Religion

For the Cardinal Under Ban, the Quarantine Has Ended

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Skrivet av Sandro Magister

maj122012

Jean DaniélouA conference has broken the silence on Jean Daniélou, one of the greatest theologians of the twentieth century. The mystery of his death. The hostility of his Jesuit confreres. The interview they couldn't forgive him for doing 

 "Windows open on the mystery": this is the title of the conference with which, two days ago, the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross broke the silence on one of the greatest theologians of the twentieth century, the French Jesuit Jean Daniélou, made a cardinal by Paul VI in 1969.
A silence that lasted almost forty years, and began with his passing away in 1974.

In effect, the memory of Daniélou is today reduced, for many, to the mystery of his death by heart attack, one May afternoon, at the home of a prostitute on the fourth floor of Rue Dulong 56 in Paris.

When in reality the true mystery on which Daniélou opened the windows to many, in his activity as a theologian and a spiritual man, is that of the triune God. One of his greatest works was entitled "An essay on the mystery of history." A history not governed by chance, nor by necessity, but filled with the "magnalia Dei," by the grandiose wonders of God, each more astonishing than the last.

After Seven Years, the Secret of Pope Ratzinger

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Skrivet av Sandro Magister

apr292012

Raphael , Disputation of the Holy SacramentNo one said it a week ago, during the flood of tributes for Benedict XVI's seventh anniversary as pope. But the element that has most revealed the profound meaning of his pontificate was a storm.

It was a scorching evening in Madrid, in August of 2011. In front of Pope Benedict, on the open ground, a million young people, average age 22, an unknown. All of a sudden a downpour of water, lightning, wind hurled itself on them all, with no shelter anywhere. Clusters of floodlights were tossed into the air, posters flew away, even the pope was drenched. But he stayed where he was in front of the explosive celebration of young men and women over the surprise performance from the heavens.

When the rain stopped, the pope set aside his written remarks and addressed just a few words to the young people. He invited them to look not at him, but at that Jesus who said he is living and present in the consecrated host on the altar. He knelt down in silent adoration. And the same happened in the clearing. Everyone knelt down on the wet ground. In complete silence. For a good half hour.

A theologian's questions

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Skrivet av John R.T. Lamont

apr172012

Society of St. Pius X FSSPXIn a communiqué of March 16th 2012, the Holy See has announced that Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior-General of the Society of St. Pius X, FSSPX, has been informed that the Society's response to the Doctrinal Preamble presented to them by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has  been judged to be "not sufficient to overcome the doctrinal problems that are at the basis of the rift between the Holy See and the aforesaid Society" (in the original French of the press release, "n’est pas suffisante pour surmonter les problèmes doctrinaux qui sont à la base de la fracture entre le Saint-Siège et ladite Fraternité.") The press release does not make clear whether this judgment is made on the part of the CDF and approved by the Pope, or is the judgment of the Pope himself. The judgement is the latest step in a process of discussion on doctrinal issues between the CDF and the FSSPX. The nature and seriousness of this judgment raises important questions for a Catholic theologian; the purpose of this article is to ask these questions.

The secrecy of the doctrinal talks in question makes comment on the judgment difficult. The reason for this secrecy is hard to grasp, because the topics of discussion do not concern practical details of a canonical settlement – which would clearly have benefited from confidentiality – but matters of faith and doctrine, that concern not only the parties involved but all believing Catholics. However, enough has been publicly stated about the position of the FSSPX to permit an evaluation of the situation. There are two things that need to be considered here: the rift between the Holy See and the FSSPX that has been produced by the doctrinal problems in question, and the nature of the doctrinal problems themselves.

In a response to a study of the doctrinal authority of the Second Vatican Council by Bp. Fernando Ocáriz, Fr. Jean-Michel Gleize FSSPX has listed the elements of that council that the FSSPX find unacceptable.

