Uit een gesprek met filosoof Robert Spaemann

De Duitse filosoof Robert Spaemann in Die Tagespost.
Enkele fragmenten (lees hier het gehele interview):

"Ich bin nun alt genug, um zu sehen, dass die meisten Urteile über die sogenannte vorkonziliare Kirche wirklich auf Unwissenheit beruhen. Wenn ich zum Beispiel bei der Messe an die aktive Teilnahme der Gläubigen an der Liturgie denke, die Pius X. schon gefordert hat: Ich muss sagen, da, wo die alte Messe gefeiert wird, ist die actuosa participatio größer als in den normalen Pfarrkirchen. Wir sind im übrigen alle rückwärtsgewandt in dem Sinne, dass wir uns orientieren an der Lehre eines Menschen, der vor 2000 Jahren gelebt hat, Jesus Christus."

"Die Piusbruderschaft muss aufhören, das Zweite Vatikanische Konzil wie eine Räubersynode zu behandeln, so als sei es kein ordentliches, rechtmäßiges Konzil der katholischen Kirche gewesen. Andererseits ist zu beachten, dass dieses Konzil keine Dogmen verkündet hat. Für das Zweite Vaticanum gilt, was Martin Luther gesagt hat: Ehrwürdiger Vater, auch Konzilien können irren und haben geirrt.
Es ist ja offenkundig, dass viele Beschlüsse von der Mehrheit der Bischöfe nicht akzeptiert werden. Das Konzil hat zum Beispiel festgeschrieben, dass Latein die eigentliche Liturgiesprache der katholischen Kirche ist und der Gregorianische Choral der Gesang der Kirche. Ich sehe nicht, dass diese Konzilsaussage tatsächlich befolgt würde. Man muss also diskutieren."

"Der Papst verhält sich eben wie der gute Hirte, von dem Jesus sagt, dass er 99 Schafe im Schafstall lässt, um einem verlorenen Schaf nachzugehen. Nun schreien die Leute, weil es ihrer Meinung nach auf diese 99 im Schafstall ankommt. Es ist ein Akt der Barmherzigkeit."

In nood kent men zijn vrienden

Zeker wanneer vele andere gezagsdragers het laten afweten, is het verfrissend dit te lezen van één van onze oudere broeders (met dank aan LifeSiteNews.com)

Left Wing of the Catholic Church Destroying the Faith Says Orthodox Rabbi

By Hilary White, Rome correspondent

ROME, February 11, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The dissident, leftist movement in the Catholic Church over the last forty years has severely undermined the teaching of the Catholic Church on the moral teachings on life and family, a prominent US Orthodox rabbi told LifeSiteNews.com. Rabbi Yehuda Levin, the head of a group of 800 Orthodox rabbis in the US and Canada, also dismissed the accusations that the Holy See had not sufficiently distanced itself from the comments made by Bishop Richard Williamson of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) on the Holocaust.

"I support this move" to reconcile the traditionalist faction in the Church, he said, "because I understand the big picture, which is that the Catholic Church has a problem. There is a strong left wing of the Church that is doing immeasurable harm to the faith."

Rabbi Levin said that he understands "perfectly" why the reconciliation is vital to the fight against abortion and the homosexualist movement.

"I understand that it is very important to fill the pews of the Catholic Church not with cultural Catholics and left-wingers who are helping to destroy the Catholic Church and corrupt the values of the Catholic Church." This corruption, he said, "has a trickle-down effect to every single religious community in the world."

"What's the Pope doing? He's trying to bring the traditionalists back in because they have a lot of very important things to contribute the commonweal of Catholicism.

"Now, if in the process, he inadvertently includes someone who is prominent in the traditionalist movement who happens to say very strange things about the Holocaust, is that a reason to throw out the baby with the bathwater and start to condemn Pope Benedict? Absolutely not."

During a visit to Rome at the end of January, Rabbi Levin told LifeSiteNews.com that he believes the media furore over the lifting of the excommunications of the four bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X is a red herring. He called "ridiculous" the accusations that in doing so Pope Benedict VXI or the Catholic Church are anti-Semitic and described as "very strong" the statements distancing the Holy See and the Pope from Williamson's comments.

Rabbi Levin was in Rome holding meetings with high level Vatican officials to propose what he called a "new stream of thinking" for the Church's inter-religious dialogue, one based on commonly held moral teachings, particularly on the right to life and the sanctity of natural marriage.

