All
in all not a good day for the liberal wags.
Vatican pressure said to have forced editor´s resignation
Editor of
Jesuit´s America magazine forced to resign under Vatican pressure.
Fired or
resigned read the the reports from around the world re: Fr. Thomas Reese.
The editor of the US Jesuits´
prestigious America magazine has resigned amid
widespread
speculation about the involvement of the Congregation for the
Doctrine of
the Faith, although neither the official announcement nor the
Catholic
News Service report tension between Fr Thomas Reese and the Vatican.
The National
Catholic Reporter says the resignation caps five years of tensions
and
exchanges among the congregation, which was headed at the time by Cardinal
Joseph
Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, the Jesuits and Reese.
According to
one source of the paper, the communication about Reese´s fate was
carried on
between the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the
superior
general of the Jesuits, Dutch Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, with the
content then
relayed to Reese´s Jesuit superiors in the United States.
In February
2002, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith proposed
creating a
three-member commission of censors for the magazine, though the idea
was never
implemented. According to sources, the congregation told the Jesuits
that the
action was in response to concern from bishops in the United States.
America´s
sister magazine - the Italian Jesuits´ La Civila´ Cattolica - has its
content
reviewed by the Vatican as part of its editorial process.
Catholic
News Service says that Fr Reese announced on Friday that he is leaving
on 1 June
after seven years as its editor in chief. It says Fr Drew
Christiansen,
an associate editor since 2002, who is widely known for his work
on Catholic
social teaching and international justice and peace issues, is
replacing
him.
Fr
Christiansen said: "Fr Reese greatly improved the magazine, adding news
coverage,
color and the Web edition. His technical expertise, in this age of
new media,
will be greatly missed."
He added:
"By inviting articles that covered different sides of disputed issues,
Father Reese
helped make America a forum for intelligent discussion of questions
facing the
church and the country today."
SOURCE
Editor of
Jesuit´s America magazine forced to resign under Vatican pressure
(National
Catholic Reporter 6/5/05)
Father
Thomas Reese leaves America magazine (Catholic News Service 6/5/05)
By Tom
Heneghan 08 May 2005
A leading
Roman Catholic commentator has resigned as editor of an influential
Jesuit
magazine in the United States amid reports the Vatican doctrinal
department
formerly run by Pope Benedict had demanded his removal for being
"off-message"
on condoms.
Father
Thomas Reese, aged 60, announced his unexpected departure from America
magazine on
Friday. The National Catholic Reporter, the US weekly that broke
the story
later on Friday, said the Vatican had objected to articles in the
magazine
discussing condom use to prevent Aids, and on homosexual priests and
secretive
church disciplinary measures.
The National
Catholic Reporter, quoting unnamed sources, said: "The resignation
caps five
years of tensions and exchanges among the Congregation (for the
Doctrine of
the Faith), which was headed at the time by Cardinal Joseph
Ratzinger,
now Pope Benedict XVI, the Jesuits and Reese."
The
Congregation, the modern successor to the Inquisition, disciplined many
critical
theologians under the firm leadership of Cardinal Ratzinger from 1981
to 2005.
According to
the paper, Reese's Jesuit superiors told him he had to quit after
he returned
to America's New York headquarters from reporting on Benedict's
election.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Published on
TaipeiTimes
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2005/04/21/2003251347
DOGMATIC:
German Joseph Ratzinger, now known as Pope Benedict XVI, was elected
head of the
church for his traditional views on abortion and homosexuality
AP , VATICAN
CITY
Thursday,
Apr 21, 2005,Page 6
Advertising A day before he was elected Pope,
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger made
clear the
type of church he wanted: one that rigidly maintained the doctrines
he himself
had upheld as guardian of church orthodoxy, where there were
absolute
truths on matters such as abortion, celibacy and homosexuality.
With his
election Tuesday in one of the fastest papal votes in a century, Pope
Benedict XVI
will most certainly build upon the uncompromising hard line on
doctrine
that he charted under Pope John Paul II.
His election
will thrill conservatives seeking a consolidation of John Paul's
policies. It
will alienate more liberal Catholics, particularly in Europe and
North
America, who had hoped that after 26 years, a more progressive Pope might
take the
helm of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics.
