Posted on 02/03/2014 11:37:02 AM PST by ebb tide
She wanted to convert. She listened to Cardinal Ratzinger and died a Lutheran.
Sigrid Spath was the most famous German translator in Rome. She worked in the Jesuit General House, and then in the Vatican, since the days of Paul VI and translated around 70,000 pages of documents from Italian, French, English, Spanish or Polish into German, as well as several texts by Joseph Ratzinger, as Cardinal or Pope, as he also wrote original texts in Italian. The granddaughter of a Lutheran pastor, Spath was born in Villach, Carinthia (Austria), on August 1, 1939 (that is, just one month before the war), and she died this Sunday, February 2, 2014, in Rome.
May she rest in peace.
Now, the information above comes from the Vatican Radio article on Sigrid Spath, from which we have chosen this remarkable excerpt:
Sigrid Spath translated in these cases [documents written by the Pope in Italian] the German Pope into German. One of her favorite books was Ratzinger's "Introduction to Christianity", dozens of copies of which she gave to Protestant students visiting Rome.
As Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger charged her personally with the German version of particularly sensitive documents, such as his response to the objections of Protestant theologians to the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification of 1999. It was also Cardinal Ratzinger who, according to her own testimony, advised Sigrid Spath to remain a Protestant, and not to convert to the Catholic Church, as she had considered in a moment of crisis. She could do more for both churches if she remained a Protestant, said the Cardinal. The Carinthian remained in the Protestant Christuskirche in Rome [the Evangelical-Lutheran community of Rome] throughout her life.
Note: Life-changing decisions should be avoided, if possible, in moments of distress and personal crisis, when reflection and meditation are impossible. But the justification presented by the Cardinal for why she should permanently remain a Protestant obviously influenced her in a permanent way, so that she felt compelled to declare it to others openly.
I love how that document which was meant to clarify the VII documents only proved just how VII was a hermeneutic of rupture rather than one of continuity.
Rather it is better to do the English translation that would really help.
“It firmly believes, professes and preaches that all those who are outside the catholic church, not only pagans but also Jews or heretics and schismatics, cannot share in eternal life and will go into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless they are joined to the catholic church before the end of their lives; that the unity of the ecclesiastical body is of such importance that only for those who abide in it do the church’s sacraments contribute to salvation and do fasts, almsgiving and other works of piety and practices of the Christian militia produce eternal rewards; and that nobody can be saved, no matter how much he has given away in alms and even if he has shed his blood in the name of Christ, unless he has persevered in the bosom and the unity of the catholic church.”
http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Councils/ecum17.htm
Oops.
Ok, my apologies. Now do you have an answer to the question, itself?
Do you believe in salvation outside the Catholic Church? Keep in mind this is a dogma of the Church.
“The Church has called non-Catholics heretics, infidels, and the like for hundreds of years. All of a sudden this is no longer true?”
It really burns me up when Catholics call me a heretic.
If they continue along this path, the hierarchy will eventually ecumenicize themselves out of a job. :) That is the logical consequence of all their aimless "dialoguing". Ironically, they have turned "ecumenism" (originally a Protestant concept) into an assortment of job opportunities within the Church. For instance, Cardinal O'Malley employs ecumenism specialists in his " Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs".
When will we get a pope that will return the Church to its 1960 year old ways?
Perhaps when those who have a personal stake either as instigators or as followers of the destructive "novelties" and are still determinedly working to suppress Catholic Tradition pass away. I have heard that 25% of ordinations in France are now of traditional priests. And a grass roots revival of Tradition is forming among the laity, despite the efforts of the ecumaniacal hierarchy to suppress it.
Ecumaniacs doing their thing:
Vatican II overturned nothing. It was purely a pastoral council, the first of its kind. It should be ignored by Catholics and Protestants’s alike for it declared no new doctrine but, instead, cast doubt on 2000 years of doctrine.
LMAO.
Ecumaniacs. I love it.
Overturn? No, not “clearly”. Just a lot of purposeful ambiguity so one could say it really didn’t overturn anything. However, there is a hermeneutic of rupture for sure. And it’s leading souls to hell.
I would like to congratulate you on your cognizance of the problems within the Catholic Church today. Unlike Catholics who keep their heads in the sand, you recognize the rupture in the so-called “hermeneutic of continuity”, something that hasn’t even been acknowledged by the last few popes.
May God remove the veil from their eyes.
Catholics who ARE Catholic KNOW that the SSOPX schismatics need to convert to Catholicism. Do you?
Make that SSPX.
I think faithful Catholics and Evangelical Protestants have much more in common than that which divides us. We need each other. Anyone who claim Jesus as Lord and Savior will be saved. The rest is window dressing.
Who mentioned the SSPX on this thread?
some of it is window dressing.
some of it is extemely important differences in beliefs. some points deal with a person’s final destination.
not mere window dressing.
I don't think any conservative Protestant church pays attention to it. The liberal Protestants likely are heartened by it.
It should be by Catholics, but it won't be because of the hierarchy of Catholicism. It sure appears that the Pope has cast doubt on some Catholic dogma. Doubt means indecision not something valued by a command structure. Obviously from the threads here it has certainly disheartened the traditional wing.
Going forward into its 49th year it doesn't seem like it is losing steam. Since the Council only Cardinals that participated have become Pope. The long term outlook for those wishing for the old days don't look promising.
Vatican II overturned nothing...... instead, cast doubt on 2000 years of doctrine.
I'd argue about the 2000 years, but an honest appraisal says that it did indeed change things.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.