"On at least four points, the teachings of the Second Vatican Council are obviously in logical contradiction to the pronouncements of the previous traditional Magisterium, so that it is impossible to interpret them in keeping with the other teachings already contained in the earlier documents of the Church’s Magisterium. Vatican II has thus broken the unity of the Magisterium, to the same extent to which it has broken the unity of its object. These four points are as follows.

"The doctrine on religious liberty, as it is expressed in no. 2 of the Declaration 'Dignitatis humanae,' contradicts the teachings of Gregory XVI in 'Mirari vos' and of Pius IX in 'Quanta cura' as well as those of Pope Leo XIII in 'Immortale Dei' and those of Pope Pius XI in 'Quas primas.'

"The doctrine on the Church, as it is expressed in no. 8 of the Constitution 'Lumen gentium,' contradicts the teachings of Pope Pius XII in 'Mystici corporis' and 'Humani generis.'

"The doctrine on ecumenism, as it is expressed in no. 8 of 'Lumen gentium' and no. 3 of the Decree 'Unitatis redintegratio,' contradicts the teachings of Pope Pius IX in propositions 16 and 17 of the 'Syllabus,' those of Leo XIII in 'Satis cognitum,' and those of Pope Pius XI in 'Mortalium animos.'

"The doctrine on collegiality, as it is expressed in no. 22 of the Constitution 'Lumen gentium,' including no. 3 of the 'Nota praevia' [Explanatory Note], contradicts the teachings of the First Vatican Council on the uniqueness of the subject of supreme power in the Church, in the Constitution 'Pastor aeternus'."

Fr. Gleize participated in the doctrinal discussions between the FSSPX and the Roman authorities, as did Bp. Ocáriz himself. We may reasonably take his statement as a description of the doctrinal points upon which the FSSPX will not compromise, and that are taken by the Holy See to inevitably give rise to a rift. 

Gregory the Great Speaks English

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Skrivet av Sandro Magister

mar182012

Ecumenica Ecclesia

The encounter in Rome between Benedict XVI and the primate of the Anglicans has taken place under the banner of the great pope who evangelized Britannia. With Ratzinger and Williams, ecumenism is abandoning tactics and getting to the substance 

Among the many criticisms aimed at Benedict XVI, there is one that no longer holds up, after his celebration of vespers together with the archbishop of Canterbury and primate of the Anglican Communion, Rowan Williams, on the evening of March 10 in the Roman monastery of San Gregorio al Celio.

The criticism is that of ditching ecumenism, of putting the embrace with the Lefebvrists in front of dialogue with the other Christian confessions.

The facts say the opposite. Those most unyielding in rejecting the pope's offers of peace are precisely the followers of the schismatic archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. And they reject them precisely on account of the significant steps forward – for them, a concession to error – taken by Benedict XVI on the path of reconciliation with the Anglicans, with the Churches of the East, and even with the heirs of Martin Luther.

With the Anglican Communion, the rapprochement that has been seen since Joseph Ratzinger became pope is simply astonishing.

Strictly according to logic, one would have expected the opposite. In the autumn of 2009, Benedict XVI promulgated an apostolic constitution, "Anglicanorum Cœtibus," to normalize the entrance into the Catholic Church of entire communities of faithful coming from Anglicanism, with their bishops and priests.

The initiative was immediately condemned – on the part of some progressive Catholic currents – as a gravely anti-ecumenical act: that is, as a restoration of the ideology of the "great return" and as the intention of the Catholic Church to "expand its empire" by ripping away portions of rival Churches.

But in the Anglican camp, the initiative did not provoke any rejection.

The announcement of "Anglicanorum Cœtibus" was made simultaneously from Rome and London, here through the initiative of Anglican primate Williams himself, although he had not been part of the preparation of the document.

This was followed by the entry into the Church of Rome of thousands of faithful and dozens of priests and bishops, accommodated in special "ordinariates," two of them so far, the first in Great Britain and the second in the United States.

The new arrivals have the option of preserving their previous liturgical rite, while the priests and bishops, most of them married and with children, are ordained priests in the Catholic Church, continuing to lead their respective communities.

