Breaking News: Vatican, bishops investigating Georgetown theologian Phan
Print Friendly VersionBy JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
New York
Both the Vatican and the U.S. bishops are investigating a book by a prominent American Catholic theologian, Vietnam-born Fr. Peter Phan of Georgetown University. The book raises issues about the uniqueness of Christ and the church, issues that were also behind recent censures of other high-profile theologians, as well as a recent Vatican declaration that the fullness of the Christian church resides in Catholicism alone.
The case confirms that no subject is of greater doctrinal concern for church authorities, including Pope Benedict XVI, than what they see as “religious relativism,” meaning the impression that Christ is analogous to other religious figures such as the Buddha, or that Christianity is one valid spiritual path among others.
[Editor's note: Read more in John Allen's Friday column: Why is Fr. Peter Phan under investigation?]
Critics of writers such as Phan, who offer a positive theological evaluation of non-Christian religions, assert that their work courts confusion on these points, while others believe church authorities are drawing the borders of theological discussion too narrowly.
Phan, a priest of the Dallas diocese, is a former president of the Catholic Theological Society of America. The book in question is Phan’s 2004 Being Religious Interreligiously, published by Orbis.
Sources who asked not to be identified said that Phan received a July 2005 letter from the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine for the Faith signed by Archbishop Angelo Amato, the congregation’s number two official. It presented 19 observations under six headings, charging that Phan’s book “is notably confused on a number of points of Catholic doctrine and also contains serious ambiguities.”
The letter said the book is in tension with the 2000 Vatican document Dominus Iesus, which states that non-Christians are “in a gravely deficient situation in comparison with those who, in the church, have the fullness of the means of salvation.”
The congregation asked Phan to write an article correcting the problems identified in Amato’s letter, and to instruct Orbis not to reprint his book. Phan wrote back in April 2006 offering to comply under certain conditions, and, according to sources, to date has not had a response.
Last May, Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., chair of the Committee on Doctrine for the U.S. bishops, also wrote Phan to indicate that the Vatican had asked his committee to examine the book, and that it wanted Phan to respond to an enclosed three-page set of observations. Lori indicated that the committee “feels obliged to publish its own statement.”
In a subsequent letter dated June 20, Lori indicated that his committee’s examination is separate from that of the Vatican.
According to sources who have seen the correspondence, the central issues flagged both by the Vatican and the U.S. bishops are:
- Christ as the unique and universal savior of the world;
- The role and function of the Catholic church in salvation;
- The saving value of non-Christian religions.
All three issues are core concerns of Benedict XVI, who led the doctrinal congregation when Dominus Iesus was published. Those concerns were also at the heart of previous censures of theologians such as the late Jesuit Fr. Jacques Dupuis of Belgium, as well as Jesuit Frs. Roger Haight of the United States and Jon Sobrino of El Salvador.
Phan declined comment on this story. Sr. Mary Ann Walsh, a spokesperson for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, confirmed Sept. 12 that the Committee on Doctrine has contacted Phan, and said “the dialogue is on-going.”
The Catholic Church is not
The Catholic Church is not being exclusive when it says to follow Him, only when it says to follow the Church (as Pope Benedict XVI recently reiterated, the Church teaches that obedience to the Church is the same as obedience to God). Given that Christ founded the Church upon Peter, who was not perfect, this seems to be flawed guidance, and those of us who cannot in good conscience follow this guidance to unquestioningly obey the Church are thereby excluded from the Church despite our being part of the body of Christ.
I think we all miss your point as it relates to the theologian Phan's writings. His writings seem at worst to attribute more divinity to other religions than they themselves do, but He does not diminish or dismiss anything Catholic in doing this.
The Incarnation is the
The Incarnation is the Incarnation is the Incarnation of God's TRUTH...
God's church - The Body of Christ - is as multiplicitous and diverse as God's own Self-revelation in a continuous outpouring of a Divine Love so immense that one can only marvel in awe at the beauty of it.
Jesus lived, died, and ROSE again to show us this.
