Benedict XVI speaks on crisis of faith, theme of God's mercy, in new interview

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Louie1983

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March 16, 2016

Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI speaks about a “deep crisis” of faith in the Catholic world after Vatican II, and strongly supports the emphasis that Pope Francis places on God’s mercy, in a rare public interview made public today.

The interview with the former Pontiff-- conducted by Father Jacques Servais, a Jesuit theologian—appears as a chapter in a new book published in Italy, containing the proceedings of a conference held in Rome last year. During the conference Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the longtime personal secretary to Pope Benedict, presented the interview.

Reflecting on the nature of Christian faith, the retired Pope says that personal faith is inextricably connected with the Church:

*On the one hand, faith is a deeply personal communication with God, which touches my very core and places me in direct contact with the living God so that I can talk to Him, love Him and enter into communion with Him. At the same time, this highly personal experience is inextricably linked to the community: becoming one of God’s children in the community of pilgrim brothers and sisters is part of the essence of the faith.
Benedict XVI remarks that the great missionaries of Catholic history acted on the belief that people must be brought into the Church for the salvation of their souls. But that belief was lost in the wake of Vatican II, he says. “The result was a deep crisis,” the retired Pope said. “Why should you try to convince the people to accept the Christian faith when they can be saved even without it?”
*
However, Benedict continued, “there is still a perception that we are all in need of grace and forgiveness.” He said that this recognition was a major theme of the pontificate of St. John Paul II, which has now been taken up by Pope Francis. He explained:

It is mercy that steers us towards God, while justice makes us fearful in his presence. I believe this shows that beneath the veneer of self-confidence and self-righteousness, today’s mankind conceals a profound knowledge of its wounds and unworthiness before God. It awaits mercy.

catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=27793
 
Lifesite News report

lifesitenews.com/news/pope-emeritus-benedict-says-church-is-now-facing-a-two-sided-deep-crisis
March 16, 2016 (LifeSiteNews.com) – On March 16, speaking publicly on a rare occasion, Pope Benedict XVI gave an interview to Avvenire, the daily newspaper of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, in which he spoke of a “two-sided deep crisis” the Church is facing in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. The report has already hit Germany courtesy of Vaticanist Guiseppe Nardi, of the German Catholic news website Katholisches.info.
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Pope Benedict reminds us of the formerly indispensable Catholic conviction of the possibility of the loss of eternal salvation, or that people go to hell:
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The missionaries of the 16th century were convinced that the unbaptized person is lost forever. After the [Second Vatican] Council, this conviction was definitely abandoned. The result was a two-sided, deep crisis. Without this attentiveness to the salvation, the Faith loses its foundation.
He also speaks of a “profound evolution of Dogma” with respect to the Dogma that there is no salvation outside the Church. This purported change of dogma has led, in the pope’s eyes, to a loss of the missionary zeal in the Church – “any motivation for a future missionary commitment was removed.”
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Pope Benedict asks the piercing question that arose after this palpable change of attitude of the Church: “Why should you try to convince the people to accept the Christian faith when they can be saved even without it?”
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As to the other consequences of this new attitude in the Church, Catholics themselves, in Benedict’s eyes, are less attached to their Faith: If there are those who can save their souls with other means, “why should the the Christian be bound to the necessity of the Christian Faith and its morality?” asked the pope. And he concludes: “But if Faith and Salvation are not any more interdependent, even Faith becomes less motivating.”
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Pope Benedict also refutes both the idea of the “anonymous Christian” as developed by Karl Rahner, as well as the indifferentist idea that all religions are equally valuable and helpful to attain eternal life.
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“Even less acceptable is the solution proposed by the pluralistic theories of religion, for which all religions, each in its own way, would be ways of salvation and, in this sense, must be considered equivalent in their effects,” he said. In this context, he also touches upon the exploratory ideas of the now-deceased Jesuit Cardinal, Henri de Lubac, about Christ’s putatively “vicarious substitutions” which have to be now again “further reflected upon.”
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With regard to man’s relation to technology and to love, Pope Benedict reminds us of the importance of human affection, saying that man still yearns in his heart “that the Good Samaritan come to his aid.”
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He continues: “In the harshness of the world of technology – in which feelings to not count anymore – the hope for a saving love grows, a love which would be given freely and generously.”
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Benedict also reminds his audience that: “The Church is not self-made, it was created by God and is continuously formed by Him. This finds expression in the Sacraments, above all in that of Baptism: I enter into the Church not by a bureaucratic act, but with the help of this Sacrament.” Benedict also insists that, always, “we need Grace and forgiveness.”
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👍
 
