You will want to read this carefully and put it in your “IMPORTANT” file.Posted on 11/23/2013 11:39:06 AM PST by markomalley
You will want to read this carefully and put it in your “IMPORTANT” file.
This is, again, HUGE news.
The 450th anniversary of the closing of the Council of Trent is coming up on 4 December. We like to celebrate these great milestones in salvation history. So, there are great doings in Trent, in the northern area of Italy which is part of the (also) German-speaking Tirol. As is customary, Pope Francis will send a Cardinal as his personal representative. Who better than His Eminence Walter Card. Brandmüller?
When the Pope sends a Cardinal off on one of these missions, he sends him a formal letter, charging him with his task and indicating something of his own hopes for the occasion. The anniversary of the closing of the Council of Trent is no exception.
In his letter to Card. Brandmüller, Pope Francis explicitly cites Pope Benedict XVI pontificate-defining address in 2005 to the Roman Curia in which he spoke about the “hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture” (e.g., the Karl Rahner crowd and their descendants, still active today) and the “hermeneutic of reform”, or “hermeneutic of continuity”.
In this explicit reference Francis is aligning himself with Benedict and that key moment and concept underlying Benedict’s pontificate.
This comes in the wake of Francis writing to Archbishop Marchetto (refresh your memory HERE), a critic of one of the powerhouses of the ”hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture”, the so-called “Bologna School” of interpretation of the Council. Francis surely broke a lot of liberal hearts when he referred to Marchetto (who in this matter is completely aligned with Benedict) as one of the best interpreters of the Council that he knows.
The letter of Francis to Card. Brandmüller is available in the Latin original in the Bollettino. Here is my rapid translation of the first part of the letter, which is the important part. I scaled down some of the flowery stuff. The second part is the usual boilerplate and of less interest.
To our Venerable Brother
Walter Cardinal (of the Holy Roman Church) Brandmüller
Deacon of St. Julian of the FlemishSince the 450th anniversary of the day on which the Council of Trent drew to its favorable end, it is fitting that the Church recall with readier and more attentive eagerness the most rich doctrine which came out of that Council held in the Tyrol. It is certainly not without good reason that the Church has for a long time given such great care to that Council’s decrees and canons which are to be recalled and heeded, seeing that, since extremely grave matters and questions sprang up in that period, the Council Fathers employed all their diligence so that the Catholic faith should come into clearer view and be better understood. Without a doubt as the Holy Spirit inspired and prompted them, it was the Fathers’ greatest concern not only that the sacred deposit of Christian doctrine be defended, but also that mankind be more brightly illuminated, in order that the saving work of the Lord could be diffused throughout the entire globe and the Gospel be spread through the whole world.
Harking closely to the same Spirit, Holy Church in this age renews and meditates on the most abundant doctrine of the Council of Trent. In fact, the “hermeneutic of renewal” [interpretatio renovationis] which Our Predecessor Benedict XVI explained in 2005 before the Roman Curia, refers in no way less to the Council of Trent than to the Vatican Council. To be sure, this mode of interpretation places under a brighter light a beautiful characteristic of the Church which is taught by the Lord Himself: “She is a ‘subject’ which increases in time and develops, yet always remaining the same, the one subject of the journeying People of God” (Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the Roman Curia offering them his Christmas greetings – 22 December 2005).
[...]
This is a significant letter.
First, it affirms that we can indeed, and rightly, Read Francis Through Benedict.
Second, it affirms that Francis is, and rightly, reading Francis Through Benedict.
Third, it strikes me that Pope Francis is making some course corrections. He may have perceived that some in “the world” (e.g., liberals, the MSM) are not reading him accurately. His experience with the “interview” by Scalfari ought to have made that evident. In addition to liberal misperceptions and distorted interpretations, he has also been misjudged by many on the more conservative side of the spectrum.
As I have said all along, Pope Francis – like every Pope – has to learn how to be Pope. He had less of an advantage coming to the See of Peter because he had not been in or around the Roman Curia. But he is adjusting, learning, transforming. Francis, as you can see everyday, is not static in his job. He isn’t simply on cruise control.
Continue to pay close attention to Pope Francis, not just in sound-bites, but in the larger arcs of his talks and speeches and written documents.
This is not a bone thrown to conservatives. This is the real deal. This is Francis.
My reply wasn’t arrogant in the least. I was directly responding to the point he was trying to make.
Good that you admitted your arrogance though.
But don’t worry - I apologize for you and your silly waste of people’s time - LoL!
I’m not sure but I think it means a continual (or maybe even consistent) way of interpreting the Word of God (deposit of faith) given to the Church at Pentecost. As opposed to a disjunct or discontinuous (that apparently modernists apply, according to this article at least) way of interpreting His Word.
In other words it may seem obvious that the Church should never be inconsistent in her teachings but some clearly believe that our teachings should “change with the times”.
Hope this helps!
Spoonfeeding, perhaps?
Suuuure. Good that you admitted your arrogance though.
Which, in effect, is not being arrogant. But don’t worry - I apologize for you and your silly waste of people’s time - LoL!
Nope, you're not arrogant at all.
Best post in this thread.
Catholic Definition:
INTERPRETATION
Giving the meaning or explanation of something, as of a doctrine, law, or statement of purpose. It is authentic when given by the Church’s teaching authority and calls for obedient acceptance by the faithful; doctrinal when the Church exercises her magisterial right to teach the way of salvation; broad when the explanation of a law favors liberty; and narrow when the explanation limits human freedom.
All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon’s Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.
The task of talking down to you is made much easier when using unnecessarily large words. I see you weren't intimidated and brought it to their attention. Good for you. There is no need for much of their showy display of verbal skills but it makes them feel better (superior?) about themselves so we should try to look over it. YMMV
May God bless and keep our Holy Father.
As opposed to coming to Jesus as a child?
“...and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.”Mt 18
You think this means not opening a dictionary?
I teach middle school kids. Would you want me to tell them to remain ignorant because some protestants interpret this passage in the Bible as meaning to stay uninformed?
The discussion was communicating the gospel. If Christ said “suffer the little children to come unto me” I don’t think we need to use language they don’t understand when trying to communicate to them. Education to communicate and function in this society is an entirely different matter.
The discussion I was having with others was in response to the complaint of big words used in the title and in the pope’s usage.
You are trying to take a swipe at the Church for not allowing little children by using big words.
and it is absurd.
It is a waste of time.
The church is there for everyone. It’s why it has remained an institution founded by Jesus, for over 2000 years, unchanged, and using consistent language.
If you think the pope shuns children by speaking to theologians, you are completely wasting my time.
The church is of the understanding that God creates people of all different capacities, and each has a particular gift with which to spread the gospel.
Children as well as the highly educated and the curious.
Americans are afraid of different languages.
And some Protestants, here, quite remarkably, and predictably cannot take it when faced with the idea that the Catholic Church uses the Bible, and relies on it, and thrives on it.
Wow! Sensitive much? NO, I wasn’t “trying to take a swipe at the Church”. I was simply stating a point that language understandable to ALL who the Lord is calling is important.
Methinks thou doth protest too much.
A Catholic apologizing to another Catholic for the Protestants behavior. Oh what a tangled web we weave.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.