Why is this so hard for you to accept? Why do you want to put God's Love in a tiny, little made-up box?
The Rev. Dr. E. McCoy
"Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our ancestors?" (Malachi 2:10)
I tried to talk myself out
I tried to talk myself out of replying to this one, but I guess I didn't listen to myself - again! At the risk of sounding like Pontius Pilate, I must ask you, "what is truth?" Jn 18:38. You seem to use truth to define itself, not a very good rule of logic or debate. The evangelist John and his followers in their writing use the image or idea of "truth" as well as light, love, and life. In the Johannine Community, the symbolic nature of the language was meant to transfer these concepts synonmously. The Jesus Christ of this community is not one whose objective was to found a church. It was to communicate the love of the Father. Humans create human institutions because we know no other or better way to organize. Sometimes we run the risk of suffocating grace and believing in religions more than living a God centered, spirit-filled life.
The love of the God of Jesus Christ does give us the gift of free will. What I have learned from Fr. Phan is that when we have been conditioned through religions that have been inbreed in our families and communities and choose love over hatred, the God of Jesus Christ is pleased that our spirit has learned the eternal truth of love, for those who know love, know God.
1 John 2:4-5 "Whoever says, 'I know him,' but does not keep his commandments [commandment of love] is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him."
P.S. "The True Church of Christ" sounds very Protestant.
If I may be so bold, father,
If I may be so bold, father, as to reply on behalf of anne...
"If one says of what is that it is, or of what is not that it is not, he speaks truth." (taken from Between Heaven and Hell by Kreeft, attributed to Aristotle by way of C.S.Lewis) In other words truth is what really is.
Or we can use the biblical definition "I AM the ... Truth..." (makes Pontius Pilate look a bit the fool if you catch the pun, he didn't recognize the Truth when it stood before him.)
The Jesus of the Catholic Church (which is what the whole issue boils down to) did indeed found a Church (Mt 16:18), to communicate the love of the Father, the Presence of the Son, and the wisdom of the Spirit through the ages.
telcontar
P.S. Father, what sounds Protestant in the phrase "the true Church of Christ" is the redundancy, the true Church is the Church of Christ (who is truth). It ought to be sufficient to say the true Church, but emphasis for effect is a common enough rhetorical tool.
It may be that Pontius
It may be that Pontius Pilate didn't recognize the Truth when He stood before him because he was blinded by his own version of truth. When blinded by 'self' evident truth, one frequently misses out on non 'self' evident truth.
What if in Mt 16:18 Jesus was being sarcastic?
Why am I not surprised the
Why am I not surprised the you (here today, aka telcontar) would be the one to bring up Mt.16:18! I knew it was a matter of time. I must thank you for keeping me on my toes and helping me to remember what I learned in CUA about scripture.
The word church (Greek - "ekklesia") only appears in the Gospel according to Matthew, and even there only 3 times (Mt.18:17) is the other place. Jesus' "church" means the community that will gather and that, like a building, will have Peter as its solid foundation. This is also to be understood in the context of the Matthean Community which was comprised mainly of Jewish Christians. Therefore, the "ekklesia" was already an established sect. The function of Peter consists in his being witness to Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. The Matthean Community, or rather the Gospel according to Matthew, was primarily written for a Jewish audience and perpetuated the idea of the Jews as the chosen people and therefore saw people as either in or out. Luke is more inclusive and John is more theological. Mark and the Q source are primary sources.
As a "Catholic Church" what do we want to be? Witnesses or Judges?
P.S. True Church of Christ still sounds Protestant!!!
Thanks, *jstab*, for a
Thanks, *jstab*, for a beautifully literate and contextually sophisticated exegesis! Would that all those claiming a 'literal' understanding would learn from this. Then, the rich plurality of scripture sharing would be a genuine witness.
The Rev. Dr. E. McCoy
"Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our ancestors?" (Malachi 2:10)
Hi Annie I noticed you moved
Hi Annie I noticed you moved you post from the other Fr. Phan thread to over here. So I figured I share my response to it over here too.
http://ncrcafe.org/node/1334
Hi Anne, God's Blessings be
Submitted by joer on September 28, 2007 - 5:53am.
