from making the necessary compromises and parts of secular progress the church needs ever since.
I have made a comment on his post which I also add below.
Other events have also acted as a watershed e.g the evolutionary progression in law for human rights re homosexuality and women has truly made the stance of the Catholic church stad out as an abhorrent anachronism.
Kung had to speak out on this visit to Germany- his silence would have been perceived as a weakness but no surprises that he then is set upon by his opponents and kangaroo courts eager to judge and denigrate him.
For me, Kung will always be the Pope who never was but should have been! The treatment meted out to him by those who sought the tiara of power did not destroy his integrity. Whenever he puts his head above the parapet he is inevitably shot at.
I had to laugh at the spin on this article from der Spiegel which has the extract below
"Pope B XVI's speech to the German Bundestag has been the most parsed
since his arrival. Even before he got to Berlin, Vatican observers,
studying the speech on the plane on the way to Berlin, were astounded at
what they read. It was as if the old Joseph Ratzinger had returned, the
theology professor who never really wanted to become pope.
He did not mince words. He spoke about nature and reason and demanded
from the parliamentarians an increased sense of moral responsibility for
ecology and equality. It was a very political speech. It was
courageous. And it was unique."
What IS astonishing about these words of Pope Benedict here is that it is not unique at all- it is virtually taken out of the mouth of his old sparring partner Hans Kung from his book "What I Believe".
The Pope is stuck where he was back when the students started to protest in Tubingen - the threat of relativism of those times is what has haunted him ever since and it is that nightmare vision that has fixated and paralysed him from making the necessary compromises and parts of secular progress the church needs ever since.
Any thinking Catholic knows that secular society poses threats and Benedict cannot see that some of the people who he sees as enemies within his church are in fact the very people who could inspire and carry it forward.
I could go on.........
I could go on.........
There are some wonderful messages in the Pope's speeches so far, just as there was when he visited the UK last year but there is also a gaping hole that could be filled if only he was willing to be more adventurous and have faith at least to dialogue with those who ask for some change.
No comments:
Post a Comment