Niedziela.pl – Article – Jasna Góra: 100 thousand participants in the pilgrimage of the Radio Maryja family

Włodzimierz Rędzioch: – In our conversation about John Paul II ("Niedziela" No. 24/2018) he mentioned the Eminence about Benedict XVI. After the Pope of Poland, he was elected pope of Germany – compatriot of the Eminence and an exceptional theologian. Why did the pontificate of Benedict XVI, like John Paul II before, encounter so much criticism and opposition in Germany?

Card. Paul Josef Strings: – The opposition to the papacy and its representatives is, unfortunately, the legacy of the countries north of the Alps. The great theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar wrote the book "Antyrzymski resentyment" a few years ago (Freiburg 1974, in the Polish translation: Poznań 2004). He writes that our "Catholic feelings are constantly being undermined by the persistent harrowing statements of the media, the press and many publications that show their Christian maturity by a presumptuous or even hateful exaltation of everything that comes from Rome, which is happening at Rome and he goes to Rome. "When in 1980 I was called by the Pope to Rome, one of my confreres asked me:" Can not we do anything against such an appointment? "Another m? writes: "You in Rome? I can only express my regret. "Because anti-German resentment is in Germany – in the country where Luther unleashed the Reformation – particularly expressive." North of the Alps, it's an aversion to Rome and the papacy as such. St. John Paul II met him after great applause, which he first experienced in Germany.In January 1989, 163 Catholic professors of the so-called The Cologne Declaration cursed the successor of St. Peter, when – from the point of view of the law of the Church, he rightly – appointed Archbishop of Cologne Joachim Meisner.The wave of their aggression spread throughout the world. Undeserved and painful of the Pope, which he drew from his statement of "Dominus Iesus", the central role of Jesus in the work of salvation, deserves to be remembered.

– But why Is the Pope also criticized? In the case of Benedict XVI, this anti-Roman disease is still heard at because of his past as a professor of theology. As a teacher and cardinal, he repeatedly challenged his colleagues to a verbal duel and put them on the shoulders. Ambitious university professors do not forget something like that. Then there were brilliant public speeches by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, for example the conflict with German philosophy star Jürgen Habermas at the Catholic Academy of Munich in 2004. Many people wondered why Ratzinger stood at the church summit: "was not there one of us?" Whoever does not inhibit his ambitions, he absorbs the antipathy and pours it. Not to mention the crowd of people who are far from the Church, who – as von Balthasar wrote – inspired the media in Germany and did not suffer from believers

– Benedict XVI has always been very critical towards the Church of his country. In a recent interview, he spoke about the negative effects of the ecclesiastical tax system in Germany and the excessively bureaucratic structure of the German Church: "In Germany, there is an organized and well-paid Catholicism. In many cases, they are employed by lay people appearing against the church with the mentality of associate employees in the unions. The church is for them only an employer, on which he looks with a critical eye. They are not controlled by the dynamics of faith, but the occupied position. A great threat to the German Church is perhaps that it has so many paid employees, which creates a surplus of secular bureaucracy. "When I read that the Munich Archdiocese has more than 800 employees, but only about 30 seminarians for 1.7 million Catholics, then I see the church as a bureaucratic machine. the German bishops do not understand that the ecclesiastical bureaucracy can not strengthen people in the faith or provoke vocations to the priesthood?

– These observations, unfortunately, are right. God, let the Gospel regain strength in Germany and bishops and parishes accept the timid beginnings of the renewal of the faith

– The ecclesiastical tax is another delicate point in the life of the German Church. Archbishop Georg Gänswein, who in his interview for the "Schwäbische Zeitung" asked the question: "How does the Church react in Germany in case of non-payment of taxes to the Church? And here is the answer: "He reacts with the. automatic exclusion from the ecclesial community – which equates to excommunication. It's an exaggeration, it's incomprehensible. He doubts the dogma, but he rejects no one. Could not the payment of "Kirchensteuer" be a greater offense than the rejection of the truths of faith? I have the impression that if faith is involved, it is a small tragedy, but when it comes to money, then there is more than jokes. "A church in which people do not go to confession, where they divorce and live in a remarriage everywhere, calmly receive Holy Communion, and in which" marriages "of homosexuals are more and more blessed in the world. Church, but who does not forgive the non-payment of ecclesiastical tax – is not it worrying?

– Every institution, if it wants to exist and act, needs resources Also the Catholic Church The so-called Kirchensteuer was founded in Germany in a long process of church history This is not the place here to discuss but without reading history, this method of financing is incomprehensible to non-Germans, but also considering the reasons that led to this tax, its practice (administrative withdrawal, which – of course – in individual cases could be deleted) and its consequences (in the event of non-payment – the Church) are very bad, often scandalous. Responsible shepherds should look for another funding model – perhaps it would be an Italian system: 0.8%. ("Otto for a thousand")? According to him, every citizen should decide for themselves whether the part of the taxes that he or she pays will be allocated to the religious community or to other cultural objectives of the state. Of course, such a change in the system would require the consent of other religions – for example Protestants.

– German Catholics often criticized or attacked John Paul II and Benedict XVI, particularly in sacramental discipline, anthropology, and bioethics. I remember, however, that recently the influential president of the Committee of German Catholics demanded "own pastoral practice" for each country, and Cardinal Reinhard Marx said: "We are not a branch of Rome." Most German bishops have recently opened to the possibility of admitting Holy Communion. spouses of non-Catholics. Is the Catholic Church in Germany still a Roman Catholic Church?