It seems like there is a lot going on in between the lines.
 
1Lord1Faith said:
It seems like there is a lot going on in between the lines.
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Well, yah!

The Detroit-man-who-cannot-be-discussed-here talks about this very thing all the time, and in all its aspects.

Peter Kreeft is such a popular Catholic writer, but I was surprised by something he said in “Jesus Shock” which bears on what B XVI says. Kreeft says, Catholics get into heaven through the front door, and Protestants (without the sacraments) get into heaven at the back door.

Really? that may be his opinion and that of Ignatius Press, but what does the Church really teach?

Do you suppose that this is one of the types of things that Em-Pope B XVI is referring to?
 
Hoosier_Daddy said:
Papa… I miss you…
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If Benedict had such concern for the post VII RCC, why didn’t he do more about it when he was Pope? I mean he did a few things that you could argue rolled things back a bit bot for the churn and the Papacy. But his statement here sure sounds like he’s hoping for more.
 
the church seemed to explode after Vat II. Nuns left, they got married, priests left and got married. Sex abuse scandals were widespread. Tear down the fancy altars and communion rail, no kneelers in church – make the “experience” very Protestant to attract them into the Church – how did that experiment turn out?

“guitar” masses, shallow guitar hymns, talking in church, an enormous movement to involve women in pseudo-clerical roles, - parish administrators, commissioned lay ministers, nuns giving talks during Mass, priests dressed as clowns.

So much damage done to the Church.
 
Louie1983 said:
On the one hand, faith is a deeply personal communication with God, which touches my very core and places me in direct contact with the living God so that I can talk to Him, love Him and enter into communion with Him. At the same time, this highly personal experience is inextricably linked to the community: becoming one of God’s children in the community of pilgrim brothers and sisters is part of the essence of the faith.
Benedict XVI remarks that the great missionaries of Catholic history acted on the belief that people must be brought into the Church for the salvation of their souls. But that belief was lost in the wake of Vatican II, he says. “The result was a deep crisis,” the retired Pope said. “Why should you try to convince the people to accept the Christian faith when they can be saved even without it?”
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This is what I have been railing on about, both on these forums and among friends. There is this growing sentiment, even among those who are considered good Catholics, that basically everyone is going to heaven regardless of their faith background or lack thereof, and therefore the Catholic faith is not necessary for salvation. To hear the same concern come from a former pope is… refreshing. Because anyone who expresses this concern tend to be blasted by opposition. I have often been labeled a “fundamentalist” for promoting evangelization… I guess that St. Paul is also a fundamentalist too, as well as St. Francis de Sales and basically every other missionary who ever lived before Vatican II. It is amazing to hear a church official for once express the necessity of spreading the gospel and bringing people to faith, and to refer to this growing religious indifference as a crisis of faith, which it is.
 
Padres1969 said:
If Benedict had such concern for the post VII RCC, why didn’t he do more about it when he was Pope? I mean he did a few things that you could argue rolled things back a bit bot for the churn and the Papacy. But his statement here sure sounds like he’s hoping for more.
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He did a ton… His encyclicals, his theological works, his support for the TLM… Pope Benedict did a lot in this regard.
 
sirach2v4 said:
Well, yah!

The Detroit-man-who-cannot-be-discussed-here talks about this very thing all the time, and in all its aspects.

Peter Kreeft is such a popular Catholic writer, but I was surprised by something he said in “Jesus Shock” which bears on what B XVI says. Kreeft says, Catholics get into heaven through the front door, and Protestants (without the sacraments) get into heaven at the back door.

