An English / Liberal view of the Holy Father in a BBC documentary: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=A3AD4C829418DF89
I only watched part 1. They program tries to portray Ratzinger as if he was a liberal back in the 1960's. This is based on the testimony of a guy who knew him back then--a theologian who has been banned from teaching by the Church. Other than some poo poo like that I think it's interesting so far, but I'm taking some of it with a pinch of salt.
I was touched by the documentary, Deanna. I don't think maybe you've come to the part so far, but the interviewer outs himself as a Catholic homosexual. ..and one I suspect who lives a gay lifestyle. I felt sorry for him, because I see such pain and hurt in him. I found it interesting becuse he clings to so much of the current Liberal Catholic myth. That the Church must be modren and 'relate' to the morality and customs of the modern world. Thus as the world embraces the homosexual lifestyle so must the Church ...and of course the whole modern baggage..abortion, divorce, contraception, moral relativism and so on... Underpinning that the Church must 'Progress' as the world is 'progressing'..that people are learnig more and more and beocomming wiser and wiser and so the Church must 'Progress' dumping old ideas of right and wrong and embracing 'Progress ' and 'Change' becomming 'Relvant' and so on. That the Church must be 'Compassionate' and 'Embracing' of other lifestyles systems of morality Religions, ways of thought ect. Losing its notions opf black and white right and wrong. It must not be 'hard', 'harsh', 'Judgemental' . ...................and a lot of these Liberal notions get tied up in a bogeyman figure of the Holy Father as kind of fierce, uncaring Rottweiler like figure tearing uncaring, ruthless, harsh , fierce a king of Germanic Nazi hitman. But you know listening carefully to all he had to say (and he had, really quite a very lot to say) I think this. It would be a mistake to engage with Catholics like him (and lets face it in the West today maybe most Catholics do think like him) on the same level of political/ religious discussion that they themselves engage in. To listen, not to what they say but to what they don't say. In listening to the interviewer I thought waht he was saying was this: @Listen I am a homosexual and am living a homosexual lifestyle. I can't change this; I've tried over and over again but just can't . You are wrong to condemn me for this its not wrong its just who and what I am . Its not me that needs to change but you. You have to stop saying that who and what I am and what I am doing is wrong and accept me and what I do as right' ...and I think thats the bottom line.... I think there is a great emptation of taking the path of least resistance with this and going along with this and saying , 'Well that fine , God loves you anyway it will all work out, what you're doing is fine or not so bad etc, etc' Rather than saying that everywhere such a lifestyle is mentioned in scripture it is condemned and often condemned very fiercely and in the whole history of the Church it has never ever been approved of, no not once. That there is a hell and such a thing as sin. THis may sound harsh but there is nothing to be feared so much as hell and not to try to stop someone who is running rather than walking down the road to hell is the greatest uncharity, rather than been silent or engaging in false sympathy. But htere is a part of the documetnary that really touched me. The interviewer traveeled to Fatima to cover the Holy Fathers visit there. It is clear he is baffled and perplexed. For there was 'God's Rottweiler' some one who is supposed to be fierce and nasty and disliked by most Catholics been revered and loved by a reverent crowd of Catholics much bigger than the crowd that visited Pope John Paul 2 when he arrived. Also he listens to the Pope and is touched by the Holy Fathers kindness and gentleness. So the myth of Gods Rottweiller kind of crumbles. I was also touched by this Gay gentlemans remaining a Cathoilic and trying to remain faithful. But there is a risk to him and to the Church as a whole in this. Duringthe so called Reformation folks decamped enmass and left the Church. But nowadays people like the interviewer and many millions of others stay in the Church and try to remake us in his own image and that's very,very worrying. So the wolf is not just outside the fold but within. The danger to the Church is not that we are too judgemental and see things as too black and white, the great danger is we see things as in shades of gray and get lost in some modern Liberal mist out there were we are no longer sure waht is black and what is right..when we , none of us are sure any longer what we believe...or stand for. I'm not being harsh in this or homophobic , but the danger is, the real danger, is if we don't draw a firm line in the sand then the waves will come in, the tides of false change and engulf us all... 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (New International Version, ©2010) 9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men[a] 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
