Rock Star Abbot Doesn't Believe in Pope Benedict and Bishop Mixa

The Eponymous Flower ^ | 08/07/2010 | Tancred

[0beron]

[Radio Vatikan]The Abbot Primate of the Benedictines, Notker Wolf, warns of a slanted view of the Church. He said this to a group of mass servers from his Bavarian homeland on Tuesday from the Benedictine Center of Saint Anselmo.

"What has bothered me the whole time: everything depends on the Pope and Mixa -- I don't believe either in the Pope or in Mixa, rather Jesus Christ, and that is final! That the Church is human, let us not be mistaken -- it was always thus. And we are indeed only human. But I believe, it is completely important that we see: We believe in the Church and we believe in Jesus Christ! And the Pope is just in the Church is -- but he's also a man at the head. He can't do everything..."

Abbot Notker advised that Catholics should not nurture an illusory, withdrawn image of the Church. Notker is also famous a Rock Musician and Bestselling Author: "We always want a Church beyond the clouds, almost without body and soul."

[arkady_renko]

And they (Benedictines) wonder why they are not able to get vocations? Why bother? Just be a rock star(?!) and go away into the luke warm oblivion of mediocrity.

[Legatus]

Well that's fine, I don't believe in Notker Wolf so it balances out.

Is he really saying he doesn't believe in the Pope the way some people don't believe in the moon landing? Surely not. But if not then what is he talking about? He goes on to say "but rather Jesus Christ" which is a lot like say "wow, the sky is blue and the grass is green, I'm stunned".

I like the way the abbot is shown to pause as he realizes he's about to talk himself out of his job "the Pope is just in the Church is (DANGER WILL ROBINSON!) but he's also a man at the head (phew! missed it by THAT much)."

How stupid does he think we really are? Newsflash Abbot, the laity have known the pope and the bishops aren't God for a long time.

[Running On Empty]

:-)

[arkady_renko]

St. Benedict would take this guy to the woodshed.

I have a friend who is a Benedictine priest. I love him dearly, but his monastery is dying. Literally. The old monks there became mired in the 60's anti-war movement and Vatican II was interpreted to mean the Catholic Church was nothing special.

They are mostly aging hippies, mostly politically liberal, mostly passing away each month, mostly breaking my heart. They have nothing that distinguishes them from a Unitarian commune -- no vocations are attracted there anymore.

Extremely troubling to me personally.

[0beron]

“And they (Benedictines) wonder why they are not able to get vocations? Why bother? Just be a rock star(?!) and go away into the luke warm oblivion of mediocrity.”

Check out Still River, Clear Creek in the USA and Solesmes, Le Barrouw and Fontgambault in France.

[0beron]

http://www.barroux.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fontgombault_Abbey

http://en.gloria.tv/?keyword=fontgambault

A new house of Traditional Benedictines in Nursia as well:

http://eponymousflower.blogspot.com/2010/04/benedictine-monks-restore-abbey-at.html

[arkady_renko]

Thanks for that. I’ll give a look at these tonight.

[Larry Lucido]

I believe...

...I'll have a drink.

[SuziQ]

Yeah, the Monks of Weston Priory, in VT, probably feel the same way about the Pope. When we were up there in the mid-80s, there was precious little literature about the teachings of the Church, but quite a bit of anti-nuke and peace literature, and anti-Reagan sentiment.

We attended a Sunday Mass there, and after EVERYONE(the group was largely tourists on their Fall Leaf Peeping vacations) was invited to come to Holy Communion, the monks danced a whirling dervish, I guess as some form of liturgical dance. We never went back, though the monastery was in a beautiful, and very peaceful location.