Ratzinger rips Königs
criticism
By NCR Staff
Fueling a highly unusual public debate between two prelates, the
Vaticans top doctrinal officer, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, has rejected
criticism by another cardinal of an investigation of a theologian for his work
on religious pluralism.
The London-based Tablet magazine recently published a
response from Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith, to an article by retired Cardinal Franz König of Vienna, Austria,
which appeared in early 1999. König had criticized the congregations
decision to launch an investigation of Belgian Jesuit Fr. Jacques Dupuis.
König called on Ratzingers office to be less defensive
when examining new thinking on inter-religious issues. König also warned
the doctrinal agency that the Western background of its analysts makes
understanding Eastern theological currents especially difficult, suggesting
extra caution when dealing with world religions.
König, 93, served as the primate of the Austrian church
during most of the Cold War era. He has long taken an interest in
inter-religious dialogue.
In late 1998, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith asked
Dupuis to answer questions concerning his book, Towards a Christian Theology
of Religious Pluralism (Orbis Books). Though Dupuis refused to comment to
the press about his case, sources in Rome said the congregation was interested
in what he had written about the uniqueness of the churchs role in
salvation. Drawing on decades of experience in India, Dupuis argued that other
religions can play a salvific role.
In his response to König, Ratzinger said his agency is only
doing its job when it protects the faith and the faithful from
concepts that would place all religions on the same level.
Ratzinger, 71, expressed astonishment at
Königs criticisms. He said the request for clarification from Dupuis
was an attempt at dialogue undertaken with great discretion.
Is dialogue with authors to be forbidden to us? Is the attempt to reach
confidential clarification on difficult questions something evil?
Ratzinger wrote.
The congregation did not make the case public, he said. Whoever
did may have wanted to mobilize public opinion against our
dicastery, he said.
In his earlier article, König said: I cannot keep
silent, for my heart bleeds when I see such obvious harm being done to the
common good of Gods church. He suggested that the doctrinal
congregation should be able to find better ways of doing its job to serve
the church effectively.
König said that most of the doctrinal congregation members
were Westerners who are very much afraid that interreligious dialogue
will reduce all religions to equal rank. ... But that is the wrong approach for
dialogue with the Eastern religions. It is reminiscent of colonialism and
smacks of arrogance, he said.
König said that with the Second Vatican Council and with Pope
John Paul IIs encyclical Redemptoris Missio, the church revised
its apologetic and defensive attitude toward non-Christian
religions.
Ratzinger said two crucial questions must be faced: Can a
Christian engaged in dialogue relinquish his faith conviction that Christ is
the true son of God and that there is something unique in Christianity? And
is he being honest with himself and with others if he sets this
conviction aside?
Ratzinger noted parenthetically that he did not think Dupuis had
denied the uniqueness of Christ and the differences between religions.
Ratzinger said he was upset that König had cited papal and
Vatican II teaching against the congregation. I cannot imagine that you
seriously believe that the congregations thinking is in contradiction
with the Second Vatican Council and with the popes fundamental encyclical
letter on missionary activity, he said. If that were so, then the pope
would not have personally approved the congregations dialogue with
Dupuis, as in fact he did. Ratzinger asked König to reread the
popes 1991 encyclical.
Dupuis, who handed in his response to the doctrinal congregation
in early January, was still waiting for a reply in late March.
This story is based on a report by the Catholic News
Service.
National Catholic Reporter, April 2,
1999
|