Hi Anne, God's Blessings be with You.
May the Peace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ be your constant companion.
I couldn't helped but be moved with your post. You know for us (Christians) what you say is perfectly fine. But If we are truly Christians we will want to Love others as Christ Loved us. If we do that as Mother Teresa Did and as Father Phan reminds us of doing than we will truly be Our Lord and Master's Children. Ours is not convert others to our truth. For within our truth we are told to love our enemies, our adversaries, people of all faiths. And when we do that even as Mother Teresa did that, then we are truly LIVING in the Spirit of God as Our Truth Teacher, Jesus taught us. So I posted this on another thread on Father Phan and I'd like to share with you Anne, to see what you think. The Thing is Father Phan isn't saying Jesus isn't the Truth.
He is saying LIVE and BE the Truth that Jesus Taught. :-)
Mother Teresa DID just that in Living her life, just what Father Phan is suggesting theologically as well. Look at 1 Timothy 2:4 and Titus 2:11. It basically says what father Phan said about, "salvation through God’s saving Grace". Look at what Mother Teresa said about salvation for other faiths:
- In her book, Life in the Spirit: Reflections, Meditations, and Prayers, "Mother" Teresa says on pp. 81-82:
"We never try to convert those who receive [aid from Missionaries of Charity] to Christianity but in our work we bear witness to the love of God's presence and if Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, or agnostics become for this better men -- simply better -- we will be satisfied. It matters to the individual what church he belongs to. If that individual thinks and believes that this is the only way to God for her or him, this is the way God comes into their life -- his life. If he does not know any other way and if he has no doubt so that he does not need to search then this is his way to salvation."
The more we discover how much we are Loved by God, the more we want to do God's Will
One might argue that the
One might argue that the Catholic Church PLUS the other Christian churches (or ecclesial communities, if the CC gets to define "church") are the one Church founded by Jesus Christ, and that while the Catholic Church has the most elements in it, it is not the one Church in and of itself.
One could argue that very
One could argue that very well, Marie R., which is one of the good reasons why the church should abstract its language more in this discussion. Sometimes the catholic church's problem is that it tries to get into specific or technical language or uses a bad choice of metaphors or other such flaw to base its thinking on, often peculiar to "who's on first" at the time, and this would be one of those instances. Catholic identity, whatever it is that people are after, is an okay thing, but not--like most things--when dragged off into the extreme. We have to ask again, in one heart with the Jesus of the Scriptures, is this what Jesus would want, is this what Jesus would do? Doesn't seem to be his message. If we look at the variety of churches and their emphases, of why they developed the way they did or why they split off or were split off, we actually do get that fuller expression of the human response to the Incarnation.
I have just read this
I have just read this article, Praying to the Buddha, in Commonweal and I think Fr Phan does not understand his Catholicism. Buddha is a good man not a "holy man." When Christians entered temples in ancient Rome or Greece and saw large statues of the god or gods they must have felt awe and a religious experience. When my English ancestors worshiped Herne the Hunter or Frika they must have been moved by a religious impulse. Of course they were mistaken or just doing the best they could given culture and religious insight. They were wrong none the less. Buddha was a philosopher. Buddhism has good in it yes. However Jesus asked for Faith in Him. He is he ultimate revelation of God and is God.
Fr Phan is following a rather ancient error. He wants to water down the Catholic Faith and create a rather inconsistent and contrary Vietnamese or Asian mutation calling it the Gospel. The synthesis of culture and religon takes time. In Vietnam Buddhism influences and forms culture. However Buddhism is not salvic. God judges Buddhists according to virtue and their goodness. They are in a sense blind as our own ancestors were and should not be treated with disdain. Yet there can be no mixing no adoption. Father Phan is a product of his being in the USA and Vietnamese yet not in Vietnam. It is his duty to transmit the Gospel faithfully to Asia not mutate it.
