I was once 'more severe' than today, Benedict XVI tells priests
Print Friendly VersionBy JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
Pope Benedict XVI told a group of priests yesterday that he was once “more severe” in terms of administering baptism and confirmation to ill-prepared or lukewarm candidates, but today he’s inclined to be generous wherever there is even “a flicker of desire for communion in the faith.”
The pope also conceded that, over the centuries, Christianity’s commitment to environmental protection may not always have been sufficiently clear. He argued, however, that belief in God is essential to sound ecology, because ultimately a materialist philosophy places no limits on humanity’s exploitation of nature.
Benedict XVI spoke to a group of more than 400 priests of the diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone in northern Italy, where he is currently passing two weeks of vacation. The behind-closed-doors session with the priests, which has become an annual custom for the pope, took place in the Cathedral of the Assumption in Bressanone, and lasted approximately 90 minutes. The pope took six questions and provided impromptu answers.
The Vatican is expected to release a transcript of the session shortly. Yesterday, Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesperson, briefed reporters on the highlights of the exchange.
The six questions, according to Lombardi, were:
• Fr. Willy Fusaro, a 42-year-old priest diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1991, the year of his ordination, and today confined to a wheelchair, asked the pope about the Christian meaning of suffering in light of the example of Pope John Paul II;
• Seminarian Michael Horrer, who recently returned from World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, asked the pope about pastoral outreach to the young;
• Franciscan Fr. Willibald Hopfgartner posed a question about the relationship between reason and faith;
• Fr. Karl Golser, a professor of moral theology and a former staffer in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who served briefly under then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, asked his former boss about Christianity and the environment;
• Fr. Franz Pixner asked the pope to comment on priestly life;
• Fr. Paolo Ruzzi asked Benedict for advice on how generous a priest should be in administering the sacraments of baptism and confirmation.
In response to Fusaro’s question on suffering, Lombardi said that Benedict divided the pontificate of John Paul II into two phases. The first came when an athletic, strong John Paul bestrode the world as a “giant of the faith,” while the second came with his slow physical decline and growing weakness. These years, Benedict said, were “not of lesser importance.”
“With this witness of his own passion, he carried the Cross of Christ with humility,” Benedict said. “With deep humility he accepted the destruction of his body, and thus showed us clearly the truth of the passion of Christ.”
When Golser posed his question on the environment, Lombardi said that Benedict laughingly replied, “You could answer that better than I can.” (Golser serves as director of the Institute for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation in Bressanone, and has published widely on environmental ethics.)
According to Lombardi, Benedict said that in the past the connection between the church’s teaching on redemption, and on care of creation, may not always have been underlined with enough force. Today, however, the pope said Christians are clearly called to ecological concern, especially by offering examples of “lifestyles” respectful of the environment.
In fact, Benedict argued, if God is denied and the world seen as mere “matter,” then it’s far easier for human beings to justify arbitrary and selfish exploitation of natural resources.
Finally, Lombardi called the pope’s response on sacramental discipline “very interesting.”
“When I was younger, I was more severe,” Lombardi quoted Benedict XVI as saying in response to the question about baptism and confirmation.
“With time, I came to understand the importance of taking the path of mercy, following the example of the Lord, who welcomed even a flicker of desire for communion in the faith,” the pope said.
Benedict quickly added, however, according to Lombardi, that this doesn’t mean the sacraments should be administered when faith is absent.
I really like some of the
I really like some of the Pope’s comments as given in this article. I think it shows that there is a side of the Pope that is very much aligned with the positions of many progressives in the church. I think these impromptu answers show it even more than prepared statements given by the Pope.
The hierarchy, the Magisterium, Canon Law are for guidance. But the real guide of the church is the Living Truth that Jesus left with us and it’s Spirit within our hearts. The Pope expresses that living Truth so clearly when almost as a confession he teaches us how to walk in the footsteps of Jesus with this comment:
“With time,
I came to understand the importance of taking the path of mercy, following the example of the Lord,
who welcomed even a flicker of desire for communion in the faith,” the pope said.”
How beautiful is that? He shows the Spirit of God “grows” within each of us. And as it grows we become more Godlike in Mercy, Love and Forgiveness. And we all know “and the greatest of these is Love.” I really do love this Pope. I wish the Conservative and Traditionalist factions of our church would allow him to BE MORE LIKE JESUS by reducing the pressure on him to follow strict guidelines and be firm in reprimanding those who would fail to meet strictly set criteria, concrete rules, and unmoving punitive interpretations of God’s Love to human kind on earth.
God didn’t come to punish us. He came in the form of Jesus Christ to show us the WAY of Love Mercy and Forgiveness. He came to show us how hardness is softened by a gentle loving touch. Unmoving and restrictive rules and laws are softened by a gentle loving faith, no even less than that, a desire for that flicker of faith was all one needed to experience the Love of Our Father and Our Brother in learning that we are beloved children of the almighty God.
