Pope recalls errors of 12th century scholar to warn against relativism [CNA]

[CNA_News]

Vatican City, Nov 4, 2009 / 11:55 am (CNA).- Speaking to almost 15,000 people in St. Peter’s Square during the Wednesday General Audience, Pope Benedict XVI continued last week’s comparison of the monastic and scholastic theology in the twelfth century. In the area of theological discussion, the Holy Father cautioned against ethical relativism influencing the Faith.

Pope Benedict dedicated his catechesis to the twelfth-century debate between St. Bernard of Clairvaux and Abelard. He began by recalling, “to understand this confrontation between the two great masters, we must remember that theology is the search for a rational understanding, as far as possible, of the mysteries of the Christian faith.”

For St. Bernard, Benedict XVI explained, “faith itself is endowed with inner certainty, strengthened by the testimony of the saints and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers, and in case of doubt, by the exercise of the Magisterium of the Church.”

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[EtienneGilson]

He should rather recall the errors of another 12th century scholar to warn against fideism. Of “St” Bernard’s Citeaux C.H. Haskins writes: “Citeaux was not a school of learning, not even theological learning…one could enter the order without being able to read.” Perhaps the pope’s razor intellect should not only be directed at Muslim fideism but also Christian.

In addition, the picture of St. Bernard that develops in Etienne Gilson’s ‘Heloise and Abelard’ is that of a rabid tyrant whom Peter the Venerable must protect Abelard from. A far cry from the pope’s closing remarks about an eventually reconciliation between the two, the one a scholar, the other an inquisitor.

 

[JReducation]

He should rather recall the errors of another 12th century scholar to warn against fideism. Of “St” Bernard’s Citeaux C.H. Haskins writes: “Citeaux was not a school of learning, not even theological learning…one could enter the order without being able to read.” Perhaps the pope’s razor intellect should not only be directed at Muslim fideism but also Christian.

What one has to remember is that St. Bernard was reforming the Benedictine tradition that had gone off course. Its monasteries had become centers of learning. This was good for the Church and the world, but not good for the monks.

The first problem that they had to face was clericalization. The order became an order of priests. This was not the intent of monastic life. Monastic life was founded for lay men and clerics. Monasteries were communities to which men and women retired to a life of contemplation for the sole purpose of achieving intimate union between the soul and God. Bernard returned that to the Benedictine tradition by founding the Cistercian branch of the order.

The second problem that Bernard had to deal with was the intervention of the laity in the lives of the monks. Many monasteries depended on funds from the laity. But these folks felt that this gave them some authority and some rights over the affairs of the monks. They made demands on the monks in exchange for their charity. Bernard combatted this by restoring the ancient tradition of manual labor as the source of income to support the monastery. This liberated the monks from their dependance on the laity. They were able to live according to the rule of Benedict without having on-going contact with the world and being used as political pawns by the aristocracy of the time.

Third, Bernard also liberated religious orders from bishops. He was the first to establish what today are called religious orders of Pontifical Right. This means that religious orders answer only to the Holy Father. The local bishop cannot interfere in their internal affairs when these take place inside of their property. Bishops could no longer depend on the monks to supply priests for the laity. Those priests who became monks were now free to be completely enclosed, contemplative, stable, and silent, which is why they entered the monastery in the first place.

Fourth, Bernard took away the academic requirements that had been imposed on the Benedictines. That opened the door to peasants and noble men to enter the monastic life.

Fifth, Bernard did not rule with such an iron fist as it is said above. He ruled according to the rule of St. Benedict. The rule of St. Benedict says that the Abbot is: the voice of God, the father, the first, the only authority, and the protector of the monks. Thus he is called by the same title that Jesus calls God the Father, Abba. This is where the title Abbot comes from.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF