De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

On Monday April the 18th, 2005, after the death of Pope St. John Paul the Great, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger gave a homily to the conclave of cardinals which had gathered at the Vatican to elect the next pope. This homily was phenomenal and as important and true today as it was in 2005: "How many winds of doctrine have we known in recent decades, how many ideological currents, how many ways of thinking. The small boat of the thought of many Christians has often been tossed about by these waves - flung from one extreme to another: from Marxism to liberalism, even to libertinism; from collectivism to radical individualism; from atheism to a vague religious mysticism; from agnosticism to syncretism and so forth. Every day new sects spring up, and what St Paul says about human deception and the trickery that strives to entice people into error (cf. Eph 4: 14) comes true. Today, having a clear faith based on the Creed of the Church is often labeled as fundamentalism. Whereas relativi...

I am re-reading one of the most formative theological works I ever studied, Ratzinger's Truth and Tolerance . Fundamentally, the work considers whether truth is knowable, and, if we know the truth, whether we must then hide it in the name of tolerance?  In the book, Ratzinger outlines the timeless teaching of the Magisterium in language that resonates with our embattled culture. A work of extreme sensitivity, understanding, and spiritual maturity, this book was essential in helping me understand the value and contribution of other faiths and cultures in the context of belief in Jesus Christ as the only means of salvation for the world. Just picking up the book and reading the preface reminded me of how important this work is and how much I need to re-read it now. A quote from the preface might help you to see for yourself: The question of the peacefulness of cultures, of peace in matters of religion, has also moved up to become a political theme of the first ran...

In his preface to the French edition of Msgr. Klaus Gamber's book, The Modern Rite (St Michael's Abbey Press, 2002), Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger has this to say on the subject of post-conciliar renewal: "What happened after the Council was something else entirely: in the place of liturgy as the fruit of development came fabricated liturgy. We abandoned the organic, living process of growth and development over centuries, and replaced it - as in a manufacturing process - with a fabrication, a banal on -the-spot product. Gamber, with the vigilance of a true prophet and the courage of a true witness, opposed this falsification, and, indefatigably taught us about the living fullness of a true liturgy". What, then, does this true prophet have to say about a reform which is, in reality, a continued revolution? "The pastoral benefits that so many idealists had hoped the new liturgy would bring did not materialize. Our churches emptied in spite of the new liturgy (o...

One issue that has interested me for some time is the question of orientation for Mass. I recall clearly hearing stories that in "The Old Days" the priest used to have his back to the people. How crazy was that?!! I vaguely recall, when I delved deeper into why such a bizarre practice should have taken place at all, I was informed that the whole altar used to be blocked off and that's where we get altar rails and bells from. It took me a long while to glean an objective perspective on the practice. Like much that was boarded over with plywood in the sixties, I have learned that a bit of restorative investigation can yield all kinds of spiritual rewards. Perhaps the seminal contemporary work on all this is Ratzinger's  'The Spirit of the Liturgy' , inspired by Romano Guardini's book of the same title. I found it such essential reading because it attempts (and really succeeds) to educate the reader and deepen their understanding and love of the Litu...

The Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Theology of Benedict XVI Father Mark D. Kirby, O.Cist. 'We see who Jesus is if we see him at prayer' "In the pierced heart of the Crucified, God's own heart is opened up; here we see who God is and what he is like. Heaven is no longer locked up. God has stepped out of his hiddenness. That is why St John sums up both the meaning of the Cross and the nature of the new worship of God in the mysterious promise made through the prophet Zechariah (cf. 12:10). 'They shall look on him whom they have pierced' (Jn 19.37)".1 Pope Benedict XVI: Theologian of the Heart of Christ In July of 1985, 1 was standing in the bookstore of the Abbey of Sainte-Cécile of Solesmes in France when, by a wonderful providence of God, I met the Benedictine scholar, Mother Elisabeth de Solms. The encounter remains unforgettable. I had long studied and used her admirable translation of the Life and Rule of S...

This is really fascinating and well worth watching. A decade ago, and just two years before he became Pope, EWTN's Raymond Arroyo interviewed the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who had been Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith for 22 years. The CDF, previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition (wherefrom arose the names Roman Inquisition or Holy Inquisition popularly used in reference to the 16th century tribunals against witchcraft and heresy), and after 1904 called the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office, is the oldest of the nine congregations of the Roman Curia. Among the most active of the congregations, it oversees Catholic Church doctrine. Its offices are housed at the Palace of the Holy Office at the Vatican. What we see here is Joseph Ratzinger before he became Pope, speaking about liturgy, about his vision for the future, about the sex abuse scandal, about the Papacy of John Paul II, and abou...

Cardinal Francis Arinze, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, tells us what it felt like to be a Cardinal in the room as the Pope announced his plans to resign and talks some sense into all of us who are feeling sad that the amazing Joseph Ratzinger, a man who does not rush, who is not rash, who is clear-headed and firm of purpose, is standing aside from the Chair of St. Peter. He is brilliant isn't he? The key point I think here is that he states that our faith does not rest on the Pope, but in Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Kind of brings you to your senses a bit. What he says about sentiment is a brilliant observation; that we all get caught up in a pope's style, the way he looks, the way he speaks. I remember feeling as afraid when Pope Benedict was elected as I do now, waiting with trepidation to see who will be next. But as Cardinal Arinze so wisely says, the Holy Spir...

Professor Scott Hahn made this interesting comment regarding the Pope's resignation today on his Facebook page: Back on April 29, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI did something rather striking, but which went largely unnoticed. He stopped off in Aquila, Italy, and visited the tomb of an obscure medieval Pope named St. Celestine V (1215-1296). After a brief prayer, he left his pallium, the symbol of his own episcopal authority as Bishop of Rome, on top of Celestine's tomb! Fifteen months later, on July 4, 2010, Benedict went out of his way again, this time to visit and pray in the cathedral of Sulmona, near Rome, before the relics of this same saint, Celestine V. Few people, however, noticed at the time. Only now, we may be gaining a better understanding of what it meant. These actions were probably more than pious acts. More likely, they were profound and symbolic gestures of a very personal nature, which conveyed a message that a Pope can hardly deliver any other way. In...