And learning that, we begin to see how beautiful and precious all of God’s creation is. And we cherish it. And we desire to see the thoughtless onslaught of destruction upon this creation by mankind END. No longer can we tolerate this disregard for our Creator’s miracle of creation. And the Pope reflects that sentiment in this statement.
“In fact, Benedict argued, if God is denied and the world seen as mere “matter,” then it’s far easier for human beings to justify arbitrary and selfish exploitation of natural resources.”
God bless our Pope for his merciful and liberal heart in the generous distribution of the sacraments to the Children of God. May he be blessed by God for his actions and teachings to even the hardest hearts of our congregations.
And God bless our Pope Benedict XVI for his love and desire for good stewardship and protection of God’s Creation. Amen
:-)
The more we discover how much we are Loved by God, the more we want to do God's Will
Marie R., Obviously, the
Marie R.,
Obviously, the Pope was speaking generally, when he referred to giving the sacrament to those with a glimmer of faith. But when your "opinions" clash with the Magisterium, you are not in communion with the Church and deserve to be denied communion.
Hmm. Who exactly is it that
Hmm. Who exactly is it that Pope Benedict's denied Holy Communion to?
Which members of the
Which members of the magisterium? Half the time the magisterium doesnt even agree on the issues. Who are we supposed to believe?
I guess, Catnip, that most
I guess, Catnip, that most people deserve to be denied communion. Probably the only ones, besides yourself, of course, who do not deserve to be denied communion, are those who know and care so little about the Church that they don't form "opinions".
This is such an
This is such an extraordinary way to envision communion I keep wondering who first came up with it in this neo-traditionalist movement. It is not Catholic. It is cultish, where the control of the cult is of the first priority. It is, for example, more like mormonism, where the bishop asks a yearly "confession" of the member, him asking the questions, have you paid your tithe (woops, you slipped this year, no "temple recommend" this year). I think many of you would make much better mormons, although they struggle with the 1/3 loss of new recruits all the time. Because a church built on control of its members does not even feel like what Jesus had in mind. The disconnect is palpable for anyone who reads the New Testament.
How grand that he can
How grand that he can finally acknowledge that the example of the Lord was that of a "path of mercy" rather than a path of disciplne when it comes to others.
Two points: 1. It might be
Two points:
1. It might be argued that the more fundamentalist religious among us are more apt to exploit the earth because it is declared to be subject to man's authority in Genesis and because they believe God will provide as for the lilies of the field who worry not, while the atheists among us worry about what kind of environment we are creating for our children.
2. It is an interesting contrast that sacraments should be administered when their is even a glimmer of faith, but then people are denied sacraments despite their strong faith when their opinions about administrative Church matters clash with the prevailing ones.
I seem to recall from my
I seem to recall from my youthful reading of Augustine (of Hippo) that he viewed all creatures, including other people as instruments to be used towards one's own salvation and holiness. This utilitarian view of creation along with much of Augustine's philosophy, cosmology and theology have significant implications and have been imbedded in Catholic thinking for centuries. It was this mentality which could not tolerate the more inclusive, communal and more soundly Christlike views of the early church and which had survived, for example, in the Christian hinterland, the celtic areas of western England, Wales, Ireland and parts of Scotland until the other Augustine completed its (formal) eradication and did, as Gibbons noted, what the Roman legions could not: rout Britain. So, yes Marie I think that you are correct.
These right wing, fundamentalist frameworks are integral to the centralizing of administrative, dogmatic and disciplinary control organization of the church which was happening at the same time, the birth of "Magisterium". This is the era, I believe, when Christ was Hellenized (or Plato'ized) and we, the laity, became the tools of the hierarchy. This is the model which helped western civilization survive the so-called Dark Ages and thoroughly thrived until the Reformation. It is this model which drove Cardinal Ratzinger's informal papacy and drives Benedict's formal papacy.
It is curious, to me at least, that these views, along with Augustinian views on predestination incongruously,drive much of what is right wing fundamentalist Christians and legitimize the wealth as holiness and power, born again, etc.
If Benedict lives another
If Benedict lives another hundred years he might become even more honest and say what he really means , i.e. admit that he was wrong to be so CONSERVATIVE (“more severe”) and should have been more LIBERAL ("generous"), not just "in terms of administering baptism and confirmation to ill-prepared or lukewarm candidates", but on any number of other issues as well.
I invite the more "generous" Catholics here to start demanding that their church answer the question as to why "generous" popes like Paul VI and John Paul the First have had a habit of dying premature, suspicious deaths, while “more severe” ones have a habit of living indefinitely.
See what I mean at http://JesusWouldBeFurious.Org/murderedpope .