Andlighet och empati. Reflexioner kring ett påhopp

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Skrivet av Annakarin Svedberg

feb102012

Annakarin Svedberg vid Maha Bodhi Indien

Vilken plats har kvinnor i världsreligionerna? Har kvinnor en plats?

Vanligt har varit att kvinnor kokat kaffe vid sammankomster av olika slag. Vanligt har varit att mannen predikat. Vanligt är att kvinnan ansetts vårdande och empatisk, medan mannen stått för handlingskraft.

Jag är kvinna. Men jag är också yin och yang, liksom allt i universum, enligt en grundläggande kinesisk uppfattning. I manifestationen är jag kvinna, esoteriskt är jag yin och yang.

När jag på 70-talet intresserade mig för buddhismen, fick jag bland annat veta, att kvinnor hade långt större möjligheter där än i kristna traditioner. Mina vistelser bland buddhister i Asien sa mig emellertid något annat.

Det finns stunder när jag funderar över om män är kapabla till verklig empati – alltså inlevelse, förståelse, medkännande ansvar. Det finns stunder när jag imponeras av empatiska män.

En man –”indienexperten” David Ståhl – driver ett företag som han kallar Empatum, av empati. Han driver alltså ett empatiskt företag? Och är ”expert” på Indien? Hm. Stort land som han omfattar med sin medkännande expertis? Han har också skrivit och gett ut en bok om indisk historia och kultur.

Jag anser nog att själva uttrycket har sitt ursprung från en tid då en intellektuell elit i Sverige ansåg sig ha tolkningsföreträde på världens tillstånd, och finner det dessutom orimligt att någon kan vara expert på andra länders och kulturers utveckling, annat än i små fragment.

Han arrangerar resor till det stora landet, där han också, sedan 40 år, är ingift med en indiska.

I sitt nyhetsblad, ( http://www.empatum.se/nyhetsbrev ) som utkommer 5 ggr/år, ser han då och då till att ge tjyvnyp till andra, som också anser sig vara indienexperter, till exempel författarna Jan Myrdal och Arthur Lundkvist. Välförtjänt ibland, har jag nog tyckt.

Själv reste och levde jag i Indien i slutet av sjuttiotalet och början på åttiotalet. Min senaste vistelse där ägde rum 2008.

Att påstå att jag imponeras av Ståhls läskunnighet vore en våldsam överdrift. 2011 kom min bok ”Andlighet och kärlek – ett kunskapsäventyr ”, omnämnd i Empatums nyhetsblad av honom själv. Han må vara duktig på affärer och kanske en hejare till reseledare, men vad läsförmåga anbelangar tycks det saknas en del.

Boken redogör för mina upplevelser bland buddhister i Sverige och Asien.

Jesus, Our Contemporary

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Skrivet av Sandro Magister

feb072012

the mystery of Jesus, true God and true man

This is the title of the international event that will be held in Rome in the upcoming days. Conceived by Cardinal Ruini in accord with the "supreme priority" assigned by Benedict XVI to his own pontificate 

On the eve of the next consistory, Benedict VXI will gather around himself the entire college of cardinals, including the newly elect, for a day "of reflection and prayer."

The encounter will be held on February 17, and its theme will be "The proclamation of the Gospel today, between 'missio ad gentes' and new evangelization."

It is no secret that this is also the primary objective of the current pontificate. Pope Joseph Ratzinger has said this and said it again, time after time: "The supreme and fundamental priority of the Church and of the successor of Peter in this time is to lead men to God."

But to what God? The pope's answer to this question is also known:

"Not just any god, but the God who spoke on Sinai; to that God whose face we recognize in a love which presses 'to the end' – in Jesus Christ, crucified and risen."

The words of Benedict XVI just cited are taken from the letter that he wrote to the bishops of the whole world, dated March 10, 2009.