"The most important issue," he said, is the work the Church is doing "to save babies from abortion, and save children's minds, and young people's minds, helping them to know right and wrong on the life and family issues."

"That's where ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue has to go."

Although numbers are difficult to determine, it is estimated that the Society of St. Pius X has over a million followers worldwide. The traditionalist movement in the Catholic Church is noted for doctrinal orthodoxy and enthusiasm not only for old-fashioned devotional practices, but for the Church's moral teachings and opposition to post-modern secularist sexual mores. Liberals in the Church, particularly in Europe, have bitterly opposed all overtures to the SSPX and other traditionalists, particularly the Pope's recent permission to revive the traditional Latin Mass.

The Vatican announced in early January that, as part of ongoing efforts to reconcile the breakaway group, the 1988 decree of excommunication against the Society had been rescinded. Later that month, a Swedish television station aired an interview, recorded in November 2008, in which Bishop Richard Williamson, one of the four leaders of the Society, said that he did not believe that six million Jews were killed in the Nazi death camps during World War II.

At that time, the media erupted with protests and accusations that the Catholic Church, and especially Pope Benedict XVI, are anti-Semitic.

Rabbi Levin particularly defended Pope Benedict, saying he is the genius behind the moves of the late Pope John Paul II to reconcile the Church with the Jewish community.

"Anyone who understands and follows Vatican history knows that in the last three decades, one of the moral and intellectual underpinnings of the papacy of Pope John Paul II, was Cardinal Ratzinger.

"And therefore, a lot of the things that Pope John Paul did vis-à-vis the Holocaust, he [Benedict] might have done himself, whether it was visiting Auschwitz or visiting and speaking in the synagogues or asking forgiveness. A lot of this had direct input from Cardinal Ratzinger. Whoever doesn't understand this doesn't realise that this man, Pope Benedict XVI, has a decades-long track record of anti-Nazism and sympathy for the Jews."

Laten we God danken voor de terugkeer van de verloren zonen

Graag sluiten wij ons aan bij de geïnformeerde en gebalanceerde opinie van Dr. Alcuin Reid in the Catholic Herald

Let’s thank God for the return of the prodigal sons
Those who wish to cast out the SSPX are like the elder son in Jesus's parable, says Alcuin Reid
30 January 2009

"I am delighted that you are back. I do not agree with everything you did, but today my heart is filled with joy. You're back; that is all that now matters." Might not these not have been the sentiments of the father for his prodigal son in the Gospel of St Luke? Might they not also be the sentiments of our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, in lifting the excommunications from the bishops of the Society of St Pius X?

This act is nothing if not an act of paternal love and mercy designed to bring back into the fullness of the family of the Church those who had - at least in one sense - strayed from it. It may also be said to be a true fruit of the bouquet of prayers offered in recent months for this precise intention by members of the SSPX, as well as of the ongoing prayer for Christian unity that is such a feature of the modern Catholic Church.

This is the second major step towards the full canonical integration of the SSPX (the first being the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum). But it is not the last. The four bishops are now "in communion", but as yet they have no canonical mission and they and their clergy still labour under the irregularities that follow from the positions taken since the Seventies, including suspension.

To wave this suspension in the face of returning brethren is hardly in the spirit of the reconciliation that Pope Benedict clearly desires, but it exists and it does need to be addressed, and quickly. This is a delicate period. There is much more to do in preparing for the peaceful integration of the SSPX and that will take time, just as it is taking time to give an appropriate canonical status to the former "Transalpine Redemptorists" in Scotland, reconciled last June.

During the somewhat untidy months ahead, charity and patience are called for - from all perspectives. We ought to note, though, that Rome has been clear for some time that Catholics may attend SSPX Masses out of devotion to the Church's Latin liturgical tradition, and that they do not thereby commit sin or incur any canonical penalty, so long as they do not do so out of "a schismatic mentality which separates itself from the teaching of the Supreme Pontiff and the entire Catholic Church". Given Pope Benedict's acceptance of the SSPX's declaration of its determination to remain Catholic and its acceptance of the Church's teachings, including the Primacy of the Pope, with filial disposition, it is hard to see how any barrier in simply attending Mass now remains.

The issue the validity of the Sacraments of Penance and Matrimony celebrated by SSPX priests (who because of their suspension are unable validly to marry couples or absolve penitents except in danger of death) remains, but we may hope and pray that this is addressed equitably and swiftly.

