Here is an interesting article on the Holy Father (“Is this pope a reactionary or a prophet?”), from The Guardian by John Hooper. It isn’t available on The Guardian website for some reason. It repeats much that we know, but has some interesting quotes, such as:
“It would be interesting to know how he is viewed in a hundred years’ time,” muses a professional Vatican-watcher who also requested anonymity. “It will be either as a reactionary or a prophet. Benedict may be behind or ahead of his time, because one thing is certain – he certainly isn’t of his time.”
The idea that today’s Catholic church – hostile to abortion and contraception, antipathetic to homosexuality and dismissive of the idea of women priests – might be a bastion of enlightened values is one many Britons will find hard to accept. But then it is difficult to think of a society that provides Benedict with a greater challenge to his ideas than multicultural Britain
Try this – http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/23/pope-benedict-catholic-paedophile-crisis – if it doesn’t work I’ll paste you the thing.
John Allen recounts a chilling episode. On 8 March 1986, Curran held a meeting with the then Joseph Ratzinger and others in the CDF’s offices in Piazza del Sant’Uffizio, next to St Peter’s. Curran was arguing that his approach fell within the mainstream of contemporary theological thinking when “Ratzinger asked Curran to name others who held his views. Curran did so – pointedly, they were all German – and Ratzinger then asked if Curran would like to accuse these thinkers, because if so, the Congregation would be happy to open an investigation.”
Anyone care to explain what’s so “chilling” about this?
It’s not “chilling” but rather encouraging that if a Catholic “teacher in Israel” should try to defend his errors and heresies by citing other Catholic teachers that espouse the same errors, the latter, too, should be rebuked and censured for them.
In any case, look at where Curran has come to today, supporting as he does the “ordination” of women and the “marriage” of sodomites.