Religion eller sekt. Buddhistisk manipulation

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Skrivet av Annakarin Svedberg

jan282012

Vit dagoba Srilanka Vad sker bakom kulisserna i buddhistiska centra?Sedan sista hälften av förra århundradet har buddhismen etablerat  plats i det svenska samhället, och representeras av olika riktningar och traditioner.

 Vad betecknar en sekt?

Vad är skillnaden mellan sekteristisk styrning och religiös övertygelse? Finns det någon skillnad?

Enligt FRI (Föreningen Rädda Individen) –handlar det inte om ”religion men om manipulation.” Man väljer inte att gå med i en sekt. Man föds in i den eller man värvas till den. Samtidigt kan det vara svårt att medge att man faktiskt inte gått in i sekten av fritt val. Varför? Därför att sektens ledare och dess medlemmar utövat en effektiv mind-control.

(Jag är inte medlem i FRI och tänker heller inte bli. Men deras definitioner kan vara intressanta.)

Buddhismen betraktas i dag som en fridsam livsåskådning med respekt för livet.

I mitten av 70-talet och tjugo år framåt var jag djupt engagerad i buddhismen. Jag lärde mig olika meditationstekniker, jag reste och levde i buddhistiska länder och kom i kontakt med dess skilda traditioner.

Vi vet ofta för lite – eller ingenting – om buddhismen för att kunna reflektera kring densamma.

Karismatiska lärare/ledare har haft framgångar och lyckats rekrytera stora skaror av efterföljare världen över. Mest känd, men inte unik, är  Dalai Lama. När jag  såg honom i TV vid hans första svenska besök, någon gång på 90-talet, kunde jag känna en viss glädje inför den positiva responsen.

Han var rolig, föreföll kunnig, hade förmågan att framhålla sin läras positiva drag. Genom sin framtoning kunde han ju ge en viss legitimitet till andra buddhister, eller rentav f.d. buddhister.

På sikt blev det  mycket som inte stämde. Det mesta stämde faktiskt inte. Gubben började, rent ut sagt, bli tjatig. Varför skulle just han representera all slags buddhism i hela världen? När jag tänker tillbaka, kan jag se en hel del kriterier som betecknat destruktiv sekt hos buddhismen. 

On the interpretation of Vatican II The hermeneutic of reform, a task for theology

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Skrivet av Gilles Routhier

jan272012

Archbishop LefebvreFor a number of years, the hermeneutic of Vatican Council II did not seem to be a problem. Everyone was fully in agreement in saying that Vatican II introduced a novelty into the Catholic tradition, at least into the recent tradition: a novelty of style and a novelty on the level of the content of the teaching of the Church. [...]

So there was only one point of contention: could the Council be considered the surpassing of the historical experience of Catholicism of the Counter-Reformation that had marked the modern West? In other words, was the emergence of a new historical figure of Catholicism permissible and thinkable? 

The answers to this question differed radically. For the traditionalists, [...] the teaching of Vatican II, in their view, broke with tradition, and therefore it had to be opposed with unflagging fidelity to the forms that Catholicism had known in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. [...]

It is in this way, for example, that the liturgical reform is interpreted in the letter that accompanies the "Brief critical examination of the Novus Ordo Missae" addressed to Paul VI by cardinals Ottaviani and Bacci on September 25, 1969. In this document, it is observed that "the new Ordo Missae, if the new elements are considered, distances itself in an astonishing way, on the whole as in the details, from the theology of the holy Mass as it was formulated in the 20th session of the Council of Trent . . ." [...]

The idea that Vatican II appears as a rupture in tradition is a leitmotif in traditionalist literature. [...] It is clearly found in a text by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre dated November 21, 1974, a text of rare violence, published just a few days after the apostolic visit ordered by the commission of cardinals instituted by Paul VI to deal with the problem posed by the Society of Saint Pius X, a text that foreshadows the first rupture, represented by the suspension a divinis that would take place on July 22, 1976. [...]

FROM RUPTURE TO CONTINUITY

The hermeneutic of rupture practiced widely in the traditionalist camp, beginning above all in 1974 and in an even more radical way after 1976, nonetheless had to be reconsidered by Archbishop Lefebvre himself. 