Of course, there are other issues involved. That is why Bishop Fellay, while expressing profound "filial gratitude" for Pope Benedict's "unilateral, benevolent" act has also called it "courageous". The key issue is Vatican II - or certain aspects of it. Archbishop Lefebvre, a Father of Vatican II, signed its Constitutions and Decrees. He lobbied against some of the stances finally adopted, but he nevertheless signed up to them. Later he reacted against their interpretation with what Pope Benedict calls "a hermeneutic of rupture" that was not in continuity with the Tradition of the Church. And the SSPX has continued this reaction - at times intemperately, without making the necessary distinctions between the Council's pastoral policies and its articulation of Catholic doctrine.

Now Bishop Fellay speaks of "reservations" about Vatican II. Reservations are not denials of doctrine, and anyone may have reservations about even an Ecumenical Council's pastoral policies and be a Catholic in good standing.

It is certainly courageous for the Holy Father to allow bishops who have strong reservations about an event that has so profoundly dominated Catholic life in the past few decades to return to communion with the Church. In doing so he has added to the dialogue about Vatican II - which the Holy Father has himself fuelled - some substantial participants from a very specific perspective. They, too, may be able to contribute to the reading of the Council with that "hermeneutic of continuity" for which Pope Benedict has so famously called.

And then there is Bishop Williamson: it is courageous indeed to welcome back such a prodigal. He is not the first Catholic bishop to espouse untenable positions and he probably won't be the last. It may help us to retain perspective if we realise that priests and bishops committed to the ordinary use of general absolution, the ordination of women, baptisms using invalid formulae, etc, may - without in any way excusing the extremes of either - seem as beyond the pale to the SSPX as do anti-Semitic holocaust deniers or multi-faceted conspiracy theorists (practically all of the SSPX would reject both).

It is telling to see Bishop Fellay distancing himself from such positions. Every Catholic bishop is subject to the Church's discipline, and if Bishop Williamson behaves inappropriately the Holy See may have to act. But the Pope has demonstrated that paternal love and mercy are to be offered even - perhaps especially - to him.

In spite of the difficulties, there is every reason for hope that the SSPX, for their part, truly want and will work for unity. Bishop Fellay has stated that he is "confident" and that he thinks "we will reach a true solution". Their superior in England, Fr Paul Morgan, said when explaining the Holy Father's act to his faithful last Sunday that the situation is now better than they could ever have expected. This is a tremendous shift.

What has been said hitherto has, at times, been - to put it mildly - somewhat less open. These people are Catholics. They love Christ and His Church and wish to serve her mission. There are also number of small, devout, monasteries and other religious communities who, while not belonging to the SSPX, rely on their bishops for Holy Orders, etc, and who are simply trying to live the Catholic faith as it had been lived for centuries. For the SSPX and these associated communities once again to be in full, unimpeded communion with and under the Bishop of Rome cannot but be for their good and for the good of the Church and of the world.

There were two sons in the parable in St Luke's Gospel. The older one, who had always remained faithful, felt utterly indignant at the celebration of the return of his profligate brother and stood aloof in disapproval. He was rightly rebuked. Let's not make the same mistake.

Dr Alcuin Reid's new edition of the classical guide to celebrating the traditional Mass, Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described, is published by Continuum in February

