"(snip)
"As head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Ratzinger has made several waves over the past year. Top among them was a letter he sent in August to Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington advising clergy that they must deny Communion to supporters of abortion rights who, he said, persist in cooperating in what he termed a "grave sin." The note also provided advice on how Catholic voters should proceed when faced with a choice that included a candidate who supported abortion rights. No names were mentioned, but several American bishops had spoken out against Sen. John F. Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate, for his views on abortion. In the end, the U.S. bishops decided to leave these decisions to individual prelates. The letter was leaked in Italy, and its publication created consternation in the Vatican, especially in the office of the secretary of state, which handles international affairs.
(snip)
John Paul II has referred to the German theologian as his "trustworthy friend." They became acquainted four decades ago at the Second Vatican Council, which laid out church reforms under Pope John XXIII. Ratzinger has headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith since 1981, three years after John Paul II became pope. The congregation is the historical successor to the Sacred Congregation of the Universal Inquisition, one of the oldest departments in the Vatican. Sometimes, it is known as the Holy Office. John Paul II has said its functions are "to promote and safeguard the doctrine of the faith and morals throughout the Catholic world."
Observers said Ratzinger's views have been heavily influenced by the harrowing experience of two contending ideologies: fascism, which he experienced as a youth in Germany, and the Marxism rife in German universities during the 1960s.
"Having seen fascism in action, Ratzinger today believes that the best antidote to political totalitarianism is ecclesial totalitarianism. In other words, he believes the Catholic Church serves the cause of human freedom by restricting freedom in its internal life, thereby remaining clear about what it teaches and believes," wrote John Allen, a journalist and biographer of Ratzinger.
In his early years in office, Ratzinger moved to stamp out vestiges of liberation theology, a current of Catholic thought born in the 1960s that emphasized grass-roots organization to free people from poverty. Its association with Marxist groups and revolutionary movements appalled both John Paul II and Ratzinger.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the pope's attention increasingly turned to issues of morality, especially regarding materialism in the developed world. In 2001, musing on an anything-goes world, he lamented that "the concept of authority no longer exists."
He has fought against trends in ecumenism that suggest that Catholicism is but one of many ways to salvation. On issues of sex , morality and ethics, he minces no words. He called homosexuality an "intrinsic moral evil." In recent years, he has taken on social and scientific trends that, he argued, attack the natural order. At a public debate in Rome recently, he likened cloning to "weapons of mass destruction."
(snip)
That article is a keeper, so many GOOD quotes.
You really ought to post it on its own thread!
(I know, it must be a small portion only).
The last two paragraphs are particularly wonderful. :)
It looks like Fat Teddy and Kerry should be shaking in their shoes.