Last night at Pizza Theology at UofL we discussed the theology of papal infallibility, and along with that the fact that popes are human, and sometimes make mistakes. Well lo and behold wouldn't you know that this very morning the Vatican released a letter in which the pope himself makes a mea culpa.
Officially titled "LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI TO THE BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH concerning the remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre" it addresses the international firestorm that broke out when it became known that one of the four bishops had publicly (on several occasions) denied the reality of the holocaust. Not to mention that the Society of Saint Pius X (an extremely conservative movement that broke with the Catholic Church over the Second Vatican Council), of which the four bishops are founding members, had anti-Semitic rants on its website.
In the process the pope gives a shout out to Google (although indirectly), "I have been told that consulting the information available on the internet would have made it possible to perceive the problem early on. I have learned the lesson that in the future in the Holy See we will have to pay greater attention to that source of news."
I've said before that the pope sometimes reminds me of my theology professors in Belgium, wrapped up in what is, to most people, an arcane discipline with little understanding for how most people might perceive or understand what they do. Given that most European bishops come not from pastoral work but from theology faculties (Benedict included) this makes sense.
But that's a problem for the pope. And this isn't the first time this has happened. Remember his speech at his old university that touched off riots throughout the Muslim world?
The pope is universal teacher for the church. And being a teacher involves an awareness and understanding of how the information you're presenting is going to be received, not just presenting the information. If Benedict doesn't have a talent for that himself (and there's no reason or way he could be talented at everything) then he has a responsibility to surround himself with people who are and work with them. It's his job.
It's good to see that he seems to be realizing that. And it's HUGE for a pope to publicly admit to mistakes. (A good model for our own Lenten reflection.) He is truly a brilliant man. Let's hope he's also a quick study.
Officially titled "LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI TO THE BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH concerning the remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre" it addresses the international firestorm that broke out when it became known that one of the four bishops had publicly (on several occasions) denied the reality of the holocaust. Not to mention that the Society of Saint Pius X (an extremely conservative movement that broke with the Catholic Church over the Second Vatican Council), of which the four bishops are founding members, had anti-Semitic rants on its website.
In the process the pope gives a shout out to Google (although indirectly), "I have been told that consulting the information available on the internet would have made it possible to perceive the problem early on. I have learned the lesson that in the future in the Holy See we will have to pay greater attention to that source of news."
I've said before that the pope sometimes reminds me of my theology professors in Belgium, wrapped up in what is, to most people, an arcane discipline with little understanding for how most people might perceive or understand what they do. Given that most European bishops come not from pastoral work but from theology faculties (Benedict included) this makes sense.
But that's a problem for the pope. And this isn't the first time this has happened. Remember his speech at his old university that touched off riots throughout the Muslim world?
The pope is universal teacher for the church. And being a teacher involves an awareness and understanding of how the information you're presenting is going to be received, not just presenting the information. If Benedict doesn't have a talent for that himself (and there's no reason or way he could be talented at everything) then he has a responsibility to surround himself with people who are and work with them. It's his job.
It's good to see that he seems to be realizing that. And it's HUGE for a pope to publicly admit to mistakes. (A good model for our own Lenten reflection.) He is truly a brilliant man. Let's hope he's also a quick study.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment