Curran Comments on Catholicism

Commonweal : A Place for Dissent: "Ratzinger is a theological Augustinian who equates the heavenly city with the church and the earthly city with the world; hence the strong opposition between the church and the world in his thinking.
In the original Italian version of his famous book-length interview with Vittorio Messori (The Ratzinger Report, 1984), Ratzinger stressed the opposition between the church and the North American ethos. He argued that too many Catholic moral theologians in the United States dissent from the church and compromise with a secular ethic that denies the most profound aspect of human nature and leads to a new slavery.
I call myself a theological Thomist--one who accepts the basic goodness of humanity while recognizing that sin often tarnishes human endeavors. History supports this position. At times, the church has learned from the world, as illustrated in the church's changed views on religious freedom, human rights, the condemnation of slavery, and the equal role of women in society. The church has and should rightly challenge the individualism, consumerism, and quick resort to violence prevalent in U.S. society.
Ratzinger's church-vs.-world approach was on display in the homily he delivered before the recent papal conclave began, in which he deplored the subjectivism, relativism, and evils of the modern world that are opposed to the gospel and the church. "

The Unity of the Church
"An appropriate motto for the papacy and for all in the Roman Catholic Church today is the famous adage: in necessary matters, unity; in doubtful matters, freedom; in all matters, love. This model gives us the basis for a proper understanding of the papacy, even if there will always be some gray areas as to where we draw the lines. The last papacy claimed too great a certitude for some of its teachings, especially in the area of morality. From a theological perspective, many moral teachings are not part of the core formulations of faith and depend heavily on human reason and experience. Many of the church’s teachings on sexuality fit into that category."

"I have often appealed to the well-known Catholic distinction between infallible and noninfallible teaching to distinguish what is essential in Catholic belief and what is somewhat peripheral. I strongly object to being called a “cafeteria Catholic.” Here the insistence on what is necessary and central to our faith is most important. One cannot be a good Catholic and disagree with necessary beliefs such as the Trinity, the creative role of God, the saving role of Jesus, the sanctifying mission of the Holy Spirit, revelation in the Bible and in tradition, the sacramental life of the church, and the role of bishops in the church. But one can disagree with some teachings that are not infallible, not central, and not certain.

Dissent from noncentral teachings spans the conservative/liberal divide in the church today. Too often dissent is seen as a problem only for liberals in the church. But many conservatives dissent from papal teaching on capital punishment, on opposition to the wars in Iraq, and on some criticisms of free-market capitalism.

Still, the conservative/liberal division within the church is not going away. We have to realize that our primary commitment is to the necessary and central aspects of our faith. We should try to conduct our arguments while sustaining our table companionship with Jesus and with one another. Celebrating and living out of the gift-and challenge-of faith make up the cornerstone of who we are as Catholics."

-Charles Curran

Excellent column, I suggest interested parties read the entire piece linked in the headline. This man is NOT a "cafeteria Catholic" picking and choosing what is convenient for him, but rather, he is a man filled with the Spirit and the power of Love. Rather than exclude, he admits the dynamic nature of our faith and the changing positions the Church must accept as greater knowledge reveals new truths. Furthermore, his motif of the "pilgrim church"--sinful, imperfect, and always working towards improvement--is a powerful and persuasive one. Rome seems to have forgotten than only God is perfect, and that even the shepherd may sometimes loose his way. We can only home that the Church rank and file continue to remmeber their humanity, and that this new regime will not push for too hard a line. Perhaps St. Peter's office shall yield some enlightenment of the real complexities.