Liberation Theologian Boff... On 25 December 2016 the Brazilian Leonardo Boff, one of the most prominent theorists and operatives of Latin American Liberation Theology, gave a candidly revealing and manifoldly informative interview to the German regional newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. Due to his confident, if not presumptuous, openness, the 78-year-old Boff (b. 14 December 1938) speaks about several matters of moment which we otherwise would not so easily hear about. For example, he reveals the following: How and why Pope Francis did not meet Boff in Rome, as planned, on the day before the second Synod on the Family in 2015 – because the pope was angry at the Thirteen Cardinals’ Letter and was trying to quiet the situation (and himself?) ahead of the Synod; How Cardinal Walter Kasper recently told Boff that Pope Francis has some “big surprises” planned; How Pope Francis intends to allow the Catholic Church in Brazil to permit married priests, as his friend Cardinal Claudio Hummes has been requesting now for some time; How Pope Francis had requested from Boff material for the writing of his own encyclical Laudato Si and how the pope thanked him afterwards; How Boff considers Pope Francis to be “one of us,” meaning one of the supportive sympathizers with liberation theology. In the following, therefore, I shall translate parts of this important interview.... http://www.onepeterfive.com/liberation-theologian-boff-francis-is-one-of-us/
'Francis is one of us. He has turned Liberation Theology into a common property of the Church' View attachment 5897
I hope that the pew sitters in Brazil can afford to quadruple their contributions to the Church. The Catholics who actually believe that missing Sunday Mass is a mortal sin and show up Sunday after Sunday, sit through waffle for sermons, and are the Pope's favourite whipping boys will have to foot the bill for the wives and children. And that's before they get into footing the bill for broken marriages and possible second unions. The billionnaires getting the royal treatment in the Vatican won't be covering the costs of school trips, orthodontists, second family sized cars, etc. Every time I hear of these reformers (often Catholics who only show up for weddings and funerals or the occasional Christmas) getting their way or the Pope talking about our obligations to charity, I feel his hand in my pocket.
speculation and lies. "...In the 1980s, Boff became the main representative of liberation theology, and because of his criticism of the church, he was in conflict with the Vatican and his supreme faithful Joseph Ratzinger. After having been subjected to a publication ban twice, Boff left the Order in 1992 and laid down his priesthood. – Quelle: http://www.ksta.de/25372660 ©2016" We are supposed to take this man seriously like he is the pope's best friend??
Perhaps he's a prophet like the atheist journalist who told us that the Pope would make it possible for remarried divorcees to receive Communion. He was condemned for not taking notes and for misrepresenting the Pope by the people who said that the Pope would never allow communion for people living in adulterous unions. Now, Cardinal Kasper says that the safe, legal and rare approach that supposedly would never happen and is now being touted as a merciful development of doctrine is just the beginning. When we get used to turning a blind eye to adultery, sodomy will be a shoo-in because that doesn't even have the stumbling block of the actual words of Jesus to contend with. As Elton John's devotees are wont to say "Jesus never mentioned gay marriage". Married priests are a given under this pontificate. I suppose we should be grateful that they won't be gay marriages for the time being.
THIS GUY IS A NUT. BUT YOU BELIEVE HE SPEAKS TRUTH. Berlin - The Brazilian Leonardo Boff , born in 1938, is the son of Italian immigrants. In 1959 he joined the Franciscan Order and studied in Germany for five years. In the 1980s, Boff became the main representative of liberation theology, and because of his criticism of the church, he was in conflict with the Vatican and his supreme faithful Joseph Ratzinger. After having been subjected to a publication ban twice, Boff left the Order in 1992 and laid down his priesthood. Mr. Boff, do you like Christmas songs? What do you think? (Sings): "Sti-hil-le night, holy night ..." This is sung in every family that celebrates Christmas. With us in Brazil, this is just as much a tradition as in Germany. Do not you see this kind of Christmas kitted up and commercialized? This is different from country to country. Of course, Christmas has become a big business. But in all this, joy is still alive, being together with the family, and in many, the moment of faith. And as I have experienced Christmas in Germany, it is a celebration of the heart, very coherent, wonderful. How does a faith, which speaks for Christmas of a "God of peace", fit the dissatisfaction we experience everywhere? Most of the faith is promise. Ernst Bloch says: "Real genesis is not at the beginning, but at the end, and it only begins to begin when society and existence become radical." The joy of Christmas lies in this promise: The earth and the people are not condemned, That it always goes on as we experience it - with all the wars, violence, fundamentalism. We are promised in faith that in the end everything will be good; That despite all the mistakes, missteps and setbacks, we are coming to a good end. The real meaning of Christmas is not that "God has become man," but that he has come to tell us, "You men belong to me, and when you die, you will come home." Christmas means: God is coming to pick us up? Yes. Incarnation means something of us is already divine, immortal. The divine lies within us. In Jesus it has been shown most clearly. But it is in all people. In an evolutive view, Jesus does not come to the world from outside, but grows out of it. Jesus is the manifestation of the divine in evolution - but not the only one. The Divine also appears in the Buddha, in Mahatma Gandhi, and other great beliefs. This does not sound very Catholic. Do not say that. The entire Franciscan theology of the Middle Ages conceived of Christ as part of creation, not only as the Savior of guilt and sin that comes into the world from above. Incarnation is also salvation, yes. But first and foremost it is a glorification, a deification of creation. And something else is important at Christmas. God appears in the form of a child. Not as an old man with white hair and long white beard ... Just like you ... So, if at all, I rather resemble Karl Marx. What I am concerned with is the following: If, at the end of our life, we have to