Thank you Deesis. It’s
Thank you Deesis. It’s very nice to meet you. I pray that you continue to be graced by the presence of God in your life.
While I have some differences in opinion of the Father Phan article. I have to say I am impressed with your openness to review and share ideas weather you agree with them or not. It shows courage in your Faith that you are not afraid. To examine and talk about how you see things. The link you provided is actually the first thing written by Father Phan that I have read And I really enjoyed it I don’t think he is presenting a watered down version of the Gospel at least not in this piece. I found that he was actually encouraging people to LIVE the gospel as Jesus taught it. Jesus taught us that we were to share this life saving gospel about the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood and sisterhood of humankind to ALL peoples. Many scriptures point to that. He said his teachings were not just for the Jews.
Paul took that instruction literally and brought the gospel of Jesus to all people, even though he may have infused a bit of his own personal religion into it. That’s hard not to do. We are personal people with distinct personalities and that always comes through.
Now when Father Phan says, “It is only within the dialogues of life, action, and religious experience that one can obtain an accurate gauge of the relative importance-or, to use an expression of Vatican II, the “hierarchy of truths”-of these doctrines.”
He is talking about nothing less than Living your Faith. As Jesus and the apostles and followers of Christ taught us. And what many people forget is that Jesus didn’t come to proclaim Himself God. He came to bring the good news of a Loving God for all. He came so that we would know the Father. He ALWAYS deferred in ALL things to God the Father. And He made it abundantly clear that for us to Honor and Worship the Father we had to Love one another as God loves us. And he made himself an example of God’s infinite Love for us in the Way he live His Life of Service to humankind.
Now it’s our turn. To love one another regardless of faith and that seems to be the gist of what Father Phan is sharing in his writings. All of these scriptures are consistent with his writings. Urging us to be of Service to our fellow human beings regardless of faith, Creed, nationality, color, gender. All of these things are invisible to GOD. We need to make them invisible to us.
Mother Teresa DID in Living her life, what Father Phan is suggesting theologically as well. Look at 1 Timothy 2:4 Titus 2:11. It basically says what father Phan said about salvation through God’s saving Grace. Look at what Mother Teresa said about salvation for other faiths:
- In her book, Life in the Spirit: Reflections, Meditations, and Prayers, "Mother" Teresa says on pp. 81-82:
"We never try to convert those who receive [aid from Missionaries of Charity] to Christianity but in our work we bear witness to the love of God's presence and if Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, or agnostics become for this better men -- simply better -- we will be satisfied. It matters to the individual what church he belongs to. If that individual thinks and believes that this is the only way to God for her or him, this is the way God comes into their life -- his life. If he does not know any other way and if he has no doubt so that he does not need to search then this is his way to salvation."
Luke 20:38 and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."
Galatians 5:14-16 - For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 15 But if you go on biting and devouring one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another. 16 I say, then: live by the Spirit
1 Timothy 2:1-4 - First of all, then, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, 2 for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. 3 This is good and pleasing to God our savior,
4 who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.
Matthew 5:15-16 Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. 16 Just so,
your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.
Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world as a witness to all nations
Mark 16:15 - He said to them, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.
Luke 2:10 - The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Romans 16:26 - but now manifested through the prophetic writings and, according to the command of the eternal God, made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith, 27 to the only wise God,
1 Corinthians 9:14 - In the same way, the Lord ordered that those who preach the gospel should
live by the gospel.
1 Corinthians 9:19 - Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible.
Philippians 4:5 - Your kindness should be known to all.
Colossians 1:8-10 - and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. 9 Therefore, from the day we heard this, we do not cease praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding 10 to live in a manner worthy of the Lord, so as to be fully pleasing, in every good work bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God,
1 Thessalonians 5:14-17 - 14 We urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, cheer the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient with all. 15 See that no one returns evil for evil; rather, always seek what is good (both) for each other and for all. 16 Rejoice always. 17 Pray without ceasing.
