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Persecuted Christians (Ratzinger, Nov 2004)
telegraph ^ | 11/4/04 | telegraph

Posted on 04/19/2005 11:11:50 AM PDT by Mark Felton

Cardinal Ratzinger, the Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is perhaps the only man alive of whom it might be said that he is more Catholic than the Pope. Even though his enemies caricature him as the most bigoted of grand inquisitors, he knows John Paul II like nobody else. Among the college of cardinals, he is one of the few likely successors who is the ailing pontiff's intellectual equal. His long interview in yesterday's La Repubblica is thus an authentic reflection of the consensus inside the Vatican. It makes for disturbing reading.

The cardinal sees Europe as a continent in the grip of a demographic and spiritual crisis. A falling birthrate is "altering the ethnic composition of Europe", as Muslim immigration transforms the ancient heartlands of Christendom. Churches are emptying as Christian culture is threatened by an "aggressive secularism, even an intolerant one". This new secularism is no longer neutral, but hostile to public manifestations of Christianity, which is being marginalised and privatised. "We must defend religious freedom against the imposition of an ideology that is being presented as if it were the only voice of rationality, whereas it is only the expression of a narrow rationalism."

The incident that occasioned such anguish is the case of Rocco Buttiglione, who was dropped from the European Commission merely for refusing to deny his Catholicism, in the private rather than the public sphere. For Cardinal Ratzinger, the implication is that anybody who defends Christian orthodoxy is now excluded from public life. He cites the example of a Protestant pastor in Sweden who was imprisoned for a month for preaching against homosexuality. Christianity has come full circle since the days of its persecution under the Roman Empire: an established Church no longer, it is now once again a persecuted band of the faithful.

If the Cardinal's grim diagnosis is accurate, then the logic of the Christian predicament points towards ecumenical unity. The Vatican has sometimes spoken as if non-Catholic churches were mere sects. Yet the fastest-growing forms of Christianity are the evangelical movements emanating from America. The Catholic Church cannot lead the "struggle" against secularism unless its leaders can acknowledge the sufferings and merits of their fellow Christians. If Cardinal Ratzinger became Pope, it is safe to assume that the reconversion of Europe would be his aim. But is this guardian of Vatican orthodoxy ready to consider compromise on matters of doctrine for the sake of a united Christian front against secularism and jihad? It is an enticing prospect.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: benedict; benedictxvi; christianpersecution; christians; persecution; pope; ratzinger; secularism
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To: EagleUSA

I believe so as well.


21 posted on 04/19/2005 11:35:51 AM PDT by Sthitch
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To: Mark Felton

This could get interesting....

Meanwhile, the American Catholic left is wrining its appeasement-laden hands...


22 posted on 04/19/2005 11:36:11 AM PDT by mikeus_maximus
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To: bella1

Pope Benedict XVI is the last hope for Europe against secularism and the last hope for Latin America against the Theology of Liberation


23 posted on 04/19/2005 11:36:20 AM PDT by gaslucas
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To: ConservativeDude

And by the way....deficient is a far cry from "heretic." V II formally admitted that we Protestants can be saved....I guess I am grateful, whatever. It doesn't affect me one way or the other. But when discussing these matters precision of language is important and Prots are not deemed heretics by the RCC.

I do hope that Ratzinger will have the stones to deem SOME heretics, though....starting with liberation theologians!


24 posted on 04/19/2005 11:37:51 AM PDT by ConservativeDude
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To: Mark Felton
"Leaders of Islam would do well to fear and re-assess their own faith in a militant false prohpet." This ain't the Middle Ages, and the Pope does not wield the political power to deploy armies anymore, even if Europe had 'em, which it doesn't.
25 posted on 04/19/2005 11:38:39 AM PDT by mikeus_maximus
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To: bella1

"The most bigoted of the Grand Inquisitors".
Tell us how you really feel?


26 posted on 04/19/2005 11:39:17 AM PDT by massgopguy (massgopguy)
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To: Mark Felton

Wow. I think this guy gets it. I'm impressed with this new Pope. And I'm not even Catholic.


27 posted on 04/19/2005 11:41:26 AM PDT by ChocChipCookie (I don't recognize my own country anymore.)
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To: sierrahome

I heard on the radio this morning, before Ratzinger was named the new pope, that his opponents were circulating stories that he was a member of the Hitler youth movement during WW2. I expect these types of accusations will escalate in the next few weeks.


28 posted on 04/19/2005 11:41:49 AM PDT by Uncle Hal
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To: Zap Brannigan

Any christian church that is not part of an official catholic church diocese is by definition "heretical". It is not an insult but a condition. If a heresy is to believe and preach in doctrines contrary to the teaching of the church, then all protestant movements were and are heretical, whether they have merit (which many catholics might eventually accept) or not. Lots of language like that in a 2000 year old church with a billion people in it.