face the divine judge, then we are faced with a child. But a child does not condemn anyone. A child wants to play and be together with others. This side of faith must be re-emphasized. The Latin liberation theology, to whose most prominent representatives you belong, has come to new honor by Pope Francis. A rehabilitation also for you personally after the decades of fighting with Pope John Paul II and his supreme faithful Joseph Ratzinger, the later Pope Benedict XVI? Francis is one of us. He has made liberation theology the common property of the Church. And he has extended them. Those who speak of the poor must also speak of the earth today because they are also plundered and desecrated. "To hear the cry of the poor," means to hear the cry of the beasts, the forests, the whole tormented creation. The whole earth cries. So, says the Pope, quoting the title of one of my books, we must at the same time hear the cry of the poor and the earth. And both must be freed. In recent times, I myself have been very concerned with this extension of the theology of liberation. And this is also the fundamentally new one in "Laudato si" ... ... the "eco-encyclical" of the Pope from 2015. How much Leonardo Boff is in Jorge Mario Bergoglio? The Encyclical belongs to the Pope. But he has consulted many experts. Did he read your books? Even more. He asked me for "Laudato si" for material. I have given him my advice and sent some of what I have written. He also used it. Some people have told me that they had thought of reading, "that's Boff!" By the way, Pope Franziskus said to me, "Boff, please do not send the papers directly to me." Why not? He said: "Otherwise, catch the Sottosegretari (employees in the Vatican administration, d.Red.) It from, and I do not get it. I would like to know that the current Vatican ambassador is an old acquaintance of the Pope from his time in Buenos Aires. They have often drank mate together. One day before the encyclical was published, the Pope had me call him to give me his thanks for my help. But a personal meeting with the Pope is still pending? He has sought reconciliation with the most important representatives of liberation theology, with Gustavo Gutierrez, Jon Sobrino, and also with me. I said to him with a glance at Pope Benedict, and Joseph Ratzinger, "but the other one still lives!". He did not accept this. "No," he said, "il Papa sono io" - "the pope is me". So we should come quietly. You see his courage and determination. Why did it not work out with your visit? I had an invitation and had already landed in Rome. But on that very day, just before the beginning of family code 2015, 13 cardinals - among them the German Cardinal Gerhard Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Congregation of the Faith - rehearsed the uprising against the Pope with a letter addressed to him, - stood in the newspaper. The Pope was angry and said to me, "Boff, I have no time. I have to make peace before the Synod. See you another time. " Even the one with the peace has not really gone, right? The Pope feels the sharpness of the wind from his own ranks, especially from the USA. This cardinal Burke, Leo Burke, who has now written a letter together with your Cologne Cardinal Meisner, is the Donald Trump of the Catholic Church. (Laughs) But unlike Trump, Burke is now cold in the Curia. Thank God. These people actually believe they should correct the pope. As if they were above the Pope. Such a thing is unusual, if not unprecedented in the church history. You can criticize the Pope, discuss it. I have done this often enough. But that Cardinals publicly accuse the Pope of spreading theological errors or even heresies, which I think is too much. This is an affront, which the Pope can not please. The Pope can not be condemned, that is teaching the Church. With all your enthusiasm for the Pope, what about the Church reforms that many Catholics had hoped for from Francis, but where so much has happened? You know, as far as I understand it, the center of its interest is no longer the church, certainly not the inner church enterprise, but the survival of mankind, the future of the earth. Both are in danger, and one must ask whether Christianity can contribute to overcoming this great crisis that threatens humanity. Francis takes care of the environment, and now his church is on the wall? I believe there is a hierarchy of problems for him. When the earth perishes, all other problems have also settled. But as for the inner-church questions, wait for it! It was only recently that Cardinal Walter Kasper, a close confidant of the Pope, said that there would soon be great surprises. What do you expect? Who knows? Perhaps the deaconess of the woman. Or the possibility that married priests can be used again in pastoral care. This is an explicit request from the Brazilian bishops to the Pope, especially his friend, the emeritus Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes. I heard that the Pope wanted to comply with this request - initially for an experimental phase in Brazil. This country, with its 140 million Catholics, should have at least 100,000 priests. But there is only 18000. Institutionally, this is a disaster. It is no wonder that the faithful overflow with the evangelicals and Pentecostals who fill the vacuum. If the many thousands of married priests were to be able to exercise their office again, this would be a first step towards the improvement of the situation - and at the same time an impulse that the Catholic Church would loose the fetters of the obligation celibacy. If the Pope were to decide in this sense, would you, as a former Franciscan friar, take on priestly duties again? Personally, I do not need such a decision. It would not change for me, because I am still doing what I have always done: I baptize, I bury, and when I go to a church without a priest, I celebrate the Mass together with the people. Is it very "German" to ask: Can you do that? So far, no bishop I know has ever criticized or forbidden. The bishops even rejoice and tell me: "The people have a right to the Eucharist. So keep quiet! "My theological teacher, Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns, who had died a few days ago, for example, was very open. He went so far as to bring married priests, whom he saw sitting in the bench during the Mass, to the front of the altar, and together with them celebrated the Eucharistic celebration. He often did that and said. "You are still priests, and you will remain!" – Quelle: http://www.ksta.de/25372660 ©2016
I'm coming to the conclusion that being a nut, an atheist, or anything that isn't Catholic is the kind of person the Pope confides in. Who are we to judge his honesty?
