Inside
NCR Even
head Catholic theologian nods
Some day someone will write a book about the real Cardinal Joseph
Ratzinger, currently director of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith. Although ranked the worlds chief Catholic theologian, and the
second most powerful Catholic on earth, he remains for now an enigma.
John Hicks article on page 22 pinpoints some interesting if
not troubling aspects of Ratzingers brand of thumb-in-the-dike theology
-- if the thumb is too big for the hole in the dike, the truth gets wet and
soggy.
Hicks cautious critique of Ratzingers attack on
relativism finds the cardinal using sloppy, inaccurate, unfair, poorly
researched and ad hominem theology. Theology by fiat: I say its so, so
its so. Such accusations against the churchs foremost defender of
eternal verities, if shown to be true, ought to to be an embarrassment to
official Catholic theology.
Yet, though the Ratzinger document has been out there for a year,
there has been no great fuss until now. If the allegations prove to be true --
an easy enough matter to check on -- it seems odd that no voices were raised in
dismay. After all, Ratzinger has made a career of sniping at others
errors; this ought to have been payback time.
One answer is that Ratzinger and these theologians parted company
long ago. For todays creative theologians, Ratzinger is an irrelevance
and scoring points on him is only a shallow indulgence. In short, they
dont read Ratzinger.
Then there are the conservative Christians. These do read
Ratzinger. But since, for them, the German cardinal can write no wrong, they
take every word, including such gaffes as Hick points out, as gospel.
This leaves Ratzinger wearing a rather thin theological suit --
making a difference only when he hauls in yet another dissident for
interrogation or punishment.
Our cover story on Columbia may be too long for some, too tragic
for others. It is not light reading. Thats one reason you wont find
many such articles in the U.S. media. People want instead to be entertained; to
leave bad news, and the guilt that comes with it, at our national borders.
Yet, a remnant wants to know, prepared to look the evil in the
eye. Its a stout, undaunted remnant -- people of conscience. They are
quintessential NCR people. It is one of our glories that these are the readers
we attract. Time and again they tell us how, over the years, NCR covered the
agony of Latin America when scarcely anyone else did.
There seems now to be a lull. Our politicians congratulate
themselves on giving democracy to Latin America. The implication is that with
democracy goes peace and plenty. This weeks article by Leslie Wirpsa
makes clear that Latin America is still a story and still a sad one.
And its not just about faraway places. We of the USA are
still, sadly, implicated in what is worse as well as what is better about Latin
America. Its our story.
National Catholic Reporter, October 24,
1997
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