29 posted on 04/19/2005 11:43:20 AM PDT by epluribus_2
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To: johnb838

All churches and all men are deficient. Why does the left constantly harp on this? I believe its because the left is the tool of Satan. All of their moral relativism is as old as the lies of the serpent in the Garden. It's nothing new. The doctrines of the left permeate the Bible as the works of Satan. Anything you hear from socialists around the world is right there.

Sure, they are going to trot out that Benedict was in the Hitler Youth. So was everyone else in Germany (not that it makes it right). I'll watch to see how he reacts to that. If it's a "sure I was, I sinned" more power to him! It's nice to know I've got something in common with the Pope; he's a sinner just like me!

We're all sinners. And we can all be saved from our sin by the intercession of our Lord Jesus. That is the one absolute truth that the moral relativism of the left is absolutely terrified of.


30 posted on 04/19/2005 11:43:35 AM PDT by henkster (When democrats talk of "the rich," they are referring to anyone with a private sector job.)
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To: sierrahome; Mark Felton

It has already started!

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1386748/posts


31 posted on 04/19/2005 11:44:08 AM PDT by Andy from Beaverton (I only vote Republican to stop the Democrats)
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To: massgopguy
Here's another good one:

His long interview in yesterday's La Repubblica is thus an authentic reflection of the consensus inside the Vatican. It makes for disturbing reading.

32 posted on 04/19/2005 11:44:19 AM PDT by Andyman (The world should not be ruled by those who are most easily offended.)
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To: Zap Brannigan

I wouldn't know about any of that, I was merely referring to someone on CNN, reportedly, who was very upset that Cardinal Ratzinger was selected as the new pope. The chances are these: If CNN doesn't like it, I will probably love it!

As for other faiths in Christianity, I am just a lowly Catholic who misses JP 2.

Be of good cheer, though. Good days are ahead for us all.


33 posted on 04/19/2005 11:44:34 AM PDT by RexBeach ("I can see it now. You and the moon. You wear a necktie so I'll know you." -Groucho Marx)
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To: TexasGreg; GarySpFc

Ping


34 posted on 04/19/2005 11:45:41 AM PDT by GarySpFc (Sneakypete, De Oppresso Liber)
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To: henkster

He's got the left all fit to be tied. He's the perfect choice!


35 posted on 04/19/2005 11:46:52 AM PDT by OldFriend (MAJOR TAMMY DUCKWORTH.....INSPIRATIONAL)
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To: Mark Felton
I am a Southern Baptist female sitting at her desk in Texas thankful to my Lord that Ratzinger is the new Pope. Christians should stay aware of who is speaking about their faith. We all Catholic and non Catholic should be praising God for this Pope. We will need him to fight the forces of evil. It's good to have such a powerful, God fearing man in a position to do just that.
36 posted on 04/19/2005 11:46:58 AM PDT by PaulaB
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To: massgopguy

Are you talking to me???????


37 posted on 04/19/2005 11:47:38 AM PDT by bella1 (red county, blue state)
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To: Uncle Hal

It was more than "stories" that he was involved in the Hitler Youth; this, from the Washington Times:

"Cardinal Ratzinger's secretary was unavailable for comment when his office was called yesterday, but John Allen Jr., a journalist for the National Catholic Reporter, wrote about the episode in a 2002 biography of the cardinal.
Cardinal Ratzinger "was briefly enrolled in the Hitler Youth in the early 1940s, though he was never a member of the Nazi party," Mr. Allen wrote.
"In 1943, he was conscripted into an anti-aircraft unit guarding a BMW plant outside Munich. Later, Ratzinger was sent to Austria's border with Hungary to erect tank traps. After being shipped back to Bavaria, he deserted. When the war ended, he was an American prisoner of war."


38 posted on 04/19/2005 11:47:41 AM PDT by RegulatorCountry (Esse Quam Videre)
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To: Mark Felton
Can Ratzinger turn Europe back towards Christianity and away from secularism?
His full energy is required as Socialism/Marxism has turned into the people's Ersatz God by providing all those welfare and good living goodies without asking for contributions.
Income redistribution through taxation is looked at as a godly right since monies are taken from the rich and wealthy.
Too bad this redistribution also killed the golden goose called economy that used to lay golden eggs.
Ratzinger has an uphill battle ahead of him which might not be winnable since socialism/secularism have ascended to godly status.
39 posted on 04/19/2005 11:48:17 AM PDT by hermgem
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To: karnage

Imagine declaring that there is actually a RIGHT and a WRONG.


40 posted on 04/19/2005 11:48:25 AM PDT by OldFriend (MAJOR TAMMY DUCKWORTH.....INSPIRATIONAL)
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