Quite frankly, I'm insulted. And I'm sure millions of non-Roman Catholics will feel the same way. So much for the ecumenical movement.VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -- The Vatican on Tuesday said Christian denominations outside the Roman Catholic Church were not full churches of Jesus Christ.
A 16-page document, prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which Pope Benedict used to head, described Christian Orthodox churches as true churches, but suffering from a "wound" since they do not recognize the primacy of the Pope.
But the document said the "wound is still more profound" in the Protestant denominations -- a view likely to further complicate relations with Protestants.
"Despite the fact that this teaching has created no little distress ... it is nevertheless difficult to see how the title of 'Church' could possibly be attributed to them," it said.
...
Ratzinger was elected Pope in April 2005. The document is his second strong reaffirmation of Catholic tradition in four days, following a decree on Saturday restoring the old Latin Mass alongside the modern liturgy.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Today's remarks by the Pope
You will all remember how I was horrified when Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Pope. Here's why:
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Insulted? No, I'm honestly not. I just think that like most Americans, RC and otherwise, what the old man in the funny shoes has to say is completely irrelevant.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up, I remember the families with 6, 7, 8 kids... They're pretty rare these days, even in RC parishes, I bet. What "da Pope" says means little, even when he tells American RC's that they can't pick and choose which of his sayings to follow, they ignore him.
It's stupid of him to say it, and we should all look at him like the old crazy uncle who every once in a while hollers out "I remember the Brooklyn Dodgers... they were a real team".
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
ReplyDeletePuritanism(n)
2: strictness and austerity in conduct and religion
1: the beliefs and practices characteristic of Puritans (most of whom were Calvinists who wished to purify the Church of England of its Catholic aspects).
Ironic, innit?
For double irony points, remember that Rocky was the disciple-turned-apostle for whom it was best to stick with keeping the Gospel to the folks he knew.
Yes, I can see it being insulting, at least initially. Then I see it as hypocritical in a church charged with preaching some kind of gospel. And of course I could say it just proves the point that we don't need a very mortal "top d00d" "representative" of God on earth.
But I *will* exude a little more grace and say that my understanding of RCs has always been that the levels of hierarchy more in touch with the real world have generally been more permissive with a nod to say "excuse my superiors".
Which is the "wounded" church now in 2010? I'm just asking.
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