Pope Benedict XVI Meets Kung

Lightening did not strike the dissident theolgian dead, thus disproving the existence of God! (:)) Italy's own ANSA.it covers the story here.

In fact, the two contemporaries enjoyed a civil meeting. They kept theology out of it:

Benedict XVI received a visit this weekend from dissident Catholic theologian Hans Kung, who described his election to the papacy earlier this year as a "huge disappointment" .

The two-hour meeting, which took place at the pope's summer residence in Castelgandolfo on Saturday, was held "in a friendly atmosphere", the Vatican said in a statement on Monday .

"It was a joy for both of us to meet again after so many years. We didn't embrace because we Germans are not as effusive as you Latins," Kung told Ansa .

Benedict, 78, and Kung, 77, avoided talking about the theological questions that have divided them for decades .

"Both sides agreed that it made no sense to get into a dispute over the persisting doctrinal issues between Hans Kung and Catholic Church teaching," the Vatican statement continued .

The theologian, who comes from German-speaking Switzerland, has set himself apart from mainstream Catholic thinking by calling into question papal infallibility and the need for priestly celibacy. Because of these positions, in 1979 the Vatican stripped him of his licence to teach as a Roman Catholic theologian. The action was a symbolic slap in the face for Kung who nevertheless carried on teaching as a tenured professor of ecumenical theology in Tubingen until retiring in 1996 .

A quick aside: the Reasonable ANSA.it once again distorts the truth in order to support the Agenda. In this case, they must extoll the brave nobility of the stand-alone deep thinker that opposes the mean old hierarchal Church. Observe:

In recent years, Kung has been working on a project called the Global Ethic, which tries to find what values world religions share and thus lay down moral views that everyone can accept .

This outlook implicitly goes against the Church doctrine which says Catholicism is the only true religion.

Funny, I've never heard of that doctrine. I wonder where they got it from. Perhaps Nostra Aetate?

2. From ancient times down to the present, there is found among various peoples a certain perception of that hidden power which hovers over the course of things and over the events of human history; at times some indeed have come to the recognition of a Supreme Being, or even of a Father. This perception and recognition penetrates their lives with a profound religious sense.

Religions, however, that are bound up with an advanced culture have struggled to answer the same questions by means of more refined concepts and a more developed language. Thus in Hinduism, men contemplate the divine mystery and express it through an inexhaustible abundance of myths and through searching philosophical inquiry. They seek freedom from the anguish of our human condition either through ascetical practices or profound meditation or a flight to God with love and trust. Again, Buddhism, in its various forms, realizes the radical insufficiency of this changeable world; it teaches a way by which men, in a devout and confident spirit, may be able either to acquire the state of perfect liberation, or attain, by their own efforts or through higher help, supreme illumination. Likewise, other religions found everywhere try to counter the restlessness of the human heart, each in its own manner, by proposing "ways," comprising teachings, rules of life, and sacred rites. The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men. Indeed, she proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), in whom men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself.(4)

The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men.

Guess not.

The Church recognizes, in genuine humility, that God has revealed to her through Christ the fullness of truth regarding God and humanity. This in no way means the Church believes herself to possess the only true religion. She clearly recognizes the truth that other religions hold, to the extent that they hold them. For Christ is Truth, and to the extent those religions grasp the truth, they grasp him.

However, noting this does not allow Mr. Kung to bask in the glory of the stand-apart Individual, the champion of free-thinking among sheep! Therefore, this clear teaching of the Church must not be presented accurately. The Agenda must come first.

Addressing the main theme of the article, I welcome the Pope's decision to meet Kung. He demonstrates his sheperd's heart when he welcomes one such as Kung, who publically criticized his election to the Papacy and continues to practice dissent from Catholicism's teachings. Pope Benedict willingly welcomes his old collegue and shows that we are to welcome all, even those that despise us. Christ himself made friends with the discarded of his society, and his own apostles would betray, deny and abandon him. Yet he forgave them, and through their witness, us!

The Pope witnesses to the Sheperd of us all. Will we pay attention?