In effect, shortly after the inauguration of the pontificate of John Paul II, hoping in the possibility of an agreement with the new pope, who seemed to him to express a judgment on communism similar to his own, Lefebvre made new overtures toward the Vatican.

The contacts began just a month after the election of the new pope on October 16, 1978. He was already receiving Archbishop Lefebvre on November 18. [...] The first phase of negotiations lasted from November 30, 1978, to February 19, 1981. [...] It culminated with a proposed draft agreement sent by Archbishop Lefebvre to John Paul II on October 16, 1980, and the rejection of this draft in its initial form. In the draft, Archbishop Lefebvre wrote that he was willing to accept "the Council in the light of tradition."

Religionens dualism: hot och hopp

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Skrivet av Dr Jan Stenis

jan182012

Harmoniska samfundPå 90-talet, så anslöt jag mig till en obskyr, religiös rörelse som härstammade från Mellanöstern. Denna trosinriktning tilltalade mig eftersom alkohol, tobak och sodomi var bannlyst. Dessutom, så fick jag tiden att gå medan jag väntade på att få försvara min avhandling vid den helt ologiska disputationen; i Sverige är en disputation ”ett allmänt folknöje”, medan den i andra länder oftast är en behagligt sluten tillställning med enbart doktoranden, hans professor samt opponenten närvarande.

Men allt ska ju tydligen bli urvattnat i den medvetna fördumningens namn, i syfte att degenerera och förslava alla goyims. Nåväl, jag lärde mig mycket om religionshistoria av denna synkretistiska sekts urkunder. Sektens utövare var dock väldigt jobbiga – ett tjog komplexfyllda asiater och så lilla, svenska jag.

Harmoniska samfund

Som vanligt hoppade ”ledarhannen och hans hona” på mig och blev med tiden mina föraktade dödsfiender när jag inte ville markera servil underdånighet. Jag fick några få vänner, men problemet var ju att församlingsmedlemmarna blankt vägrade diskutera både huruvida ”guden” verkligen existerade och om sektens profet var en helt sann gudsman, eller bara till exempel en schizofren charlatan med storhetsvansinne.

Till slut krävde säkerhetstjänsten inom sekten att jag skulle skriva på ett papper vari jag betygade att jag vördsamt skulle följa profetens ifråga föreskrifter. Jag fick ju då välja mellan att följa mitt logiska sinne, eller att devot underkasta mig ”en maktgalen arab” från 1800-talet.

Jag ansåg inte att jag bara kunde kasta bort min kunskap om den vetenskapliga metoden, som jag hade behövt över nio års stenhårda forskarstudier för att tillgodogöra mig. Så jag skickade då in min utträdesansökan och mådde sedan mycket bra av att slippa hyckleriet.

Sacred music in the "reductions" of the jesuits

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Skrivet av Gianpaolo Romanato

jan052012

The angelic musicians in the illustration above are sculpted on the walls of the apse of a church in ruins, in a remote area of Paraguay. When I first visited the ruins of the Reductions – the missions designed four centuries ago by the Jesuits for the Guaranì population in Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia, now declared a world heritage site by UNESCO – I was stupefied by the grandiosity of the buildings, by the elaborate urban planning, by the artistic attention to the churches, still very visible in spite of the destruction that took place in the nineteenth century, after the independence of the countries of South America.

Why so much attention to theatrical effect, to visual impact, in a semi-primitive environment like the one in which the Guaranì were living? "Because," Luis Szarán explains to me, "this was the means for winning over the  Guaranì, whose cultural universe was very elaborate, with rites similar to those of the Baroque."

Today Szarán is the most famous musical figure of Paraguay, conductor of the symphonic orchestra of the city of Asunción. With the project "Sonidos de la Tierra," he is bringing music to the most remote villages of Paraguay, with the objective of elevating the culture and sensibility of young people through art. A grandiose project, which currently involves 150 villages and 12,000 young people.