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Inside
NCR Of
Ratzinger, Kosovo and the spanking of egos
This week we proudly present John
Allens magisterial disquisition on the life, times and skirmishes of
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. An immense amount of work went into the article,
which, one suspects, will be surreptitiously stashed away for future reference
by the most unlikely people. Everyones opinion on this man was canvassed
-- if Allen didnt interview you, you must have been away on sabbatical or
something.
Everyone was eager to expound on the prefect of the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith except Ratzinger himself. Allen volunteered to
fly to Rome, whatever it took. Word came back -- no cigar. Soon afterward,
however, a congregation underling slipped the word that Ratzinger would be in
Northern California, so Allen jumped on the nearest plane and there he was
sitting before the grand inquisitor when the latter held a news conference in
Menlo Park. Allen got two questions in. Afterward, he boldly approached and
shook the most orthodox hand in Christendom. John swallowed hard (we presume)
and said he was from NCR.
Ah, very interesting paper, the cardinal said (you
must supply the German accent yourself, though Allen would quickly specify that
it was Bavarian).
So, we had our interview, the cardinal then added,
harking back to the rejected request for a one-on-one.
History doesnt record whether a smile curled at the corner
of those lips, but its likely. Some say he is charming and has a sense of
humor. Its a pity he found it necessary to inflict a lot of useless pain
on some good people.
It may have been the sense of humor let him down. James Joyce, or
somebody, defined the church as Here Comes Everybody! Theyre
the kind of words Jesus the founder could himself have said. Yall come.
In spite of all the creeds and dogmas and ecumenical councils and holy offices,
look around you. The church is a motley bunch. People who say theyre
Catholic believe an amazing variety of beliefs, do an amazing variety of good
and bad things. No one can tie a string around their thoughts and put a neat
tag on them: Catholic, the genuine article. Amazing little wayward or heretical
thoughts ooze out, some even sublime, some Ratzinger never dreamed of. And
theyre all Catholic. And saying theyre not Catholic, that only what
he says is Catholic is Catholic, is the thankless and unproductive burden
Ratzinger hoisted on his own back just when the Vatican Council had bestowed a
bit of panache and joy on being Catholic.
Allens article throws shining light on Ratzingers
times, which are also ours.
A couple of articles and an
editorial (pages 3, 4 and 32) comment on the ongoing, smoldering state of what
used to be Corpus Christi Parish. NCR has covered this from the
beginning, blow by blow. I find myself growing perplexed and impatient as I
observe from a distance. If this were the great parish everyone said it was,
why was it so fragile? Why was there not more charity? A parish a couple of
decades in the making, a couple of decades of Christian fellowship, a couple of
decades of Fr. James Callans leadership -- how could it be so shallow, so
spiritually thin, that people have resorted even to spitting at one
another?
While TVs everywhere bring us round-the-clock images of awful
suffering and injustice in Kosovo and elsewhere, Im running out of
sympathy -- and I had sympathy for a while -- for what, as time passes,
seems more and more like a self-absorbed bunch of Catholics. I know
theres more to it than that. I know theyre good people. But right
now the Holy Spirit seems asleep on the job in Rochester. Or, right now, some
charismatic egos need a good spanking.
Forgive this grumpy way of introducing Mary J. Henold, who lives
at Corpus Christi and who explains her sadness and confusion at what good
people do to each other (page 4). There is a wisdom here far beyond
Henolds 25 years. And an immense tolerance that, given a chance, might
spread through her parish to the rest of the troubled church.
A friend of NCR in far-off
Vienna, Hubert Feichtlbauer, has written a book, Zerbricht Die Kirche?
(A Split Church? The Answer of an Optimist) (published by Verlag Kremayr
& Scheriau, Niederhofstrasse 37, A-1120 Wien, Austria). Its a
handsome little book that costs approximately $17.
Unfortunately, there are no plans for an English translation at
this time. But if you know German (which I dont) youll find
NCR mentioned on page 28. To be more exact, its the aforementioned
John Allen who gets the attention. Described as a
Kommentarchef (the German equivalent for opinion editor),
Allen is said to have written hymnisch or hymnically about recent
efforts at church reform in Austria, while comparing the Austrian situation
with that in the United States.
There is an immense need for relief
of the Kosovo disaster, and many groups are rushing with aid. The expenditures
are enormous. The television pictures demonstrate clearly what a worthy and
urgent charity this is. Donations may be sent to:
- Catholic Relief Services: PO Box 17090, Baltimore MD
21203-7090; phone: 1-800-736-3467; www.catholicrelief.org
- CARE, 151 Ellis St. NE, Atlanta GA 30303; 1-800-521-CARE;
www.care.org
- Doctors Without Borders, 6 E. 39th St., 8th Floor, New York NY
10016; 1-888-392-0392; www.dwb.org
- U.S. Association for the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees, 1775 K St. NW, Suite 300, Washington D.C. 20006; 1-202-296-5191.
For a complete list of all agencies providing care to the Kosovo
refugees and a description of their specific work, go to this Web site:
www.kosovorelief.org/links.htm
-- Michael Farrell
National Catholic Reporter, April 16,
1999
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