Why the Holy Father chose the name "Benedict"...?

QueenOfPeace.Ca ^ | April 12, 2005 | Zenit.org

[MadIvan]

Cardinal Ratzinger on the Banishment of God From Public Life

Receives St. Benedict Award for Promotion of Life and Family

SUBIACO, Italy, APRIL 12, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger says that believers are faced with the tendency to banish God from public life and confine him to the "subjective realm of past residual cultures."

On April 1, when receiving the St. Benedict Award for the Promotion of Life and the Family in Europe, conferred by the Subiaco Foundation for Life and the Family, the dean of the College of Cardinals delivered an address on the present crisis of culture and identity, especially in the Old World.

After stating that "moral force has not grown apace with the development of science but, on the contrary, has diminished," Cardinal Ratzinger explained that "the most serious danger at this time is precisely the imbalance between technical possibilities and moral energy."

He gave two examples: the threat of terrorism and the possibility to manipulate the origin of human life.

The then prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith—almost all heads of Vatican dicasteries lost their posts when John Paul II died— pointed out that "Europe has developed a culture that, in a way previously unknown to humanity, excludes God from the public consciousness, either by denying him altogether or by judging that his existence cannot be demonstrated, is uncertain and, therefore, somewhat irrelevant to public life."

An attempt is being made "to build the human community absolutely without God," the cardinal stressed.

"The rejection of reference to God is not an expression of tolerance which wishes to protect non-theist religions and the dignity of atheists and agnostics, but rather an expression of the desire to see God banished definitively from humanity's public life, and driven into the subjective realm of residual cultures of the past," he warned.

For the cardinal, the starting point of this view is "relativism," which has become "a dogmatism that believes it is in possession of the definitive knowledge of reason, and with the right to regard all the rest as a stage of humanity, which has basically been surpassed, and which can be suitably relativized."

At this rate, Cardinal Ratzinger added, we will no longer "be able to affirm that homosexuality, as the Catholic Church teaches, is an objective disorder of the structure of human existence."

"The fact that the Church is convinced of not having the right to confer priestly ordination on women, is now considered by some as irreconcilable with the European Constitution," he added.

In the final part of his address, Cardinal Ratzinger explained that "we need roots to survive and we must not lose them from sight if we do not want human dignity to disappear."

"Only creative reason, which has been manifested in the crucified God as love, can really show us the way," he said. "We need men who will keep their sight on God, learning there" what "true humanity" is, as "only through men touched by God, can God again be close to men." ZE05041102

[Dutchgirl]

but rather an expression of the desire to see God banished definitively from humanity's public life

If there is no God, then there is no standard, and if there is no standard, everything IS relative...I've had this quote running through my head all week..."Hypocrisy is the homage vice pays to virtue."

[dangus]

>> It's no wonder that the Left is chewing the carpet at this point. <<

Shame on you! Not all liberals are lesbians, Ivan. :^D

[MadIvan]

I have been thinking about Peggy Noonan's article about John Paul the Great's visit to Poland, and how the Poles cried out, "We want God". I think it's a common cry here, we want God. It's a common cry from humanity, "We want God". Only the Left, which seeks to make man's lusts and passions "God", does not want God. They just got informed (again) that God is here anyway.

Regards, Ivan

[Born Conservative]

Bump for later.

[stm]

Pope Benedict XVI, while still a Cardinal, spoke out very harshly on "religious relativism", something that seems to become more and more popular in today's world, especially with our neighbors to the north and in Europe. And don't forget the Socialist State of Kalifornia.

A perfect example is homosexuality. The gays want to make gayness into shades of gray, in an attempt to legitimize their deviant and mortally sinful lifestyle. But there are no shades of gray when it comes to homosexuality and the Bible, both in the Old and New Testament.

This is one thing that made Pope John Paul II very unpopular with a lot of liberals and will no doubt make Pope Benedict XVI unpopular as well. He spoke in absolutes on certain topics, gays, abortion, divorce and adultery to name just four. Things that are ok if you are a lefty.

The DUmmies are already slamming him, calling him one of the Hitler Youth.

[MadIvan]

The DUmmies are already slamming him, calling him one of the Hitler Youth.

They should be frightened. Yet another bastion did not fall. The tide is against them, and everything they believe.

Regards, Ivan

[lugsoul]

"[H]omosexuality, as the Catholic Church teaches, is an objective disorder of the structure of human existence."

No irony there. No, not at all. None.

[Fam4Bush]

Thanks for the post, Ivan. Some great quotes to help us see his heart.....I like him already!

[foreverfree]

bump

[Pyro7480]

It isn't ironic at all. Members of the Church on earth are imperfect beings, are they not?

[N. Theknow]

Hmmm.

So let me see what we have here.....

1. These words of truth from the new Pope.

2. A homosexual Bishop from the Presiding Bishop and the en-fricking-tire House of Bishops of ECUSA

3. A threat by the Episcopal Bishop of CT to defrock six priests in Connecticut for not throwing away the teachings of Scripture and embracing homosexuals as priests, Bishops and church officers. (It's not that there are six who are threatened, it is that there are ONLY SIX!)

Hmmm?

Why am I still an Episcopalian?

[MadIvan]

The more I learn about him, the more I like him - he is a powerful ally in the moral redemption of the West.

Regards, Ivan

[MadIvan]

Why am I still an Episcopalian?

No idea. But you are welcome in the Catholic Church.

Regards, Ivan

[siunevada]

as the Catholic Church teaches

No irony there. No, not at all. None.

What? You never ignored your teacher's instructions? Teaching is one thing, actually living it out is another.

[Pyro7480]

You have an interesting background for being a Catholic. ;-)

[cripplecreek]

Michael Medved has some real winners calling his show today on this subject as well.

[MadIvan]

My parents, in their wisdom, decided I should go to a Catholic school as a lad. And that has stayed with me. Ironically, I now live near what used to be the centre of the Catholic aristocracy in England.

Regards, Ivan

[Tribune7]

He did it to mess with Hal Lindsay's head.

[siunevada]

Why am I still an Episcopalian?

A good Prayer Book and good singing?

[Southack]

The "Pope Benedict" name has an interesting history for today, as the previous Pope Benedict attempted to mediate an end to the horrors of the stalemated trench warfare of the First World War that killed an entire generation of French, British, Germans, and Russians.

A war that was only able to be ended by a mobile American Army, going all the way over to Europe to do what the Europeans themselves could not.

So such a Pope's name recognizes the current global war on terror, America's role, and what part the Church should play.