Ordo Ab Chao

I don’t have a religion category to post under as I don’t believe that any religious debates on this site would be constructive. They tend to boil down to “my god is bigger than yours” type arguments where fundamentalists, moderates, gnostics and atheists all declare their own particular beliefs to be the most rational, sensible, godly etc. Each to their own personal nirvana. While I’m not a fan of many of the teachings of the current patriarch of the Catholic church, Benedict XVI, I find some of the vitriol thrown at the new pope to be disturbing. Like all good commenters should but rarely do I’ll nail my colours to the mast. I was raised a catholic but haven’t practiced in many years. I’m more gnostic than atheist but I like to think that I can respect all views and the milieu within which they exist. Don’t we all ?
In 1981 JP II made Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which is the oldest of the 9 congregations of the Roman Curia (Roman Court) and is historically associated with The Inquisition. Many of his publications during his tenure raised eyebrows amongst non-catholics and more liberal catholics alike.
In 2000, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a a document entitled Dominus Iesus, which created a lot of controversy. Some religious groups took offense to wild claims regarding the document, that supposedly stated that “only in the Catholic Church is there eternal salvation.” This statement appears nowhere in the document. The document condemned “relativistic theories” of religious pluralism and described other faiths as “gravely deficient” in the means of salvation, which is understandably insulting to other denominations. It’s worth acknowledging, however, that hysteria has diverted from the purpose of the document which was primarily aimed at reining in liberal Catholic theologians like Jacques Dupuis, who argued that other religions could contain God-given means of salvation not found in the Church of Christ. It offended many religious leaders. Jewish religious leaders boycotted several interfaith meetings in protest. I suppose we could take it as a direct statement from the Catholic Church that they view themselves as a competitor to other religions, whose theologies are so “gravely deficient”However, put in context, Ratzinger’s statement is little more than a reaffirmation of the catholic dogma Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus
To quote from a more authoritative source

“Outside the Church there is no salvation” is a doctrine of the Catholic Faith that was taught By Jesus Christ to His Apostles, preached by the Fathers, defined by popes and councils and piously believed by the faithful in every age of the Church. Here is how the Popes defined it:

• There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved. (Pope Innocent III, Fourth Lateran Council, 1215.)
• We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff. (Pope Boniface VIII, the Bull Unam Sanctam, 1302.)
• The most Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics, can have a share in life eternal; but that they will go into the eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless before death they are joined with Her; and that so important is the unity of this ecclesiastical body that only those remaining within this unity can profit by the sacraments of the Church unto salvation, and they alone can receive an eternal recompense for their fasts, their almsgivings, their other works of Christian piety and the duties of a Christian soldier. No one, let his almsgiving be as great as it may, no one, even if he pour out his blood for the Name of Christ, can be saved, unless he remain within the bosom and the unity of the Catholic Church. (Pope Eugene IV, the Bull Cantate Domino, 1441.)

This is a tenet of the Catholic church that has been officially believed and acted upon since its inception. Ratzinger is no stranger to such controversy…

Already in 1987, Cardinal Ratzinger had stated that Jewish history and scripture reach fulfillment only in Christ – a position critics denounced as “theological anti-Semitism,” although it is very much in the general tradition of Christian views of the Old Testament and the Jews. Despite this, groups such as the World Jewish Congress commended his election as Pope as “welcome”
and extolled his “great sensitivity”.

My point, which I’m not done making :-), is that Benedict XVI is actually being vilified by many including other catholics for being too strict an adherent to traditional catholic teachings. Issues such as the wild claims about Benedict XVI’s alledged support of the Nazis and his position on clerical sex abuse are moot to many. The nub of the problem is that the beliefs of the cardinals and many of the church and its congregation are polarised. In an age of mass communication and diverse cross cultural associations many believers are unclear as to what beliefs and practices would best represent the will of Jesus Christ. If the church fails to answer these questions, they will look elsewhere. Witness the popularity of groups such as Opus Dei and the popularity of Dan Brown’s bestselling Da Vinci Code
The last communication revolution was the invention of the Gutenberg printing press in 1450. This, as most historians are aware, directly contributed to the last great schism in the catholic church. Before its invention, reproduction of literature was an expensive business generally practiced by scribes in the service of ecclestiastical or regal courts, communication was controlled by church and state. The printing press enabled catholic dogma to be openly and widely challenged. A quote from Martin Luther himself reveals his indebtedness to the invention.

“God’s highest and extremest act of Grace, whereby the business of the Gospel is driven forward” (Quote by Martin Luther, in Elizabeth Eisenstein, The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe, p. 150)

. One can only hope that the catholic church will remember the lessons of the past and embrace change rather than trying to resist it by creating a climate of fear. To quote the most famous Jewish political thinker of his generation

“Oh the times, they are a’ changin”