2 Timothy 2:23-24 23 Avoid foolish and ignorant debates, for you know that they breed quarrels. 24 A slave of the Lord should not quarrel, but should be gentle with everyone, able to teach, tolerant,
Titus 2:11-12
11 For the grace of God has appeared, saving all
12 and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age,
Titus 3:2-5 - They are to slander no one, to be peaceable, considerate, exercising all graciousness toward everyone. 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, deluded, slaves to various desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful ourselves and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and generous love of God our savior appeared, 5 not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy, he saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the holy Spirit,
James 1:5 - 5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it.
God Bless you Deesis! I really like your Love and Faith and I say this only to share with you not to change you. Peace be with you! :-)
The more we discover how much we are Loved by God, the more we want to do God's Will
None of what you say has
None of what you say has anything to do with whether Buddha was a holy man or not.
Yeah--if the institutional
Yeah--if the institutional church is wise, it would rethink its position on the salvific role of the Catholic Church. Hmmmm, I guess, belief in Christ does not necessarily turn one into a Christian. It rather makes one Christ-like. The role of the Catholic Church then is how to provide a hospitable environment where the Spirit of God and Christ can grow in us without excluding others who may not agree to all our doctrines but are willing to give Jesus a chance in their lives...
Must we deny them God's love simply because they cannot be Catholics?
What is more important, for them to become like us or them to be like Christ? If we really believe that Catholicism is THE ONLY WAY towards Christ, how faithful has our institution been in carrying out Christ's mandate? Can our institution sustain the faith or stifle it? How respectful is the institution of the Spirit that inhabits each one of us? Does it have the monopoly of discerning what is true and is of God's?
Our Church leaders have only to read the Scriptures and see the disparity among the scribes and the evangelists (e.g. Mark and John) to understand that Fr. Phan's views maybe just one of many where we can glean insights on how we can bring Jesus in the lives of others...
If the Church is wise they
If the Church is wise they will let Fr Phan and all others like him have their say without censorship. When Christianity was just becoming established the Scriptures say that those who wanted to censor and suppress it then were told something like "If this is of man it will soon fade away of its own accord, but if it is of God, it will do us no good to stand against it. Save your breath, and wait and see how history and the Holy Spirit sorts this out. Authoritarian heavy-handedness has never served the Church, except to give it a black eye. And that approach will not serve now.
Yeah--if the institutional
Yeah--if the institutional church is wise, it would rethink its position on the salvific role of the Catholic Church. Hmmmm, I guess, belief in Christ does not necessary turn one into a Christian. It rather makes one Christ-like. The role of the Catholic Church then is how to provide a hospitable environment where the Spirit of God and Christ can grow in us without excluding others who may not agree to all our doctrines but are willing to give Jesus a chance in their lives...
Must we deny them God's love simply because they cannot be Catholics?
What is more important, for them to become like us or them to be like Christ? If we really believe that Catholicism is THE ONLY WAY towards Christ, how faithful has our institutiion been in carrying out Christ's mandate? Can our institution sustain the faith or stifle it? How respectful is the institution of the Spirit that inhabits each one of us? Does it have the monopoly of discerning what is true and is of God's?
Our Church leaders have only to read the Scriptures and see the disparity among the scribes and the evangelists (e.g. Mark and John) to understand that Fr. Phan's views maybe just one of many where we can glean insights on how we can bring Jesus in the lives of others...
In case anybody would like
In case anybody would like to learn a little more about Liberation theology, this looked like a good site.
http://www.liberationtheology.org/
"I do not believe in death without resurrection. If they kill me, I will be resurrected in the hearts of the Salvadoran people." -Archbishop Oscar Romero
He was.
I recently returned from a 5½ week trip to do volunteer work among the poor in El Salvador.
I can tell you from first hand witnessing, Oscar Romero is alive and well in the Hearts of the Salvadorian people. So are many many other Catholic martyrs especially among the Jesuits who preferred to serve Jesus even unto their last breath.
