St. Hedwig's Catholic Cathedral in Berlin, 20 June 2009
Posted on 07/06/2011 12:48:09 PM PDT by NYer
Like Daniel in the lion’s den, Berlin’s new Catholic archbishop met the media on Tuesday to face accusations he was homophobic and far too conservative for such a prominent post in the free-wheeling German capital. Rainer Maria Woelki, a surprise choice for the high-profile post, professed respect for gays, denied membership in the staunchly conservative Opus Dei group and said he did not come to Berlin to point a censuring finger at non-Catholics.
Berlin’s gay community and liberal media reacted with dismay to his appointment last week, saying the Cologne-based prelate was “backwards-minded” and the wrong man for the job. But interest in the new prelate was so strong that the Catholic Church, a minority of about 390,000 in a 3.5 million population mostly indifferent or hostile to religion, had to switch the news conference to a larger hall at the last minute to accomodate over 100 journalists who turned out.
“We will meet with each other,” Woelki, 54, said when asked about the city’s active gay community. “I have respect and esteem for all people independent of heritage, skin colour and individual nature. I am open to all without reservations.” Describing himself simply as Catholic, he denied being a member of Opus Dei despite having done his doctorate at the group’s Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. That part of his biography led to media reports over the weekend calling him “reactionary.”
“The Church is not a moral institution that goes around pointing its finger at people,” Woelki said. “The Church is for me a community of seekers and believers and the Church would like to help people find their hapiness in life.”
The left-wing daily Tageszeitung said it had expected the worst from Woelki’s premiere but concluded: “You can talk with the man of God.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.reuters.com ...
I'd like to see a German transcript.
Until his new assignment, Woelki was an auxiliary bishop in Cologne to Cardinal Joachim Meisner, an arch-conservative with close ties to German-born Pope Benedict. He was hardly known outside that western German city, where he was born. Woelki’s Opus Dei aademic credentials, link to Meisner and statements reaffirming the Church view that homosexual acts are sinful sparked off a storm in Berlin.
Uh-oh! A societal non conformist.
**Woelki’s Opus Dei aademic credentials,**
He conservative if he’s Opus Dei
**Woelki’s Opus Dei aademic credentials,**
He’s conservative if he’s Opus Dei
The RC needs to get serious about confronting sodomites, both inside and outside the RC.
But he’s not. They have to qualify “Opus Dei credentials” with “academic.” He’s not a member of Opus Dei but they need a smear, so they reached for the fact that his degree is from an Opus Dei university. Cheap shot, typical Leftist cheap shot.
Imagine my surprise. Pope appoints a Catholic. Who’d’a thunk it?!
Now there’s a feller rooted in scripture. /s
The church certainly doesn’t need any homophobes, but what it sure could use are a whole bunch more “homophobes.”
But in bastions of Sodomite culture like most large liberal West European cities around the world and in the US and Australia, appointing Bishops who are serious about the Catholic Catechism is considered an act of war. They’d rather endure a 9/11 than have the central planks of this culture questioned and found to be depraved. Look what happened yesterday when an Indian Minister of Health called homosexuality a gay disease.
Recommended reading: 1 Corinthian 13>
That is not to say that moral judgment is unnecessary; far from it. The reason Woelki is being ambushed by the gays with their typical crudity and fury is that he represents and expresses a moral judment against sin. And after "neither do I condemn you" comes "Go now, and sin no more." (John 8:11). Still, he is right when he says, like Jesus, that "I did not come to judge the world, but to save it."
That's John 12:46. For fellers who are rooted in Scripture.
Exactly.
sure wish he would have mentioned Jesus Christ when describing what the Church is.
is there one bishop left in the world that is not ashamed of the Gospel???
the reason the Church exists is for the salvation of lost souls, not to make people “happy”
the falling away continues on course......
ONZ, anything but that!
so if the gays find their “hapiness in life” having sexual relations with each other, is he going to help them do it?
his statement certainly leads me to that conclusion.
“....and the Church would like to help people find their hapiness in their life”
why didn’t he say the Church would like to help people find Jesus Christ in their life?
Yeah right. That’s why he followed it with this line.
“The Church is for me a community of seekers and believers and the Church would like to help people find their hapiness in life.”
That’s the Church purpose for him? To help people find happiness? Not salvation, not conviction of sin and repentance, and not spiritual guidance but to find happiness in this world.
CB, it pains me to say, but you are 100000% correct. AMEN, AMEN, AMEN.
“.....not salvation, not conviction of sin and repentance and not spiritual guidance....”
i had to repeat your words because i wish i said them!!
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