And it will
likely temper hopes around the world of improved relations with
other
religions.
"If he
continues as Pope the way he was as a cardinal, I think we will see a
polarized
church," said David Gibson, a former Vatican Radio reporter and
author of
The Coming Catholic Church.
German
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger holds a glass of beer during his visit at the
Bavarian
cloister Andechs in this 1998 file photo. Ratzinger of Germany has
been elected
Pope to lead the Roman Catholic Church, a cardinal announced on
Tuesday. He
has chosen Pope Benedict XVI as his papal name, the cardinal said.
"He has
said himself that he wanted a smaller but purer church," Gibson said,
referring to
Ratzinger's suggestion that Christianity may need to become
smaller, in
terms of its cultural significance, to remain true to itself.
As prefect
of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith since 1981 and a
close aide
to John Paul, Ratzinger wielded enormous power in shaping church
policy,
silencing dissident theologians and signing off on virtually every
document
that had to do with doctrine.
"The
small boat of thought of many Christians has often been tossed about by
these waves,
thrown from one extreme to the other."
Benedict
XVI, newly-elected Pope
During his
tenure, the Vatican was uncompromising in its opposition to ordaining
women,
homosexuality and lifting the celibacy requirement for priests. Ratzinger
opposed
allowing remarried Catholics to receive Communion and told American
bishops that
it was appropriate to deny Communion to those who support such
"manifest
grave sin" as abortion and euthanasia.
Those
policies will continue under Benedict XVI, who in celebrating the
pre-conclave
Mass on Monday made clear that the next Pope shouldn't bow to the
"winds
of doctrine" that tempted the faithful to stray from the core beliefs of
the church.
"The
small boat of thought of many Christians has often been tossed about by
these waves,
thrown from one extreme to the other," he said, listing Marxism,
liberalism,
atheism and relativism -- the ideology that there are no absolute
truths.
The homily
was classic Ratzinger, and clear evidence that at least doctrinally,
the church
he will lead will not divert from current teaching.
"Obviously
a majority of the cardinals agreed with the analysis that in order to
consolidate
John Paul's legacy, the final part had to be done," said John-Peter
Pham, a
former Vatican official and author on papal succession.
But the
style of the Benedict XVI papacy will likely be vastly different from
that of John
Paul, the personable archbishop of Krakow, Poland, who trotted the
globe and
brought a movie-star quality to the papacy.
Most
importantly, Ratzinger is 78 -- two decades older than John Paul was when
he was
elected in 1978 -- and his health last year was "not that good"
according to
the Reverend Thomas Reese, a Vatican expert. He gave no specifics.
As a result,
Ratzinger's papacy will be viewed as a shorter, transitional one.
"In a
few years, we could be right back where we were, with a sick, elderly even
perhaps
dying Pope," Reese, editor of the Jesuit weekly America magazine said in
an interview
before the election.
Ratzinger
also lacks the pastoral qualities that made John Paul so beloved. He
is a bookish
theologian who surprised thousands by choking up as he delivered
John Paul's
funeral homily -- a rare glimpse of emotion.
Even
Ratzinger's brother, Georg, said his brother would be an "entirely
different"
Pope than John Paul.
"They
had a good relationship, but he [Ratzinger] wouldn't have the faculty to
deal with
people in such a direct and immediate way and to fascinate them," he
told the
German TV station RTL this week.
But Pham and
other Vatican watchers also say that there is more to Ratzinger
than the
world has seen in the past two decades, noting his love of music -- he
is an
accomplished pianist -- and his solid credentials as a scholar.
Ratzinger's
writings and comments give a hint about what his papacy will bring.
He has
opposed Turkey's bid to join the EU and dismissed demands for European
"multiculturalism"
as a "fleeing from what is one's own."
He has also
made sure John Paul's efforts to reach out to other religions didn't
overstep
certain bounds. His 2000 decree "Dominus Iesus," which framed the
role
of the
Catholic Church in human salvation in an exclusive manner, upset
Protestants,
Jews and other non-Christians.
Ratzinger
further rankled other Christians when he said he didn't want
Protestant
churches referred to as "sister churches" by Catholics.
