Is Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) an Opus Dei Catholic?

[Cascadian]

I really wonder if this guy is going to erase most or all of what Vatican II did to slightly reform the Catholic Church? From what I understand, he is going to be more conservative than John Paul II ever was. I have a funny feeling that the Cardinals' have chosen unwisely. In fact, I have had this same feeling about when Bush II was selected as pResident.

I think we are witnessing the Catholic Church going further backwards.


John

[politicaholic]

1. It could very well effect the future of the Catholic church...

reform and updating are essencial to relevance. If the church is no longer relevant then their usefulness and power will wain considerably. All the new pope would be doing is avoiding the inevidable.

[LdyGuique]

2. Since PJP2 named all but two of the cardinals who voted,

it's hardly surprising. While one or two liberal cardinals may have made it through the system, by the time one becomes part of the largest and most powerful "old men's club" in the world, does anyone really think that they will reform the church?

The RCC is out of step with the needs of the modern world. It has been for most of its historical past and few really think that it'll change in the future. The changes that do get made are so incremental as to be nearly non-existant.

Pope John Paul I was a reformer, but he managed to only survive 33 days into his papacy.

[Smarmie Doofus]

3. I'm not so sure that's a bad thing, really.

The church is , in essence, a totalitarian organization inspired by a totalitarian ideology. Seems to me, the smaller it gets ( in the industrialized west)... and it seems as though it WANTS to get smaller... the better off people are.

Granted, it's a complex picture, as the decline of the RC church may to some degree be fueling even nuttier and more dangerous forms of religious foolishness. But it seems as though the more common pattern is that people just outgrow it. I suspect Ratzinger will speed this process up.

[Cascadian]

4. kick

[Zynx]

5. He actually drafted much of Vatican II

I doubt he is going back on it.

Keep in mind - he and John Paul II were considered two of the "liberals" at Vatican II.

[Sapphire Blue]

6. The Vatican’s enforcer

Excerpted from the National Catholic Reporter...

The Vatican’s enforcer

Others believe Ratzinger will be remembered as the architect of John Paul’s internal Kulturkampf, intimidating and punishing thinkers in order to restore a model of church -- clerical, dogmatic and rule-bound -- many hoped had been swept away by the Second Vatican Council, the 1962-65 assembly of bishops that sought to renew Catholicism and open it to the world. Ratzinger’s campaign bears comparison to the anti-modernist drive in the early part of the century or Pius XII’s crackdown in the 1950s, critics say, but is even more disheartening because it followed a moment of such optimism and new life.

At the most basic level, many Catholics cannot escape the sense that Ratzinger’s exercise of ecclesial power is not what Jesus had in mind.

Beneath the competing analyses and divergent views, this much is certain: Ratzinger has drawn lines in the sand and wielded the tools of his office on many who cross those lines. Whether necessary prophylaxis or a naked power play, his efforts to curb dissent have left the church more bruised, more divided, than at any point since the close of Vatican II.

<snip>

His record includes:

1) Theologians disciplined, such as Fr. Charles Curran, an American moral theologian who advocates a right to public dissent from official church teaching; Fr. Matthew Fox, an American known for his work on creation spirituality; Sr. Ivone Gebara, a Brazilian whose thinking blends liberation theology with environmental concerns; and Fr. Tissa Balasuriya, a Sri Lankan interested in how Christianity can be expressed through Eastern concepts;
2) Movements blocked, such as liberation theology and, more recently, religious pluralism (the drive to affirm other religions on their own terms);
3) Progressive bishops hobbled, including Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen of Seattle, reproached by Rome for his tolerance of ministry to homosexuals and his involvement in progressive political causes, and Bishop Dom Pedro Casaldáliga of Sao Félix, Brazil, criticized for his political engagement beyond the borders of his own diocese;
4) Episcopal conferences brought to heel on issues such as inclusive language and their own teaching authority;
5) The borders of infallibility expanded, to include such disparate points as the ban on women’s ordination and the invalidity of ordinations in the Anglican church.

http://www.natcath.com/NCR_Online/archives/041699/041699a.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the Paulist Center...

Archbishop Hunthausen was the 1992 recipient of the Isaac Hecker Award for encouraging all who work within the Church to expand its commitment to justice and peace.

Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen of Seattle was recognized not only as an activist for peace and nuclear disarmament, but also for his respect for the rights of the poor, women, homosexuals, and other oppressed groups. His visionary leadership was rooted in the teachings of Vatican II and encouraged greater lay participation and leadership in the Church.

http://www.paulist.org/boston/information/hecker/awards.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am weeping. My heart is weeping. My soul is weeping.

Born into a Catholic family, baptized Catholic, I am now a ‘cafeteria Catholic’ at most, feeling that the RCC rejects & condemns people in a way that Jesus never would.

Through the years I have sporadically attended churches of various denominations, but typically pray in private...

"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

- Matthew 6:5-6


I was hoping that the Cardinals would select a pope who walked in the footsteps of Jesus... one who would be an advocate for “the least of these my brethren”. They chose Ratzinger... I can’t bring myself to call him ‘Pope’ at this time, don’t know if I ever will. Time will tell what he brings to the Papacy.

Based on the persecution of Archbishop Hunthausen (my Archbishop at the time - when I still considered myself a Catholic) I look to this new Papacy with absolute dread. This is a sad & frightening day.

Right now, I am terribly, terribly saddened. Terribly saddened.


May God / Allah / Jehovah / YHWH / the Creator / Waheguru / the One have mercy on us.

[bpilgrim]

7. who, god's rottweiler? nah... couldn't be!

peace