– At the assembly of all German Bishops in Hildesheim on February 24, 2015, the president and some other bishops organized a press conference. The resulting report is strange not only that the German Church confers special meaning within Ecclesia Catholica. More boring are the theological inaccuracies of the president, such as the lapidary statement: "We are not a branch of Rome.Every episcopal conference is competent in pastoral matters in its own cultural field and must proclaim the Gospel in its own way . " Map. Marx is a social ethic and probably knows a good relationship between a branch and a large company. However, in the context of the Church, such words are more suited to a coffee table. As President of the German Episcopal Conference, he should pay more attention to what he says. What does he mean by "competence" in the "pastoral cultural circle"? Is he asking for a new edition of the songbook for the liturgy or the program of a great pilgrimage? Decisions on these issues are not denied. But he's talking about something completely different! The President speaks of the drama of remarriage of divorced persons, and this question goes far beyond the pragmatic sympathies of a given cultural area. It belongs to the theological center of Ecclesia Catholica. In this area, even the cardinal can not solve the complicated Gordian knot by cutting the sword. It is supposed to stick to the theology of the sacraments given by the Council of Trent or the speech of Pope Benedict XVI who, on January 21, 2012, said that in pastoral decisions, no one should ignore the pastoral decisions. current Church teaching in the presence of the competent Rota Romana. A responsible shepherd can not be guided by an imprecise "mercy". If the head of the episcopate claims that with this teaching he wants to remain in the "community of the Church", he may not know the limits that this science establishes for pastoral practice, or he throws light, non-binding statements but sounding. The essential meaning of the community is defined by the central theological and spiritual foundation on which the Church of the whole world is supported. It seems however that at press conferences it is not usually particularly important for him – despite the fact that every bishop, at his episcopal consecration, clearly promised "the unity of the college of bishops under the successor of Peter ". Or the phrase: "We can not wait for a synod to say what the marriage and family ministry is supposed to look like" is in keeping with the ecclesial meaning of the community, with the spirit of " communion "? Such statements are rather a technique of "preemptive obedience", a completely political strategy that creates facts to overcome the process of decision-making and other – more honest – opponents for to force to resign. Could the bishop not use in his speech the opportunity to show Catholic grace "communio" at the press conference and to clarify its historical and superficial superiority over the Christian communities of faith that have become dependent on l & # 39; State? Anti-sadness resentment was not invented in the office; in the northern latitudes, by its centrifugal force, it is also devastating for the unity of the faith. An anxious observer would like the President of the Episcopal Conference with his important new curative tasks to use his knowledge to counter this resentment.

– At the last plenary assembly, the bishops of the German Bishops' Conference decided in majority that in mixed marriages, certain conditions may receive Holy Communion. This decision has had a great impact in the world. What could the Eminence say on this subject?

– It must be emphasized that this decision faces serious theological obstacles – first and foremost, it is a well-tried ecclesial tradition. Ludwig von Hertling described the practice of Holy Communion in a wonderful historical article. at the beginning of Christianity – I would like to name only a few of the sons. The author writes, among other things, that Eucharistic communion is a visible sign of the ecclesial community for early Christianity. When the bishop of Polikarp of Smyrna came to Rome in the middle of the second century to talk to Pope Anicet about the dispute over the date of Easter, the two bishops did not reach an agreement. However, they did not break the ecclesiastical "communio" because of it. Irenaeus of Lyon thus expresses the community of faith preserved: "Together they joined the Communion". Against the emerging erroneous teachings and heresies, the principle has always been drawn: "Everyone belongs where he receives holy communion." The heretical patriarch Macedon of Constantinople forced the opposing Catholics to accept "his" communion; he told them to open their mouths violently and thus administer the Eucharist. With this view, we meet again in the seventh century. We learn that Catholics who traveled abroad took away the Lord's Body with them. The heretics did the same so that they did not have to establish a community of faith with the Catholics. It is the faith and practice of the early church. To receive the Body of the Lord is a confirmation of faith more authentic than all words. Today, however, we have a clear command of the Magisterium of the Church. They were presented by Benedict XVI in his post-synodal apostolic exhortation "Sacramentum caritatis" (On the Eucharist, source and summit of the life and mission of the Church, February 22, 2007). We read: "On the other hand, the respect we owe to the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ does not allow us to treat it merely as a" means "that we could use without proper distinction to achieve that unity. . The Eucharist does not only express our personal communion with Jesus Christ, but also implies a complete "communio" with the Church. This is why we ask non-Catholic Christians to suffer, but not without hope, to understand and respect our beliefs that go back to the Bible and Tradition. We argue that the Eucharistic Communion and the communion of the Church are so closely related to each other that it is fundamentally impossible for non-Roman Catholics to join one without having to appreciate the 39; another. Therefore, the position of the German Episcopal Conference in this case has no theological justification.

– A few years ago, Andreas Püttmann defined Germany as "Gesellschaft ohne Gott" in one of his books and explained that Germany had a profound influence. two dictatorships: Nazi and Communist – both aimed at the destruction of religion. Nowadays, however, there is the problem of "a widespread scientistic view that makes us perceive religion as something archaic. This causes only 11 percent. Catholics and only 3 percent. Practice of Protestants. "Why is the German Church unable to stop de-Christianization, and even worse, it submits to a process that Jan Fleischhauer, journalist of the journal Der Spiegel, has defined as" self-sacralization "or Is this process subjecting the Catholic Church to "Protestantisation"?

– Noting in the errors of the Catholic Church in Germany, only the "Protestanisation" does not take In fact, we are dealing here with the spirit of this world in the teaching of the Church – a spirit that dilutes Protestantism very strongly. Church and state structures are mixed, especially when the church sees itself as a kind of UN and wants to save the world, not proclaiming the salvation of God in Jesus -Christ, but by worldly means.The church must proclaim and strengthen the faith