Can I disagree with the Pope about rock music?

[commander9225]

I have been a huge rock fan for many years. I can play electric guitar quite well and it is one of my great loves in life. I am very religious, but until recently never saw anything wrong with listening to rock and being a good Catholic. I recently read something Cardinal Ratzinger wrote about rock music before he became pope. I disagree with it on many levels, because I believe there is a lot of good rock music. I’m terrified now, however, because I feel like if I listen to a little Van Halen, I’ve somehow committed an act of schism. I don’t think I agree with the Pope, but I want to know; is it a sin to disagree with him on this matter?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

No. The pope is not infallible in matters of personal musical taste, and, in this case, Cardinal Ratzinger’s opinion of rock music was published before he became pope. (Infallibility does not work retroactively or in anticipation of election to the papacy.) Even so, Joseph Ratzinger has been a preeminent Catholic theologian for many years, and so his personal opinion should be considered carefully and treated respectfully. You don’t have to agree with him, but you should be willing to acknowledge that he might be right and you might be wrong about rock music, even if you cannot as yet understand how. Recognizing and respecting the greater intellect of others, whether or not you agree with them in everything, is an exercise in intellectual humility.