Ratzinger
has written that Jews were "connected with God in a special way." But
in his book
God and the World, he also said "We wait for the instant in which
Israel will
say yes to Christ."
He has
spoken out positively about Islam, saying it has had "moments of great
splendor."
While
Ratzinger criticized the media for focusing too much on the sins of
priests
involved in the church sex abuse scandal, he excoriated the "filth"
in
the church
in a meditation he penned for the Good Friday Way of the Cross
procession.
Copyright ©
1999-2005 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved.
Marin
Independent Journal
Analysis: New pope's hard line on church doctrine unlikely
to change
By Nicole
Winfield
Associated
Press
Wednesday,
April 20, 2005 - VATICAN CITY - A day before he was elected pope,
Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger made clear the type of church he wanted: one that
rigidly
maintained the doctrines he himself had upheld as guardian of church
orthodoxy,
where there were absolute truths on matters such as abortion,
celibacy and
homosexuality.
With his
election yesterday in one of the fastest papal votes in a century, Pope
Benedict XVI
will most certainly build upon continue the uncompromising hard
line on
doctrine that he charted under Pope John Paul II.
His election
will thrill conservatives seeking a consolidation of John Paul's
policies. It
will alienate more liberal Catholics, particularly in Europe and
North
America, who had hoped that after 26 years, a more progressive pope might
take the
helm of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics.
And it will
likely temper hopes around the world of improved relations with
other
religions.
"If he
continues as pope the way he was as a cardinal, I think we will see a
polarized
church," said David Gibson, a former Vatican Radio reporter and
author of
"The Coming Catholic Church."
"He has
said himself that he wanted a smaller but purer church," Gibson said,
referring to
Ratzinger's suggestion that Christianity may need to become
smaller, in
terms of its cultural significance, to remain true to itself.
As prefect
of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith since 1981 and a
close aide
to John Paul, Ratzinger wielded enormous power in shaping church
policy,
silencing dissident theologians and signing off on virtually every
document
that had to do with doctrine.
During his
tenure, the Vatican was uncompromising in its opposition to ordaining
women,
homosexuality and lifting the celibacy requirement for priests. Ratzinger
opposed
allowing remarried Catholics to receive Communion and told American
bishops that
it was appropriate to deny Communion to those who support such
"manifest
grave sin" as abortion and euthanasia.
Those
policies will continue under Benedict XVI, who in celebrating the
pre-conclave
Mass on Monday made clear that the next pope shouldn't bow to the
"winds
of doctrine" that tempted the faithful to stray from the core beliefs of
the church.
"The
small boat of thought of many Christians has often been tossed about by
these waves,
thrown from one extreme to the other," he said, listing Marxism,
liberalism,
atheism and relativism - the ideology that there are no absolute
truths.
The homily
was classic Ratzinger, and clear evidence that at least doctrinally,
the church
he will lead will not divert from current teaching.
"Obviously
a majority of the cardinals agreed with the analysis that in order to
consolidate
John Paul's legacy, the final part had to be done," said John-Peter
Pham, a
former Vatican official and author on papal succession.
But the
style of the Benedict XVI papacy will likely be vastly different from
that of John
Paul, the personable archbishop of Krakow, Poland, who trotted the
globe and
brought a movie-star quality to the papacy.
Most
importantly, Ratzinger is 78 - two decades older than John Paul was when he
was elected
in 1978 - and his health last year was "not that good" according to
the Rev.
Thomas Reese, a Vatican expert. He gave no specifics.
As a result,
Ratzinger's papacy will be viewed as a shorter, transitional one.
"In a
few years, we could be right back where we were, with a sick, elderly even
perhaps
dying pope," Reese, editor of the Jesuit weekly America magazine said in
an interview
before the election.
Ratzinger
also lacks the pastoral qualities that made John Paul so beloved. He
is a bookish
theologian who surprised thousands by choking up as he delivered
John Paul's
funeral homily - a rare glimpse of emotion.
Pham and
other Vatican watchers also say that there is more to Ratzinger than
the world
has seen in the past two decades, noting his love of music - he is an
accomplished
pianist - and his solid credentials as a scholar.
Ratzinger's
writings and comments give a hint about what his papacy will bring.
He has
opposed Turkey's bid to join the European Union and dismissed demands for
European
"multiculturalism" as a "fleeing from what is one's own."
He has also
made sure John Paul's efforts to reach out to other relations didn't
overstep
certain bounds. His 2000 decree "Dominus Iesus," which framed the
role
of the
Catholic Church in human salvation in an exclusive manner, upset
Protestants,
Jews and other non-Christians.
Ratzinger
further rankled other Christians when he said he didn't want
Protestant
churches referred to as "sister churches" by Catholics.
Ratzinger
has written that Jews were "connected with God in a special way." But
in his book
"God and the World," he also said "We wait for the instant in
which
Israel will
say yes to Christ."
He has
spoken out positively about Islam, saying it has had "moments of great
splendor."
Profile: Cardinals' choice was Vatican's iron hand
By Brian
Murphy
Associated
Press
VATICAN CITY
- Two images of Cardinal Joseph Rat-zinger stood in sharp relief
during the
mourning period for the pope he would eventually succeed.
With his
wispy silver hair blowing in the wind, the German prelate stood before
the world's
political and spiritual leaders at John Paul II's funeral April 8
and offered
an eloquent, sensitive farewell that moved some to tears.
Ten days
later - just before Ratzinger and 114 other cardinals entered the
conclave to
select the 265th pontiff - he delivered a sharp-edged homily on
strict
obedience to church teachings that left liberal Catholics wincing.
"He
could be a wedge rather than a unifier for the church," said the Rev.
Thomas
Reese,
editor of the Jesuit weekly magazine America.
This was
clear in St. Peter's Square moments after the announcement of
Ratzinger's
election and the name chosen by the first Germanic pope in 1,000
years:
Benedict XVI. Amid the applause were groans and pockets of stunned
silence.
Perhaps no
member of the conclave evoked such potent opinions - and has stirred
more
arguments - as the 78-year-old Ratzinger and the role he's held since
1981: head
of the powerful Vatican office that oversees doctrine and takes
action
against dissent.
"We are
moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize
anything as
for certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and
one's own
desires," he said Monday in a pre-conclave Mass in memory of John
Paul. The
church, he insisted, must defend itself against threats such as
"radical
individualism" and "vague religious mysticism."
As prefect
of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, he was the
Vatican's
iron hand.
His
interventions are a roll call of flashpoints for the church: the 1987 order
stripping
American theologian the Rev. Charles Curran of the right to teach
because he
encouraged dissent; crippling Latin Americans supporting the popular
"liberation
theology" movement for alleged Marxist leanings; coming down hard on
efforts to
rewrite Scriptures in gender inclusive language.
He also shows
no flexibility on the church's views on priestly celibacy,
contraception
and the ban on ordinations for women.
In 1986, he
denounced rock music as the "vehicle of anti-religion." In 1988, he
dismissed
anyone who tried to find "feminist" meanings in the Bible. Last year,
he told
American bishops that it was allowable to deny Communion to those who
support such
"manifest grave sin" as abortion and euthanasia.
He earned
unflattering nicknames such as Panzercardinal, God's rottweiler, and
the Grand
Inquisitor. Cartoonists emphasized his deep-set eyes and Italians
lampooned
his pronounced German accent.
"Indeed,
it would be hard to find a Catholic controversy in the past 20 years
that did not
somehow involve Joseph Ratzinger," John Allen, a Vatican reporter
for the
National Catholic Register, wrote six years ago.
But among
conservatives, he rose in stature. An online fan club sings his
praises and
offers souvenirs with the slogan: "Putting the smackdown on heresy
since
1981."
In recent
years, he took on issues outside church doctrine. He once called
Buddhism a
religion for the self-indulgent. In an interview with the French
magazine Le
Figaro last year, he suggested Turkey's bid to join the Europe
Union
conflicted with Europe's Christian roots - a view that could unsettle
Vatican
attempts to improve relations with Muslims.
Critics
complain Ratzinger embodies all the conservative instincts of the last
papacy, but
without John Paul's charisma and pastoral genius.
"I
think this is the closest the church can come to human clon-ing," quipped
Gibson.
Both John
Paul II and his successor were forged by the horrors of World War II
and advanced
in the church in the shadow of the Iron Curtain.