Christ is alive in El Salvador and it wasn't because of the hierarchy of the Church. It's because of those brave priests who stood up against the oppression of the poor. These Catholic martyrs brought Christ's true message of Hope to those who MOST NEEDED IT and those who Christ most wanted to reach:
M't:5:2: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
M't:5:3: Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
M't:5:4: Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
M't:5:5: Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
M't:5:6: Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
M't:5:7: Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
M't:5:8: Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
M't:5:9: Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
I made a short post about my trip in the "Shortage Of Priests" thread in the "Diocesan Life" Forum.
http://ncrcafe.org/
God's Peace and Blessings be with us ALL!
Oh Yeah on the Salvation for ALL stuff,of course we're ALL saved. The Only ones who won't be are those who TOTALLY and COMPLETELY REJECT GOD AND WON"T REPENT OF THAT REJECTION. And only GOD can judge who those realy are because Only God can see into ther heart.
Webster’s says catholic means
1. Universal in extent: encompassing all; wide-ranging
I thought that’s what Jesus meant when he said he came for all humankind.
When did it change? When I used to say the Apostles Creed in the 60's, I used to have a problem saying I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church until I figured out catholic meant everybody in the world. Than I said it with joy and excitement because I knew it represented Jesus’ Truth and not just the Roman Catholic Churches truth. I was glad I was a Roman Catholic after that because I knew that catholics thought of everybody as their brothers and sisters just like Jesus taught! And the “one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins”, when I knew of baptism of the spirit, And I knew Jesus let lose his Spirit over the whole earth I rejoiced because I knew regardless of the ritualistic baptism, we were ALL baptized in the name of GOD by Jesus.
Now all we have to do is follow God’s Will and that’s easy too because Jesus told us what the two most important commandments to humankind from God are:
M't:22:36: Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
M't:22:37: Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
M't:22:38: This is the first and great commandment.
M't:22:39: And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
M't:22:40: On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Easy to say. A little more difficult to incorporate into your LIFE.
I love you God. I love you Here Today! :-)
The more we discover how much we are Loved by God, the more we want to do God's Will
R. Helfman Pope benedict is
R. Helfman
Pope benedict is right, Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Fortunately, he does not have a monopoly on salvation.
This means that the Pope should dialogue with others, not censure them. Censure is uncivil. The Evangelical, Pentecostal Protestant churches are made up of born-again believers. This is a return to the teaching of St. Paul, where we are God's temple, and God's building. All reform as such is a return to the roots and truth of Christianity. Let us not pretend it was a golden age back then-but rather, a fresh reading of Scripture is revelatory.
Vatican II was an attempt at reform.
If we are not reforming, we are not repenting, and therefore we are not Chrisitians.
ANY self-respecting Christian knows that Jesus is not just another great historical figure, but the Christ. The problem is one of evangelization. Somehow, many religious are not getting the message because they are not experiencing God for themselves within the context of the church. The fault lies not with them, but churh structures that inhibit spiritual growth. The Pope should look within to find the cause of the problem. He is a gifted man, and a musician, but like many who are musically inclined, he has an ego, in this case, just second to God himself.
And the Inquisition was a source of murder and torture and crimes unspeakable. How easy it is to forget history and bring back an unbloody inquisition as if it were all right because no-one is being physically maimed, after all. Let us not forget the psychic wounds abuse of authority can bring.
The idea of papal infallibility is a psychologically unsound idea, both for those who are in the Papacy and those who are among the "faithful". I try to be faithful. St. Thomas Aquinas taught that if your conscience leads you to go against church teaching, you must obey your conscience-in contradistinction to Abelard who taught the opposite view. Who is a saint and Doctor of the church? Thomas.
Pope Benedict, God bless him, has many fine things to say, and we should listen to him-but we should NEVER forget that he is a fallible human being, for the sake of the victims of Catholicism in times past, and present. And neither should we forget the good that is in the church, for the Lord promised to never abandon her. WE SIN IN IDOLIZING THE WORK OF OUR OWN HANDS and claim that the visible, flawed institution is perfect. I also stand with Jimmy Breslin, who wrote THE CHURCH THAT FORGOT CHRIST, as much as the editor of the NCR, for whom I have the greatest admiration and respect.
