P.E. Benedict XVI responds to Dubia questions

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and with outstanding precision… as usual for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
 
Perhaps when you have a moment, you could respond with a bit more explanation of your thoughts.

So…you’re saying B16’s remarks do NOT address the famous dubia questions?
 
I’m saying it’s misleading to say they are meant to. First the dubia steak not presented to him they are presented to the current pontiff Francis. Benedict would not purposely answer them. Second the title is misleading. And third it foesnt really answer them.
Did you purposely try to mislead or were you unaware of the actual facts?
 
While I know that Pope Benedict is a great mind, I am a bit confused/ dubious as to how a man supposedly on his last legs by his own account, and out of the public eye, is authoring this stuff all by himself.

Now I did work for a boss who was in his late 80s and worked at an intellectual appointed position until he was about 93, so I know it can be done, but my boss was coming into the office every day up to 3 months before his death after a fall, and he was in the public eye. He was not hidden away somewhere with pronouncements occasionally coming out with his name on them, authored by Heaven knows who.
 
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Retired SCOTUS Justice Paul Stevens (99) just made a remark to the WSJ about the President overstepping his power.

Both of these elderly men are clear and coherent.
 
“Making a remark to the WSJ” is not the same as writing a long, complex theological document and signing your name to it.

Also, to be frank, none of us have any idea of Pope Benedict’s current state of mind. He is kept out of the public eye for the most part.
 
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If none of us have any idea of Pope Benedict’s current state of mind, why are you questioning it?..
You said it is dubious that he wrote the essay himself and say “authored by Heaven knows who”. And you also make allusions to the idea that a man of his age would not be up to writing a complex theological essay. We are speaking of one of the most brilliant men of the last century!

Frankly I find the questioning of Pope Benedict’s metal acuity to be offensive. He is only 10 years older than Pope Francis. Should we assume pope Francis will be incapable of deep theological thought in the next 5 or ten years? His (Pope Benedict’s) seclusion, far from being an impediment to mental and theological clarity would afford him sufficient time for reflection.

Since you are speculating that it was not Pope Benedict who penned ‘The Church and the scandal of sexual abuse’ in his native German, with his signature, please tell us who wrote it. I found that in reading the document it was consistent with Pope Benedict’s style and perspective and I would find it hard to believe anyone but Pope Benedict wrote it.
 
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The title is beyond misleading. This is nothing more than an author speculating on how Pope Benedict would respond to the dubia based on her interpretation of the recent essay released over his name. It is really just the latest salvo in the attack on the Pontiff - using Pope Benedict as a tool in an ongoing battle for ecclesial power.
 
Yes, this is not “Breaking News”. It is simply an blogger taking the commentary Benedict XVI released a month ago on the sex abuse scandal and trying to say it secretly answered all the dubia questions. It’s definitely a misleading headline.
 
I_trust said:
If none of us have any idea of Pope Benedict’s current state of mind, why are you questioning it?..
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Because he’s very old and has stated that he’s in poor health, and because he stepped down as Pope and it’s a bit of an odd situation all around, to have someone who is no longer the acting Pope writing long detailed answers to a question addressed to the acting Pope.

And because I’m allowed to ask questions. People sure ask enough questions on here about why Pope Francis does things and they don’t know his state of mind either. It’s quite natural to also ask questions about Pope Benedict. And about this whole unusual situation, which is not normal because we have not generally had the case of a living Pope Emeritus.
 
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Obviously, the title, The Dubia Were Answered, got my attention, but I don’t believe it is as misleading as some claim. In fact, it is actually less misleading than when some of Pope Francis’ surrogates claimed that Pope Francis himself already answered the dubia in some later speech shortly after the they were issued. Whether intentional or not, Benedict’s writing (or the writings of any orthodox Catholic theologian for that matter) would, in some sense, answer the dubia if it was to touch on doctrine and moral theology.
 
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I know. That is where I got the link. Notwithstanding, the essay was not written as a response to the Dubia. The title of this thread is inaccurate. We used to be required to use the article title for a news thread. This is why. For those not clicking, the article title was " The Dubia Were Answered," an opinion, but at least a reasonable opinion.
 
irenaeus1 said:
Obviously, the title, The Dubia Were Answered , got my attention, but I don’t believe it is as misleading as some claim.
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Fair enough. I think the title of this thread is more misleading than the actual title of the article.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
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I_trust:
If none of us have any idea of Pope Benedict’s current state of mind, why are you questioning it?..
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Because he’s very old and has stated that he’s in poor health, and because he stepped down as Pope and it’s a bit of an odd situation all around, to have someone who is no longer the acting Pope writing long detailed answers to a question addressed to the acting Pope.

And because I’m allowed to ask questions. People sure ask enough questions on here about why Pope Francis does things and they don’t know his state of mind either. It’s quite natural to also ask questions about Pope Benedict. And about this whole unusual situation, which is not normal because we have not generally had the case of a living Pope Emeritus.
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Normally, my first response to this would have been defensive. But I really do see your point. I think it is quite odd that after years of almost absolute silence, this is released and when I read it I questioned it’s author. Also, I could be wrong but I don’t think BXVI was included in the abuse summit earlier this year.

At any rate BXVI cannot answer the dubia anyway, he is not acting Pope and the questions (Dubia) were addressed to Francis. Saying he answered the Dubia is like saying JPII answered them. The writings may address the issue much like writings from the beginning of Christianity have, including Jesus who spoke directly to divorce and remarriage. The Dubia are not addressed to them. They are addressed to Francis. Only Francis or his successor can answer them.

I don’t believe, nor is it in his personalty to do this, that BXVI wishes to weigh in at all on these issues. If he did, he would have when he was Pope or would still be the acting Pope.
 
Hoosier-Daddy said:
I don’t believe, nor is it in his personalty to do this, that BXVI wishes to weigh in at all on these issues. If he did, he would have when he was Pope or would still be the acting Pope.
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Right. Benedict quite intentionally stepped out of the limelight and has been mostly “radio-silent” since he stepped down as pope. It would be quite uncharacteristic for him to seek to undermine Pope Francis by stealthily answering the dubia questions with a nod and a wink.

In reading the article he released in April on the sex abuse scandal, it does resonate with me as being authentically his work. I have no reason to doubt he wrote it, even if it surprised me to see it released. I cannot imagine he would have done that without—at the very least—Pope Francis’ tacit approval.
 
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