But the
Polish pontiff came from a nation that suffered greatly during the war.
Ratzinger -
like many from his generation - carries the burdens and ghosts of
Germany's
past.
Raised in
the oak forest and pine foothills of Bavaria, he said he was enrolled
in Hitler's
Nazi youth movement against his will. At the same time, the
policeman's
son entered seminary studies in 1939 as a 12-year-old with "joy and
great
expectations," according to his memoirs.
But in 1943,
he was drafted as an assistant to a Nazi anti-aircraft unit in
Munich.
Later, he was shipped off to build tank barriers at the
Austian-Hungarian
border. He wrote that he escaped recruitment by the dreaded
SS because
he and others said they were training to be priests.
He deserted
in April 1945 and returned home to Traunstein. It was a risky move,
since
deserters were shot or hanged. But the Third Reich was collapsing.
"The
Americans finally arrived in our village," he wrote. "Even though our
house
lacked all
comfort, they chose it as their headquarters."
Ratzinger
was identified as a deserter and placed in prisoner of war camp near
Ulm in
southern Germany.
He and his
older brother, Georg, were ordained in 1951. He taught theology and
earned a
reputation as a forward-looking prelate and took part in the 1962-65
Second
Vatican Council, a major attempt to modernize the faith.
In 1977,
Ratzinger was appointed bishop of Munich and elevated to cardinal three
months later
by Pope Paul VI. He was one of only two cardinals in the latest
conclave
that was not chosen by John Paul.
The name he
took - Benedict - draws a connection to Benedict XV, the Italian
pontiff from
1914 to 1922 who had the difficult task of providing leadership
for Catholic
countries on opposite sides of World War I. His declared
neutrality,
and his repeated protests against weapons like poison gas angered
both sides.
"The
name Benedict XVI leaves the possibility open for a more moderate policy,"
said the
Swiss theologian Hans Kueng, whose license to teach theology was
revoked by
the Vatican in 1979. "Let us, therefore, give him a chance. As with
the president
of the USA, we should allow a new pope 100 days to learn."
Marin: Catholic leaders see continuity, stability
By Carla
Bova
IJ reporter
When Mary
Ann Rickard of Sausalito heard Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger speak at a
Menlo Park
seminary six years ago, she knew he was a faithful man who held
strictly to
Roman Catholic traditions.
"He was
a very forceful speaker with clearly defined ideas on what he believed,"
said
Rickard, a parishioner at Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Sausalito.
She was not
surprised yesterday when Ratzinger, of Germany, was elected the new
pope.
"I
think the church needs a strong conservative leader and Cardinal Ratzinger is
that,"
Rickard said.
Catholic
leaders in Marin cited the new pope's consistent support over decades
for church
teachings and his lengthy history with the church as indications he
could
continue in the path of Pope John Paul II.
Ratzinger,
78, served as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,
responsible
for enforcing Catholic orthodoxy, since 1981.
"The
cardinals made a choice for a pope who might not reign as long as a younger
person but
will provide continuity and stability in the church," said the Rev.
James
Tarantino, pastor at St. Hilary's Church in Tiburon. "He was the
right-hand
man when it comes to doctrinal matters of the church. There will not
be too much
change in where we have been since he was almost in the driver's
seat for so
many years."
While the
Rev. Paul Rossi, pastor of St. Raphael Church in San Rafael, was "a
bit surprised"
that someone from within the curia - departments or ministries
which help
govern the church - was named pope, he drew a similar conclusion
that there
would be little change.
"I
thought maybe someone outside of the Vatican itself would be named pope,"
Rossi said.
"It does say to us that the cardinals selected someone who will
probably
keep the same sort of pastoral approach toward the church as Pope John
Paul
II."
Still, Rossi
expressed a wait-and-see attitude.
"We
also know the holy spirit works in marvelous ways so we don't know what that
holds,"
Rossi said. "This man was in a position in the curia which, now that he
is pope,
might shed a different light. In his position now, he might have a
different
approach to things."
The Rev.
Kenneth Weare, pastor at St. Rita's Catholic Church in Fairfax, echoed
the
sentiment, noting that some religious leaders in the past have changed.