Really? that may be his opinion and that of Ignatius Press, but what does the Church really teach?

Do you suppose that this is one of the types of things that Em-Pope B XVI is referring to?
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I am guessing yes, at least in part… that statement lends itself to an overwhelmingly bad interpretation of Lumen Gentium. So many people interpret the words of Lumen Gentium to mean that everyone everwhere gets to heaven no matter what they believe. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The Church simply acknowledged that:
  1. there are circumstances that keep people away from the fullness of truth which is found in the Church, be that geography, mental capacity, or other personal circumstances, and
  2. God is merciful.
What Lumen Gentium does not do (in fact it says the exact opposite!) is to say:
  1. The Church is not necessary for salvation
  2. The gospel no longer needs to be preached
Proof:
This Sacred Council wishes to turn its attention firstly to the Catholic faithful. Basing itself upon Sacred Scripture and Tradition, it teaches that** the Church, now sojourning on earth as an exile, is necessary for salvation.** Christ, present to us in His Body, which is the Church, is the one Mediator and the unique way of salvation. In explicit terms He Himself affirmed the necessity of faith and baptism(124) and thereby affirmed also the necessity of the Church, for through baptism as through a door men enter the Church. Whosoever, therefore, knowing that the Catholic Church was made necessary by Christ, would refuse to enter or to remain in it, could not be saved.
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Whatever good or truth is found amongst them is looked upon by the Church as a preparation for the Gospel.(20*) She knows that it is given by Him who enlightens all men so that they may finally have life. But often men, deceived by the Evil One, have become vain in their reasonings and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, serving the creature rather than the Creator.(129) Or some there are who, living and dying in this world without God, are exposed to final despair. Wherefore to promote the glory of God and procure the salvation of all of these, and mindful of the command of the Lord, “Preach the Gospel to every creature”,(130) the Church fosters the missions with care and attention.
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P.S. Note that it does not say “Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary use words.”
 
Is Pope Benedict speaking only to the faithful here, or is he also speaking ever so gently to Pope Francis to?

Could it be that Pope Francis is concentrating to much of his time and political capitol on global warming, the poor, and migrant issues, thereby letting the Church drift further and further in a direction that will lead to even more confusion and misunderstanding of just what she stands for?

Pope Benedict did much to bring the Church back to it’s basics and it’s roots, and he told Catholics things that they didn’t want to necessarily hear. I fear, and maybe he does to, that all his hard work is now going to the wayside…
 
jimcav said:
Is Pope Benedict speaking only to the faithful here, or is he also speaking ever so gently to Pope Francis to?

Could it be that Pope Francis is concentrating to much of his time and political capitol on global warming, the poor, and migrant issues, thereby letting the Church drift further and further in a direction that will lead to even more confusion and misunderstanding of just what she stands for?

Pope Benedict did much to bring the Church back to it’s basics and it’s roots, and he told Catholics things that they didn’t want to necessarily hear. I fear, and maybe he does to, that all his hard work is now going to the wayside…
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No. Using third party media to convey a message is not a Benedict trademark, it’s a Francis one.

If Benedict wished to convey anything to Francis I am pretty sure it would be in person…
 
Hoosier_Daddy said:
No. Using third party media to convey a message is not a Benedict trademark, it’s a Francis one.

If Benedict wished to convey anything to Francis I am pretty sure it would be in person…
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Maybe he has tried, but these are two very different people.

Francis doesn’t seem concerned with the points Benedict is making…
 
jimcav said:
Maybe he has tried, but these are two very different people.

Francis doesn’t seem concerned with the points Benedict is making…
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I’m not comfortable putting these two popes in opposition just yet. Benedict leans to my view of things and I see your point but it is out of character for BXVI to do as you are suggesting.
 
jimcav said:
Maybe he has tried, but these are two very different people.

Francis doesn’t seem concerned with the points Benedict is making…
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I feel this is an inappropriate direction to take this thread.
 
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