Kwijtschelding van excommunicatie - het decreet in het Nederlands

Communiqué
De Heilige Vader, na een proces van dialoog tussen de Apostolische Stoel en de Priesterbroederschap Sint Pius X, vertegenwoordigd door de Generaal Overste, Z. E. Mons. Bernard Fellay, heeft de vraag, opnieuw geformuleerd door vernoemde prelaat met een brief van 15 december 2008, ook in naam van de ander drie bisschoppen van de Broederschap, Z. E. Mons. Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Z. E. Mons. Richard Williamson en Z. E. Mons. Alfonso de Galarreta, om de excommunicatie ongedaan te maken die zij 20 jaar geleden hadden opgelopen, ontvangen.
Immers, door de bisschopswijdingen van 30 juni 1988 door Z. E. Mons. Marcel Lefebvre, zonder pauselijk mandaat, hadden genoemde prelaten de excommunicatie latae sententiae opgelopen, als zodanig formeel verklaard door de Congregatie voor de Bisschoppen op 1 juli 1988.
Z. E. Mons. Bernard Fellay, in de geciteerde brief, toonde duidelijk aan de Heilige Vader dat: “wij zijn altijd en vastbesloten in de wil om katholieken te blijven en al onze krachten in dienst te stellen van de Kerk van Onze Heer Jezus Christus, die is de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk. Wij aanvaarden haar onderrichtingen met een kinderlijke geest. Wij geloven vastbesloten in het Primaatschap van Petrus en aan zijn aanspraken en daarom doet onze huidige toestand ons zoveel lijden.”
Zijn Heiligheid Benedictus XVI, die vanaf het begin dit proces gevolgd heeft, heeft altijd geprobeerd om de breuk met de Broederschap te herstellen, ook door persoonlijk Z. E. Mons. Bernard Fellay op 29 augustus 2005 te ontmoeten. Bij deze gelegenheid heeft de paus de wil getoond om geleidelijk en op redelijke termijn deze weg verder te gaan en nu, met pastorale zorg en vaderlijke barmhartigheid, door middel van het decreet van de Congregatie voor de Bisschoppen van 21 januari 2009, scheldt hij de excommunicatie, die de vernoemde prelaten, bezwaarde, kwijt. De Heilige Vader is tot deze beslissing geïnspireerd geworden door de wens dat men zo snel mogelijk tot de volledige verzoening en volle gemeenschap komt.

Decreet van de Congregatie voor de Bisschoppen
Met de brief van 15 december 2008, gericht aan Zijne Eminentie kardinaal Dario Castrillón Hoyos, president van de Pauselijke Commissie Ecclesia Dei, vroeg Mons. Bernard Fellay, ook in naam van de andere drie bisschoppen, gewijd op 30 juni 1988, opnieuw de kwijtschelding van de excommunicatie latae sententiae als zodanig formeel verklaard door de Congregatie voor de Bisschoppen op 1 juli 1988. In genoemde brief bevestigt Mons. Fellay ondermeer: “wij zijn altijd en vastbesloten in de wil om katholieken te blijven en al onze krachten in dienst te stellen van de Kerk van Onze Heer Jezus Christus, die is de Rooms-Katholieke Kerk. Wij aanvaarden haar onderrichtingen met een kinderlijke geest. Wij geloven vastbesloten in het Primaatschap van Petrus en aan zijn aanspraken en daarom doet onze huidige toestand ons zoveel lijden.”

Zijn Heiligheid Benedictus XVI –als een vader gevoelig voor de spirituele nood, tot uitdrukking gebracht door de geïnteresseerden, veroorzaakt door de sanctie van de excommunicatie en vertrouwvol in de inspanning, door hen uitgedrukt in de geciteerde brief, om geen enkele inspanning te sparen om de noodzakelijke gesprekken met het Gezag van de Heilige Stoel over de nog open vragen te verdiepen, zodanig dat snel tot een volledige en bevredigende oplossing kan gekomen worden voor het probleem dat aan de oorsprong staat – heeft beslist om de canonieke toestand van de bisschoppen Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson en Alfonso de Galarreta, ontstaan door hun bisschopswijding, te herzien.

Met deze handeling verlangt men de wederzijdse relaties van vertrouwen te consolideren en de verhoudingen van de Broederschap Sint Pius X met deze Apostolische Stoel te verdiepen en te stabiliseren. Deze gave van vrede, aan het einde van de vieringen van Kerstmis, wil ook een teken zijn tot bevordering van de eenheid in de liefde van de universele Kerk en komen tot een opheffing van het schandaal van de verdeeldheid.

Men wenst dat deze daad gevolgd wordt door de snelle verwerkelijking van de volle gemeenschap met de Kerk van de gehele Broederschap Sint Pius X, aldus getuigenis afleggend van de ware trouw en erkenning van het Leergezag en de autoriteit van de Paus met het bewijs van zichtbare eenheid.

Op basis van de bevoegdheid, uitdrukkelijk gegeven aan mij door de Heilige Vader Benedictus XVI, krachtens dit decreet, scheldt ik aan de bisschoppen Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson en Alfonso de Galarreta de censuur van de excommunicatie latae sententiae, afgekondigd door deze Congregatie op 1 juli 1988, kwijt, terwijl ik verklaar, ontdaan van elk juridisch effect, vanaf de huidige datum, het decreet, voorgekomen op dat moment.
Rome, vanuit de Congregatie voor de Bisschoppen, 21 januari 2009

Bron: www.vatican.va