May God bless us, everyone. (Borrowed from Dickens, of course.)
Jaime I consider myself a
Jaime
I consider myself a loyal and faithful follower of Christ within the Roman Catholic Church. I sometimes feel the powers that be, parce language to such an excruciating degree as to make thier criticisms of Theologians so arcane as to make the whole effort nearly meaningless. Fr. Phan is under scrutiny as well as Fr. Jon Sobrino. Some of their theological opinions seem to favor an option for the poor that is disturbing to Vatican professionals. Rather than repeated critics of liberation theology, I'd like to see proactive understandable and broadly disseminated Theology published by the Vatican in down to earth language reconciling the Sermon on the Mount and the "emptying", "powerlessness" "poverty" and "service" of Christ, with the enormous power of hierarchical structues. That's where liberation theologians step all over themselves. I'd like to see an official document from the Vatican written with the same fervor,goodness and honesty, as liberation theologians exposing the real world under the light of Christ's values. This has never been done. And that's one reason that there are many faithful attendees at Mass (Good Catholics all)who are correctly against abortion, for example, but are in favor of premptive war, nukes,torture, the death penalty, illegal wire taps and abandonment of human rights.
The issue, if you had read
The issue, if you had read the censure of Fr Sobrino or the article above on Fr Phan, lies not in their care for the poor (recall that Fr Sobrino was praised for his concern for the poor, while critiquing his theology based on "Extra pauperes nulla salus"). It is a matter of Christology and ecclesiology, in essence denials of the Church's understanding of Christ as the one Divine Savior of all mankind and the role of the Church He established.
Fr. Sobrino's Christology
Fr. Sobrino's Christology grew out of his experiences while living and working with the Salvadoran poor. For Fr. Sobrino, there is no seperation between his theology and his care for the poor. Rather, his theology is a fundamental aspect of his work on behalf of the poor.
Father Peter Phan is an
Father Peter Phan is an excellent theologian and a beautiful human being. I was privileged to be one of his students when he taught theology at the Catholic University of America and received my degree while he was chair of the Theology Department. It saddens me that such a good and holy man would have to defend himself for expressing his thoughts, especially since he adds so much to the dialogue with the oriental Catholic Church and other oriental churches. I want to see Cardinals Dulles and Kasper repsond to this. Dulles was on faculty with him and Kasper had similar comments in America magazine when Dominus was published in 2000. Hang in there Fr. Phan. You have many Phans supporting you!
Thanks for that link SJ.
Thanks for that link SJ.
HDenzler This to me is yet
HDenzler
This to me is yet another reason that the Church is continuing on the path of irrelevance. Wheter you agree or disagree with Fr. Phan's thinking, to censure or otherwise try to restrict this type of thinking is ridiculous. It is my thesis that the Church “is notably confused on a number of points of CHRIST'S doctrine and also contains serious ambiguities” not the least of which is that the only path to salvation is through the catholic church. What would Christ have said ?
Because they lack the
Because they lack the understanding of the relationship between humanity and God that comes from a complete understanding of the being of Jesus Christ as God's son, it does seem as though non-Christian religions are an inferior means of salvation. With regard to Islam, for instance, which claims Jesus as a great prophet while denying his divinity, the emphasis is on earning one's salvation. Similarly, the practices of other religions, such as Buddhism or Hinduism, are held by those religions to have salvific function or to be the source of finding heaven on earth. While these things may contribute to the preparation of souls, in that people humble themselves in order to effectively carry out the requirements of their religion, the sense of being elevated in relationship to God, which comes from recognizing the extent to which God has gone to make us one with him, is lacking.
On the other hand, many Christians who believe that believing is all that is necessary may find themselves rather overwhelmed by the spiritual phenomena of an afterlife that may have more in common with the mystical elements fostered in these non-Christian religions. To that end, in Catholicism, the practices of fasting and ritual praying and the sacraments not found in other Christian religions are the equivalent of the non-Christian preparation. Therefore, while those following the instruction of the Catholic Church derive no benefit from religious pluralism, other Christians stand to gain something from religious pluralism.
