Posted on 04/17/2005 1:42:35 PM PDT by sinkspur
After a week of nonstop reports that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s papal prospects were being pushed by prelates in search of doctrinal continuity with John Paul II, the man widely recognized as the theological czar’s leading opponent in the Roman Curia came forward and called on the faithful to not pine for a “clone” of John Paul II.
In a candid sermon before hundreds at Santa Maria in Trastevere, Cardinal Walter Kasper of Germany aimed to debunk perceptions that John Paul’s legacy should be seen as a litmus test for future popes.
“Just as it is forbidden to clone others, it is not possible to clone pope John Paul II,” Kasper said. “Every pope ministers in his own way, according to the demands of his era. No one was ever simply a copy of his predecessor.”
Italian newspapers are reporting that a dominant faction of John Paul loyalists has emerged in the College of Cardinals and picked Ratzinger as their front-runner. Reform-minded moderates, meanwhile, have failed to unite behind a single candidate.
On Saturday Corriere della Sera of Milan described Kasper as a core member of the moderate wing that is now moving to block Ratzinger’s candidacy.
As the head of the Vatican’s ecumenical affairs office, Kasper has openly sparred with Ratzinger over the years. He was a vocal critic of Ratzinger’s Dominus Iesus, a document that reasserted the superiority of Catholicism over other faiths and Christian denominations. He has also called for curial reform and decentralization of Vatican power, positions that contrast sharply with Ratzinger’s autocratic reputation.
Rivalry between the two Germans can be traced back to their native country when Kasper, as a bishop in Rottenburg-Stuttgart, backed a pastoral letter encouraging divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to take sacraments. Ratzinger, already John Paul’s theological watchdog, rejected the letter.
Some Vatican watchers consider Kasper a dark horse candidate for the papacy. Since John Paul’s death, many cardinals have identified curial reform and collegiality as top concerns. Kasper is highly regarded for the combination of pastoral and curial experience he brings to the conclave.
Although Kasper is known as an atypically open curial official, he has kept a low profile since John Paul’s death. According to a spokesman for the Community of St. Egidio, a progressive religious movement that organized Saturday’s Mass, Kasper was scheduled to officiate at Santa Maria in Trastevere two months ago, prior to John Paul’s final health crisis.
On Saturday, Kasper opened his sermon with candid reflections. “It’s easy to guess what I’m thinking about. We are about to elect a new pope in next week’s conclave,” he said. While Kasper was cautious to avoid going into description on the next pope, he concentrated a large portion of his homily on the importance of finding a candidate with strong pastoral skills—a quality that some say Ratzinger lacks.
“Like the Gospel says, the pastor needs familiarity, mutual caring and reciprocal trust between him and his flock,” Kasper said. “Let’s not search for someone who is too scared of doubt and secularity in the modern world.”
Earlier Saturday, the Vatican’s official spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls continued to deny the existence of pre-conclave politicking. In a characteristically terse statement that announced the closing of the General Congregation, he reported that the rapport between the cardinals’ at the daily pre-conclave meetings had been “one of great familiarity.”
“That allowed them to find great consensus on the general themes faced in the discussions,” he said, adding: “I can also confirm that in no congregation were names ever brought up.”
GO RATZINGER! I'm rooting for ya, babe!
Kasper = Anti-Pope = Anti-Christ ??????????
Kasper = Anti-Pope = Anti-Christ ??????????
Will his membership in the Hitler youth be enough to sway votes against him?
If I remember my history correctly,all of Germany's youth had to join. They had no choice. I can't understand who would blame him for something like that?!
Today's NY Post..has a big article, and pics of him in uniform..I'll see if I can find a link for you..
Staring in 1939, all German boys were required to join. It was not optional. If he did not join, he probably wouldn't have been shot, but would likely have been taken away from his parents.
JOSEPH RATZINGER was born in Marktl am Inn, Bavaria, in 1927, and grew up under Hitler’s shadow in the Thirties. His family was anti-Nazi, but not involved in resistance; his father, a policeman, accepted assignments in progressively smaller towns in order to stay clear of politics. The young Ratzinger drew inward, immersing himself in the florid Bavarian piety of the era. In later reflection on the war and Nazism, many German theologians of Ratzinger’s generation, such as the famed moralist Bernard Häring, saw the dangers of blind obedience as its central lesson, fuelling a reform streak in German Catholicism. Ratzinger, however, drew a different conclusion. Only a Church with a strong central authority and rock-solid doctrinal verities, he concluded, can withstand a hostile state or culture. This conviction – one he shares with Pope John Paul II – has informed much of his later Vatican career.
I don't want to be too hard on the guy. It's really easy to judge effortlessly from present vantage point, but even though resistance would have meant death, if everyone felt that resistance was thus futile, then hitler would have indeed succeeded. So, while I guess the desire for self-preservation is understandable, God bless those who didn't let that be their first consideration.
I wasn't judging him..just wondering if it could have an effect, if people need/want to find an excuse not to vote for him..I was very surprised when I read it...
I say this because I think it also reflects what I believe to be an ambivalence likely present in the Cardinals of Europe who get the vote.
From the little I understand, Ratzinger is likely not to get the nod because he might not be the flaming Socialist that the rest of them are, and not because of anything to do with his past. Especially such a distant past and one which is hard to easily render judgement on.
'Ratzinger, a staunch conservative dubbed "God's Rottweiler," has said he joined the Hitler Youth when membership became compulsory. He and his brother were later drafted but deserted. The cardinal claims he never fired a shot and that resistance would have meant death.'
I like Cardinal Arinze, but I'm not sure about his capacity to be a disciplinarian, which is what is needed now.
I guess that's a double edged sword, isn't it? It may eliminate Ratzinger, but it also eliminates Kasper, which in my mind would be a good thing.
I'm torn about how to view the whole process. Is it not political at all? That's hard for me to believe. Does the Holy Spirit do His work despite the politics? Of course, he can do anything he wants. But does He intervene with free will on such a massive scale? That's what I'm not sure of.
The Holy Spirit will only guide them if they invoke the Holy Spirit. God's permissive will allows them to reject His guidance. However, we do know that God sometimes permits evil in order to bring about a greater good to serve his perfect will. Therefor, whatever the outcome, it still is God's will.
I suppose you're right.
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