Against the catholic understanding

adminonNovember 3, 2021January 5, 2022Leave a Comment

Against the catholic understanding

How should the church proceed with Catholic practice of faith and blessing in dealing with sexual relationships? The Bishop of Passau, Stefan Oster, has now defended the traditional practice in this regard – and backed it up with arguments.

In an article published on his website on Sunday, the bishop explains why, in his view, "forms of life outside of what the Catholic Church understands by marriage" cannot be officially blessed and thus approved and affirmed. Ultimately, the church views any sexual act outside of marriage as sinful and disorderly.

Before changing pastoral practice, a "doctrine of man that is coherent for the whole Church and, in my view, then also newer" would have to be put forward, the bishop writes. The attempts made so far to do this, however, did not convince him.

Taking note of newer scientific insights

Oster agrees with the frequently raised demand that the Church should take note of new scientific insights in the evaluation of sexuality. However, human scientific research, especially on human sexuality and its development, is "often prone to ideology. From the Christian point of view, man is more than "just the product of biological evolution".

At the same time, the church is challenged to "sincerely accompany all people who find it difficult to reconcile their own lives with the teachings of the faith," writes the youth bishop of the German Bishops' Conference. Women and men of the Church are called to "walk with every person without exception, to welcome them, to accompany them, no matter how whole or broken their circumstances present themselves to us.".

Given the complexity of each life's journey, there may then be situations "that cannot be judged or even condemned simply or exclusively from a standpoint of the law of faith".

In an ecumenical Passion devotion with President Manfred Rekowski, Cologne Archbishop Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki emphasized the power of faith. With the Crucified One in view, "we can confidently face the darkness," Woelki said.

At the beginning of his homily, the Archbishop of Cologne described the oppressive atmosphere in society caused by the Corona pandemic. In addition to fear for their own health and that of relatives and friends, many would have to fear for their livelihood. "Duration and consequences are difficult to assess," Woelki says.

In recent weeks and months, a darkness has settled over many people: "the darkness of fear, the darkness of illness, of loneliness, of suffering."The view of the crucified Jesus, such as on the Isenheim altar, can give strength. "If we do not lose sight of the Crucified One in the light, we can confidently face the darkness. We will get through," says Cologne archbishop.

Rekowski: Churches no space without sin and guilt

Against the backdrop of the abuse scandal, Rhineland President Manfred Rekowski called on the churches to call injustice in their own ranks by its name and to stand firmly on the side of those affected. The Christian churches are no
Space without sin and guilt, said the leading theologian of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland on Saturday in a joint Passion devotion with Cologne Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki in the Johanneskirche in Dusseldorf. "People experience injuries to body and soul in the space of the church, also by perpetrators who work for the church."

The joint devotion of the Archbishop of Cologne and the Rhenish President at the beginning of the Passion period has a long tradition. In view of the slow processing of sexual abuse in the archdiocese of Cologne, however, voices had been raised in the Rhenish church this year that the devotion should be canceled. Rekowski, however, stuck to the common prayer. The president took part in the joint prayer service for the last time as Rhenish president; he will retire in March and hand over his office to the 50-year-old theologian Thorsten Latzel.

Abuse catches up with the pope

Sexual offenses, recalcitrant bishops, sluggish curia reform. Francis likes to talk about a "dented church". This year, it has received a few more dents. A review of what was arguably Francis' most difficult year.

When Pope Francis celebrates the traditional thanksgiving vespers in St. Peter's Basilica on New Year's Eve, he may give thanks for one thing above all: that 2018 is over. The abuse crisis and growing opposition within his own ranks made it the most difficult year of his pontificate so far.

Flash wedding on pope's plane

It actually started well, with a trip to Chile and Peru. A flash wedding on the pope's plane made pretty headlines. But then, in an off-the-cuff remark about cover-up allegations against Chilean Bishop Juan Barros, Francis used the word that started it all: "slander".

The media waves ran high. The pope's own abuse commissioner, Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley, criticized lack of sensitivity to victims. Francis had to respond: In February, he sent his best man for dealing with such offenses legally, Archbishop Charles Scicluna, to the Americas as a special investigator. In April, he acknowledged his own failings in a letter to Chile's bishops – and announced tough steps to be taken.

What followed is unprecedented: three men abused in their youth were hosted by the pope for a week to analyze structural causes and draw conclusions. In mid-May, Francis summoned Chilean bishops; nearly all offered to resign their posts. The pope pinpointed clerical power structures as the root of the evil – and asked the laity to renew the church from the ground up in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).

Abuse leads to two-front war in Vatican

Since then, Francis has been in a kind of two-front war: on one side against the legacy of abuse, on the other against conservatives. That became apparent after the removal of former Washington Archbishop Theodore McCarrick from the cardinalate this summer.

While the U.S. state of Pennsylvania published a devastating abuse report in August, ex-nuntius Carlo Maria Vigano opened a second main battle line, accusing the pope of going easy on men like McCarrick and fomenting moral decay in the church out of a zeitgeist-liberal attitude. Since then, there has been more fire under the roof.

Even with the diplomatic coup of the year, the Vatican failed to really shine. Although the Holy See and China ended a 70-year dispute over bishop appointments in September, the two countries are still at loggerheads. But the exact content of the agreement remains unknown, and Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong accompanied the Vatican success story with drastic denial. Taiwan, which is hostile to China and has one of its few allies in the Vatican, is also concerned.

First youth synod

There was a synod of bishops on youth: In a first, 300 teenagers and young adults gathered in Rome in March for a "pre-synod" before some 270 bishops discussed the life situation and accompaniment of the new generation in October. Many shepherds described the new style of debate with the 50 auditors, some younger and some female, as invigorating. But in the final document they could not bring themselves to demand an open discussion about topics such as sexuality.

Meanwhile, internal Vatican reform continued. The old 1988 curia order will soon be replaced. At the same time, Francis reduced the size of his inner circle of advisors in mid-December – the Cardinals' Council K9 becomes K6, so to speak. Cardinals George Pell (77), Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya (79) and Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa (85) were dismissed.

Advancing age was cited as the reason – but two of the three are also implicated in serious abuse scandals: Chile's Errazuriz is accused of cover-up, perjury and making false statements, and Australia's Pell is even on trial for allegedly sexually assaulting himself.

Papal trips and canonizations

Another weighty personnel matter this summer was the transfer of Giovanni Becciu, who had wide influence in the Secretariat of State over personnel and financial policy. His successor is Venezuelan Edgar Pena Perra, an efficient doer. Becciu, now a cardinal, now heads the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

What else might Francis remember in his personal review of the year? To the trips to the World Council of Churches in Geneva, to the World Meeting of Families in Ireland, to the Baltic States? To the canonization of Pope Paul VI. and Oscar Romero? The abuse trial against Cardinal George Pell? After the Te Deum on New Year's Eve, he will make a detour to St. Peter's Square to pause for a moment in front of the crib. This year it is built of sand.

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