Posted on 11/19/2004 9:56:11 AM PST by DBeers
ROME - German-born Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, a close advisor of Pope John Paul II, has issued a strong attack against "secular Europe", which he accuses of "decadence", "intolerance" towards Christians and ostracism towards God.
In an interview published on Friday by the Italian daily La Repubblica, the cardinal speaks of a Europe that is living through a major transformation - from one based on Christian culture to an aggressive and at times intolerant (form of) secularism".
"Secularism is no longer neutral," the cardinal said, it is beginning to transform itself into an ideology that imposes itself through politics and does not leave any room to the Christian and Catholic vision."
Cardinal Ratzinger, who is considered one of the most conservative voices in the Roman Curia, heads the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a Church body formerly known as the Inquisition.
The congregation seeks to spread sound doctrine and defend those points of Christian tradition which seem in danger because of new and unacceptable doctrines", the Vatican's website explains.
His interview in La Repubblica contributed to an ongoing debate in Italy on the role of Christians in Europe.
The debate was sparked by the European Parliaments rejection of Rocco Buttiglione - an Italian Catholic politician - as European Union commissioner because of his ultra-conservative views on women and homosexuality. Some Catholics in Italy now speak of feeling persecuted in Europe because of their ideas.
In an apparent reference to the Buttiglione affair, Cardinal Ratzinger said God was being "marginalised" by modern day society.
"It appears almost that, in politics, it has become indecent to talk about God, as if it represents an attack on the freedom of those who do not believe," he said.
"A society in which God is totally absent self-destructs. We have seen this happen during the totalitarian regimes of the past century," he added.
Cardinal Ratzinger reiterated his opposition to homosexuality, describing Spains recent decision to allow same-sex marriages as destructive for the family and society, but also acknowledged that Christians were finding it increasingly hard to make themselves understood.
DPA
The Roman Catholic Church Europe is OUT IN THE COLD in Europe's New Empire?
'Cardinal Ratzinger, who is considered one of the most conservative voices in the Roman Curia, heads the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a Church body formerly known as the Inquisition.'
I don't think this is right. The Roman Curia was probably RESPONSIBLE for the inquisition, I doubt it was CALLED the inquisition.
BTW: I LOVE Cardinal Ratzinger.
Peace -
When there shall be found among you within any of thy gates, which the Lord thy God shall give thee, man or woman that do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, and transgress his covenant,
3 So as to go and serve strange gods, and adore them, the sun and the moon, and all the host of heaven, which I have not commanded:
4 And this is told thee, and hearing it thou hast inquired diligently, (Inquisition) and found it to be true, and that the abomination is committed in Israel:
5 Thou shalt bring forth the man or the woman, who have committed that most wicked thing, to the gates of thy city, and they shall be stoned.
* We Christians, the New Israel, were just trodding in the same footsteps as the Jews who were following a Divine Command.
me too!
If you don't mind my asking, what is the real story of the Inquisition? I go to a Catholic school and they bend over backwards making us look like the bad guys (trying to be PC I suppose.) I actually wrote my sophomore term paper on the Inquisition. So what's the true story about it? I only wish I'd known this stuff earlier (particularly the truth about the Crusades.)
And then I believed they could hardly help but recognizze that what had been presented as Truth was,for the most part,lies and propaganda,propagated by enemies of Christianity,specifically the One,Holy,Catholic and Apostolic Church established by the Son of God to bring man back to the Father.
I guess I would have to look at that as a yet unfulfilled hope,to put it mildly.
This is why I check my son's textbooks even tho he goes to a Catholic school.
In anycase, there has been a lot of new research on the Spanish Inquisition (the only one anyone talks about, there were actually several "inquisitions" in different countries across Europe) since the Spanish government opened their archives. Thomas Madden gives a synopsis in The Truth About the Spanish Inquisition
Frankly looking at the world we live in I'm not so sure laws against hereasy were such a bad idea.
Much of that is true. However, one of the biggest problems with the Inquisition in Spain was that in some cases, individual Inquisitors (that is, the head of the local office in a particular city) were ultra-zealous and used it to get at personal enemies. Another problem was that, in the later years, it became essentially a tool used by members of the court of Felipe II to attack people who were considered potential threats to royal power. The Pope tried to halt the Inquisition several times, even sending a Bull on the matter, but by that time, it had become a political tool and was difficult to control.
Incidentally, the Inquisition was active in Mexico, too, where the vast majority of persons punished by it were priests. They were punished and even put to death for things such as enslaving or sexually abusing the Indians, teaching syncretist doctrine, witchcraft (usually for adopting Indian practices), etc.
Thank you very much for the info and the article! I have the one the same guy wrote on the Crusades bookmarked... if only I'd known this in time for my paper, heh.
Yeah, it's sad that you can't even trust education in Catholic schools now. My mom teaches about the Crusades at another (Catholic) school, and I've been bugging her for ages to teach the truth about the Crusades.
This is 'lashing' out?
Sounds more like a statement of fact.
The headline writer got more than a bit overwrought on that one. (Is it a requirement that headlines have as little relation to content as possible?)
lol -relatively speaking, Truth is shocking to those ignorantly insistent...
Thanks!
Three cheers for the Panzer Kardinal! Hip, hip hooray! Hip, hip hooray! Hip, hip hooray!
I found a similar thread like this while spying on the DU. The responses where very different than the ones seen here.
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