To the extent that the Church believes itself to be the vehicle that God intended to best prepare humanity for what is to come, it should recognize its role in influencing the spiritual lives of all peoples and act accordingly rather than by declaring itself to be above and apart from them. The doors to the Catholic Church need to be opened, not narrowed as if they were the gate through which we must strive to pass.
Anyone who loves, who loves
Anyone who loves, who loves God, or whow loves, is guanteed salvation. Christ came into this world to save us all and there is no different with the sematntics, He is our saviour, but should we call him by another name? He is the Son of God, no matter how we identify Him. The Buhdah, perfect man who loved God above all else but without name, or Krishna are not Christ, they are incarnations of God himself who saw the need to incarnate as Himself to bring all who love Him to his salvation. It is beyond me to know why He gave us his Son for our salvation, but I do know that in the final end of all there will be none who are lost. He is infinite in his love for us will not allow any to be lost. That they subscribe to the Christ or to any other incarnation of Him who is the ultimate being matters not or to any aspect of Him. It is only the Love of God that will bring us to salvation. He is the End of all, He is the Basis of all being, there is nothing but Him and how we choose to approach Him is our right, and not only our right but the only path to Him, He above all is the final end to our being. HE makes no distinction, and Buhdist or Hindu or Unitied church or Anglican if we love HIM that is all that is required for our salvation. The Catholic Church has spent almost two thousand years to establish themselves as the One, but this is futile. HE, our beloved GOD is all that matters, He doesn't separate those who did His Will according to the scriptures or to the dictates of the Church, but only to the spirit of His Being, Who is supreme. He is first our Friend, our companion, and even if we forget his prescence He is always there with us. He is there when we go to sleep and when we wake and when we start our day and when we end it, though we may forget that He is there, still He is there seeing all that we do and all that we think, and loving us as part of Himself, though He does never come apart. We are One in Him, though we forget or ignore this, still we are One in Him.
SeanOS Under the leadership
SeanOS
Under the leadership of Benedict XVI the Vatican church is going off on a tangent and away from the missionary mandate given by Jesus. John Paul II was on the right track in his 1990 encyclical Redemptoris missio ‘On the permanent validity of the Church's missionary mandate’ where he states that “(t)he missionary thrust therefore belongs to the very nature of the Christian life, and is also the inspiration behind ecumenism: ‘that they may all be one...so that the world may believe that you have sent me’ (Jn 17:21)”. This calls for dialogue with other religions and faith traditions.
In that very interesting article (recommended by ‘SJ’) by Peter Phan, Phan references a joint 1991 document of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue which describes a fourfold activity: the “dialogue of life”, the “dialogue of action”, the “dialogue of religious experience”, and the “dialogue of theological exchange”. The latter being the least effective of the four ‘dialogues’. The process is described as “being religious interreligiously”.
But the present pope doesn’t want to have any of this. Benedict’s approach seems to be the heavy hand of authoritarianism over dialogue. This is not too far removed from the way George W. Bush operates and reflective of the trend toward the return of Fascism in the world at large.
For anyone interested, here
For anyone interested, here is an article by Fr. Phan which provides a sample of his thought: http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/article.php3?id_article=1828
The Truth is the Truth is
The Truth is the Truth is the Truth.Jesus Christ founded one Church,the Catholic Church.While there does exist elements of the Truth in various churches,the fullness of Truth can only be found in the Church that He,the Truth,founded.He is Divine,We are not.He tells us over and over again,I am the Truth,come follow Me.There can only be one True Church of Christ.Christ speaks in one voice but his Word is for all to hear.The Church that Christ has founded,the Catholic Church,is the Universal Church.If you Love someone you tell them the Truth.Universal,includes everyone in the Universe!No one is excluded.Everyone can make the free choice to join.How can anyone say that the Catholic Church is being exclusive when We say follow Him,for only He,the Truth,can lead you to Salvation?