Posted on 07/29/2005 9:54:14 AM PDT by NYer
ROME, Italy, July 28, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In the conclusion of Cardinal Ratzinger’s lecture, now Pope Benedict XVI, delivered on April 1st, the eve of John Paul II’s death, the then Cardinal strongly denounced the European Enlightenment culture and its increasing dogmatism against religion, Christianity and freedom.
The Cardinal expressed his belief that the reasons given by the architects of the EU Constitution for excluding God from the document—that the mention of God or recognition of the Christian roots of the continent might offend those of other religions—doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.
“The affirmation that the mention of the Christian roots of Europe injures the sentiments of many non-Christians who are in Europe, is not very convincing, given that it relates, first of all, to an historical fact that no one can seriously deny…It is not the mention of God that offends those who belong to other religions, but rather the attempt to build the human community absolutely without God,” said the Cardinal.
Instead, Ratzinger continued, it is obvious that the exclusion of religion from the public sphere is rather the result of the imposition of Enlightenment dogma, which dogma falsely professes the ideals of freedom and tolerance. Indeed, one of the inevitable consequences of what Ratzinger called the ‘Culture of Rights’, as divorced from its Judeo-Christian roots, is that “the concept of discrimination is ever more extended, and so the prohibition of discrimination can be increasingly transformed into a limitation of the freedom of opinion.”
“Very soon,” said the Cardinal in a chilling prophesy that is already coming to fulfillment in many Western nations, including Canada, “it will not be possible to state that homosexuality, as the Catholic Church teaches, is an objective disorder in the structuring of human existence.”
According to Ratzinger it is “obvious that the ill-defined or undefined concept of freedom, which is at the base of this culture, inevitably entails contradictions…A confused ideology of freedom leads to dogmatism, which is showing itself increasingly hostile to freedom.”
Ratzinger concluded by expressing his strong doubt that the Enlightenment culture will ever provide a common cause for men. “We have to ask ourselves,” says the Cardinal, “if it is really complete in itself, to the degree that it has no need of a root outside itself.” The implied answer, of course, is no, the Enlightenment culture without the firm foundation of Europe’s roots in Christianity can only devolve into a pseudo and dogmatic religion, ultimately restrictive of freedom.
Cardinal Ratzinger On Europe's Crisis of Culture (Part 1) The "God"less Society
Cardinal Ratzinger On Europe's Crisis of Culture (Part 2) - "Dogmatism"
It is not, it is a disgusting blight on mankind, a sin, and an afront to God.
thank you"NYer"
No longer practicing....But I have to admire how this man is steering the boat.
he doesn't quite connect with the everyday joe like JPii, but I do agree with him. i think.
"There are those who hate Christianity and call their hatred an all-embracing love for all religions." GK Chesterton
BTW, I sure hope that Fr Frank has a talk with Senator Frist. He not only turned his head against the president but more importantly, turned it on the culture of life as well.
I'm very disappointed in his new stand on stem cell research.
"There are those who hate Christianity and call their hatred an all-embracing love for all religions." GK Chesterton
Gotta love ole Chesterton!
He is complaining that Europeans are no longer free to accurately describe homosexual activity as objectively disordered, but are being forced to accept it as "normal."
Succinctly and powerfully stated. Thank you Pope Benedict.
That is an incredibly powerful statement!
Secularism restricts freedom -- I love it!
Great quotes!
homosexuality
adj 1: morally reprehensible; "would do something as despicable as murder"; "ugly crimes"; "the vile development of slavery appalled them" [syn: despicable, ugly, unworthy] 2: thoroughly unpleasant; "filthy (or foul or nasty or vile) weather we're having" [syn: filthy, foul, nasty] 3: causing or able to cause nausea; "a nauseating smell"; "nauseous offal"; "a sickening stench" [syn: nauseating, nauseous, noisome, loathsome, offensive, sickening]
Pope Benedict just gets better and better! Thank you Holy Spirit for guiding the conclave!
Over the years I have chosen to dump the technical langauage or reasons of homosexuality and just call it what it is. I am getting lazy and less PC aware the older I get.
My wife albeit a conservative ( not as much a me ) is a psychologist and we have rather heated arguments over genetic versus learned behavior.
Hitler and Stalin did the exact same thing EUrope is doing : scrubbing God from the public consciousness in preperation for severely limiting the freedom to speak or do anything. It's state authorized thought control.
No dictator can control the masses without first controlling their hearts and minds.
Great post. Thank-you Rapsinger for stating the obvious. This Pope will get me in church more often.
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