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The most contradictory, pope of the 20th century

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Hans Kung on Pope John Paul II:

Even for many Catholics, this pope at the end of his physical strength, refusing to relinquish his power, is the symbol of a fraudulent church that has calcified and become senile behind its glittering façade. ...

The pope never commented on the Curia's dealings with the Mafia, and in fact contributed more to covering up than uncovering scandals and criminal behavior. The Vatican has also been extremely slow to prosecute pedophilia scandals involving Catholic clergy. ...

Contrary to all intentions conveyed in the Second Vatican Council, the medieval Roman system, a power apparatus with totalitarian features, was restored through clever and ruthless personnel and academic policies. Bishops were brought into line, pastors overloaded, theologians muzzled, the laity deprived of their rights, women discriminated against, national synods and churchgoers' requests ignored, along with sex scandals, prohibitions on discussion, liturgical spoon-feeding, a ban on sermons by lay theologians, incitement to denunciation, prevention of Holy Communion -- "the world" can hardly be blamed for all of this!!

The Pope's Contradictions

Richard Evans Lee
April 01, 2005 •
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Wow, some very strong words. I've read one of Kung's works (Reforming the Church Today) when I was researching on the catholic church as an organization. Unbelievable that a catholic theologian of his stature would say such strong words against a dying man. But I guess he is allowed his outburst, having been stripped of his priestly robes and excommunicated by the very same pope which he is now bashing. Thanks for finding and sharing this article, Richard!

Posted by: Danny Boy | April 1, 2005 6:56 AM

Whoops, it seems I have overstated his schism with the church. Damn my fading memory. He wasn't excommunicated nor stripped of his role as a priest, but rather removed his title as a Roman Catholic Theologian. This makes it even more interesting. A catholic priest lashing out against the most revered pope in history. Oh, this is delicious.

Posted by: Danny Boy | April 1, 2005 7:00 AM

My own feeling is that public figure like a pope can be criticized anytime. Even on their deathbed. I’m sure many more priests would like to feel free to do likewise. To be perfectly frank I’m waiting for John Paul II to die. Not that I expect the church to become more humane. Just waiting for the next act in the comedy.

Posted by: Richard | April 1, 2005 7:09 AM

Since I can't trackback your post (for reasons you mentioned in your email), I'll just point you to my blog entry concerning Hans Kung's insights on the pope. Sorry, I'm terrible with making images. :P

Posted by: Danny Boy | April 1, 2005 5:42 PM

The fact is just another bashing of the GREATEST Theologian in the present era. Kung is above such feeling 20 some odd years after the stripping of his license to speak as a Catholic Theologian, he was NEVER stripped of his Priestly Ordination. Once a priest ALWAYS a priest not even the Pope can strip that away. The fact is JP2 was a reactionary that set Vatican 2 back to before Vatican I. Promises were made in Vat. 2 that the Church leadership conviently ignored or failed to act upon. Kung is right is stating that THEOLOGIANS have the right to call into question the direction in which the Church is headed. Kung WAS the theologian behind Vatican 2 personally picked by John 23rd to do so. Who better then to defend the Theological intent of the document. While I am sad about JP2 passing, the man was out of touch with many of the world's catholics. But you can never deny he wasn't a holy man.

Posted by: Gloriam Dei | April 6, 2005 6:54 PM

How do you feel?

Feel free to share your feelings about The most contradictory, pope of the 20th century. Please stick to the theme of the entry. Disagreement is fine. Homophobia, racism, and kindred expressions of hatred will be deleted. This site is one of my hobbies. I genuinely enjoy hearing from people and hate moderating or killing comments. Forthright disagreement is fine as long as it is civil.
My thanks,
Richard

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