Not that such a thing is new, by any stretch. LifeSite gives us the scoop. In a story in the Ottawa Citizen, Hans Kung took the opportunity to unload on his old friend, our Pope. For starters:
Kung told the Citizen that the Pope’s stance supporting the moral law and the traditions of the Catholic faith is a result of fear. Painting his former academic colleague as a paranoid autocrat, Kung said, “He got more and more conservative, more and more frightened.”
Now do a compare-and-contrast with this post I wrote on why he is taking so long with the Motu Proprio and see which one seems more like the Benedict we’ve come to know. Kung approaches Benedict with a negative psychology which assumes everything he does stems from a fear of loss – one could almost say it’s a secular ideology which concerns itself with worldly things. I’d suggest instead approaching it from a positive theology point of view where his concerns are founded on the desire to ensure those entrusted to his care do not teeter off into the weeds but stay on that narrow path and enter the small gate that leads to life.
For my money, the quote-of-the-day was this:
“What would Jesus do if he were Pope? I can’t believe He would forbid the (birth control) pill today, or the ordination of women,” he told the Citizen.
Of course! Now if only the Pope were concerned about what Jesus would do we’d be all set! One thing I’m not quite clear on though – is this the “real” Jesus you’re talking about, Father? You know, the one that didn’t know he was God and didn’t really mean to institute the Eucharist and never really made any miracles? Because, interestingly, that’s not the Jesus the Catholic Church proclaims. Or has proclaimed. Ever. Time to move on mi amigo, this sketch is getting old.
H/T to Pertinacious Papist.
