Dear People                       Whom God Loves,

April 6, 2008

Dear People Whom God Loves,

CRITICISM WITHIN THE CHURCH II

Karl Rahner on criticizing an infallible statement:
He says that we do not question truth. We can doubt whether it was appropriate or necessary. We can also investigate its meaning. Concerning the doctrine of the Assumption defined in 1950, he has this to say. The doctrine can simply be telling us that Mary can be known to be among those who are now with Jesus in the state of perfection.

He also speaks of non-Infallible pronouncements. He says that they can be wrong, but they are not necessarily wrong. They should not be dismissed or ignored. Their varying degrees of authority should be respected and taken seriously. They are, however, open to question and criticism.

For example, he does not take a position about whether Humanae Vitae (the birth control encyclical) was right or wrong. He does say that the case against it is sufficiently strong and the whole situation sufficiently difficult that one should expect large numbers of Catholics to reject it in good conscience and that they should not feel guilty or be treated as bad Catholics.

He also commented on the 1976 document of the Sacred Congregation of the Faith denying the possibility of ordaining women. Rahner died before Pope John Paul II's document confirming the impossibility of ordaining women. We don't know what Rahner's response would be to that since he died before it came out.

He criticized almost everything in the 1976 document. He explains how he could do this and still respect the document:

1) Appreciate its arguments
2) Accept it as binding for the moment
3) It indicates that the church, in any case, is not ready to think of ordaining women

This column is a summary of Karen Kilby's book Karl Rahner - A Brief, Introduction pp 87-90.

My thoughts are these: This indicates to me three broad categories of people in their response to church statements. There are of course, differences among people in each of the categories.

1) Those who accept the church's statements without any questioning.
2) Those who dismiss the church's statements without taking them seriously.
3) Those who take the church's statements seriously but need to seriously rework them.

I think that Karl Rahner exemplifies the third category. That is why he can be considered both conservative and liberal. In a way, this can be the most difficult and stressful of the three. I think that it is good for us to assume the sincerity and good will of people in all three categories.

Smile, God Loves You,

Father Clay

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