Sandro Magister on the book that is causing so much furor:
They met. They wrote to each other. Precisely while “the world rumbled with the uproar created by a strange synod of the media that took the place of the real synod,” that of the Amazon.
And they decided to break the silence: “It was our sacred duty to recall the truth of the Catholic priesthood. In these difficult times, everyone must be afraid that one day God will address to him this harsh reproof: ‘Cursed are you, who did not say anything’.” An invective, this latter, taken from Saint Catherine of Siena, a tremendous flogger of popes.
Pope emeritus Benedict XVI and Guinean cardinal Robert Sarah sent this book of theirs to the presses shortly before Christmas, and here it is coming out in France in mid-January, published by Fayard with the title: “From the depth of our hearts,” and thus even before Pope Francis has dictated the conclusions of that Amazonian synod which in reality, more than on rivers and forests, was a furious discussion on the future of the Catholic priesthood, if celibate or not, and if open in the future to women.
It will be a serious problem, in fact, for Francis to make an opening for the married priesthood and the female diaconate after his predecessor and a cardinal of profound doctrine and of radiant holiness of life like Sarah have taken such a clear and powerfully argued position in support of priestly celibacy, addressing themselves to the reigning pope almost in the words of an ultimatum, through the pen of the one but with the full agreement of the other:
“There is an ontological-sacramental bond between the priesthood and celibacy. Any curtailment of this bond would mean calling into question the magisterium of the council and of the popes Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI. I humbly beg Pope Francis to protect us definitively from such an eventuality, setting his veto against any weakening of the law of priestly celibacy, even if limited to one region or another.”
The book, 180 pages long, after a preface by editor Nicolas Diat, is divided into four chapters.
The first, entitled “What are you afraid of?”, is an introduction signed jointly by the two authors, dated September 2019.
The second is by Joseph Ratzinger, is of a biblical and theological slant and has the title: “The Catholic priesthood.” It bears the date of September 17, before the synod began.
The third is by Cardinal Sarah and is entitled: “To love right up to the end. An ecclesiological and pastoral look at priestly celibacy.” It has the date of November 25, one month after the end of the synod, in which the author participated assiduously.
The fourth is the joint conclusion of the two authors, with the title: “In the shadow of the cross,” and with the date of December 3.
In the chapter that he signed, Ratzinger mainly intends to bring to light “the profound unity between the two Testaments, through the passage from the Temple of stone to the Temple that is the body of Christ.”
And he applies this hermeneutic to three biblical texts, from which he derives the Christian notion of celibate priesthood.
The first is a passage from Psalm 16: “The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup…”
The third is these words of Jesus in the gospel of John 17:17: “Sanctify them in truth, your word is truth.”
While the second is two passages from Deuteronomy (10:8 and 18:5-8) incorporated into Eucharistic prayer II: “We give you thanks admitting us into your presence to perform the priestly service.”
To illustrate the meaning of these words, Ratzinger cites almost in its entirety the homily he gave at Saint Peter’s on the morning of March 20 2008, Holy Thursday, during the Mass of the sacred chrism with which priests are ordained.
A homily reproduced below, as a sample of the whole book and of its pages directly dedicated to the question of celibacy.
Go here to read the rest. Popes should not resign and Conclaves should not elect as Pope men who seem to have small liking for Catholicism.
Excellent words by Benedict and Sarah. Christ would approve. But now it appears both of them are running for cover with, we are told, Benedictbot, ala Frank Walker, wanting his name removed as co-author. Courage is a rare commodity.
Popes also shouldn’t make Cardinals out of men who “seem have small liking for Catholicism.”
But what the hell, we keep electing people who seem to have small liking for America to Office, so why should the Church be any different?
The rot is widespread and deep.
“Conclaves should not elect as Pope men who seem to have small liking for Catholicism.“
Makes you wonder how much the men who elected this pope really like Catholicism, doesn’t it?