"It is
true the cardinal does have a well-established reputation for being quite
conservative
in the area of doctrine," Weare said. "However, I think that people
who are
rightfully concerned about his more traditional approach should take
some hope in
the example of others who have come to leadership positions and
have, in
those positions, changed their perspective."
Weare said
when Oscar Ro-mero became archbishop in El Salvador, he was known as
very
conservative but in a short time began to change his pastoral approach
after his
experience with the people of the country, particularly the poor.
"Most
likely, Cardinal Rat-zinger will adjust his position because of the lived
experience
of the Catholic people worldwide," Weare said.
Some said
Ratzinger's taking the name Pope Benedict XVI could be interpreted as
a bid to
soften his image. Benedict XV, who reigned from 1914 to 1922, was a
moderate
following Pius X.
"When a
pope chooses a name, it generally has some reference to how he is going
to be as
pope and gives a clue as to his style and pontificate," Tarantino
said.
Tarantino
said there was a glimpse of Ratzinger's sensitive side during John
Paul II's
funeral when he choked up while delivering the homily.
"People
have judged him to be, by way of his pronouncements and writings, a
chief
promoter of the doctrines," Tarantino said. "But behind all that, I
think, there
is the man and that side of him that is pastoral is yet to be seen
by the rest
of the world."
Weare said
Pope Benedict XVI could take a prophetic position of the gospel and
be a strong
advocate for human rights and social justice.
"He
will likely develop a positive ecumenical approach to people of other
religions,"
Weare said. "After all, Germany is part Lutheran, part Catholic.
There are
Muslims and Jews represented in Germany."
Contact
Carla Bova via e-mail at cbova@marinij.com
Copyright
and permissions
Hewing to the hard line
Church to hold fast to
doctrines of celibacy, no women priests ANALYSIS
The
Associated Press
Updated:
9:03 p.m. ET April 19, 2005VATICAN CITY - A day before he was elected
pope,
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger made clear the type of church he wanted: one
that rigidly
maintained the doctrines he himself had upheld as guardian of
church
orthodoxy, where there were absolute truths on matters such as abortion,
celibacy and
homosexuality.
advertisement
With his
election Tuesday in one of the fastest papal votes in a century, Pope
Benedict XVI
will most certainly build upon the uncompromising hard line on
doctrine
that he charted under Pope John Paul II.
His election
will thrill conservatives seeking a consolidation of John Paul¹s
policies. It
will alienate more liberal Catholics, particularly in Europe and
North
America, who had hoped that after 26 years, a more progressive pope might
take the
helm of the world¹s 1.1 billion Catholics.
And it will
likely temper hopes around the world of improved relations with
other
religions.
Forecast: ŒA
polarized church¹
³If he
continues as pope the way he was as a cardinal, I think we will see a
polarized
church,² said David Gibson, a former Vatican Radio reporter and
author of
³The Coming Catholic Church.²
³He has said
himself that he wanted a smaller but purer church,² Gibson said,
referring to
Ratzinger¹s suggestion that Christianity may need to become
smaller, in
terms of its cultural significance, to remain true to itself.
As prefect
of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith since 1981 and a
close aide
to John Paul, Ratzinger wielded enormous power in shaping church
policy,
silencing dissident theologians and signing off on virtually every
document
that had to do with doctrine.
During his tenure,
the Vatican was uncompromising in its opposition to ordaining
women,
homosexuality and lifting the celibacy requirement for priests. Ratzinger
opposed
allowing remarried Catholics to receive Communion and told American
bishops that
it was appropriate to deny Communion to those who support a
³manifest
grave sin² such as abortion and euthanasia.
No surrender
to Œwinds of doctrine¹
Those
policies will continue under Benedict XVI, who in celebrating the
pre-conclave
Mass on Monday made clear that the next pope shouldn¹t bow to the
³winds of
doctrine² that tempted the faithful to stray from the core beliefs of
the church.
³The small
boat of thought of many Christians has often been tossed about by
these waves,
thrown from one extreme to the other,² he said, listing Marxism,
liberalism,
atheism and relativism ‹ the ideology that there are no absolute
truths.
The homily
was classic Ratzinger, and clear evidence that at least doctrinally,
the church
he will lead will not divert from current teaching.
³Obviously a
majority of the cardinals agreed with the analysis that in order to