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Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger

Thread ID: 17800 | Posts: 5 | Started: 2005-04-16

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albion [OP]

2005-04-16 07:56 | User Profile

[url="http://www.the-tidings.com/2005/0415/ratzinger.htm"]http://www.the-tidings.com/2005/0415/ratzinger.htm[/url] [img]http://www.the-tidings.com/2005/0415/ratzinger1.jpg[/img] [font=Courier New]German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, dean of the College of Cardinals, uses incense to bless the casket of Pope John Paul II during his funeral Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican April 8.[/font]

albion

2005-04-16 08:09 | User Profile

[size=7][color=#006666]Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger[/color][/size]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Sans][size=2]

Although his name may be unfamiliar to many freemasons, Cardinal Ratzinger looms large in the history of anti-masonry for his unswerving condemnation of Freemasonry and his absolute prohibition on Roman Catholics being freemasons.

Born on 16 April 1927 in Marktl am Inn, Germany, Joseph Ratzinger was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Roman Curia on 25 November 1981 and Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia, Italy on 30 November 2002. He has also been President of the International Theological Commission and President of the Pontifical Biblical Commission.

The mission of the Catholic Church's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith—in the words of John Paul II—is "to promote and safeguard the doctrine on the faith and morals throughout the Catholic world."

In the words of the Unofficial Rartzinger Fan Club: "As Grand Inquisitor for Mother Rome, Ratzinger keeps himself busy in service to the Truth: correcting theological error, silencing dissenting theologians, and stomping down heresy wherever it may rear its ugly head—and, consequently, has received somewhat of a notorious reputation among the liberal media and 'enlightened' intellegensia of pseudo-Catholic universities."

Cardinal Ratzinger is also the author of God Is Near Us: The Eucharist, The Heart of Life (Ignatius Press, Sept. 2003) in which he outlines the biblical, historical, and theological dimensions of the Eucharist. "For Ratzinger, any transformation of the world on the social plane grows out of the celebration of the Eucharist." [/size][/font]

albion

2005-04-16 08:18 | User Profile

On [color=#0000ff]January 2[/color], [color=#0000ff]2005[/color], [color=#0000ff]Time[/color] quoted unnamed Vatican sources as saying that Ratzinger was a frontrunner to [color=#0000ff]succeed[/color] John Paul II should the Pope die or become too ill to continue as [color=#0000ff]Pontiff[/color]. His see, Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia, has traditionally been an antechamber to the Papal seat.

The Spectactor writes:

*There can be little doubt that his courageous promotion of orthodox Catholic teaching has earned him the respect of his fellow cardinals throughout the world. He is patently holy, highly intelligent and sees clearly what is at stake. Indeed, for those who blame the decline of Catholic practice in the developed world precisely on the propensity of many European bishops to hide their heads in the sand, a pope who confronts it may be just what is required. Ratzinger is no longer young — he is 77 years old: but Angelo Roncalli was the same age when he became Pope as [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_XXIII"][color=#0000ff]John XXIII[/color][/url]. He turned the Church upside-down by calling the Second Vatican Council and was perhaps the best-loved pontiff of modern times. As Jeff Israely, the correspondent of Time, was told by a Vatican insider last month, "The Ratzinger solution is definitely on".*

However it is important to note that Ratzinger's election to the Papal office is by no means certain. In conclaves men who are considered papabile are often are not elected to office. At times men considered certain to win the election did not win. This is expressed in the saying, "He who enters the conclave as Pope leaves as a Cardinal."

Ratzinger was considered to be [color=#0000ff]Pope John Paul II[/color]'s "right hand man" and also one of his closest friends, and during the Pope's final illness, he carried out many of the Pope's functions as leader of the Catholic Church.

Ratzinger has repeatedly stated he would like to retire to a Bavarian village and dedicate himself to writing books, but more recently, he told friends he was ready to "accept any charge God placed on him." After the death of John Paul II on [color=#0000ff]April 2[/color], [color=#0000ff]2005[/color] Ratzinger ceased functioning as Prefect of the [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congregation_for_the_Doctrine_of_the_Faith"][color=#0000ff]Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith[/color][/url]. If Ratzinger is not elected Pope in the upcoming [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_conclave%2C_2005"][color=#0000ff]Papal Election[/color][/url], it will be up to the next Pope as to whether or not Ratzinger continues in his role as Prefect.

Ratzinger speaks ten languages and has received seven honorary doctorate degrees. He is an accomplished pianist with a preference for Beethoven.

If he is elected Pope, he would be the eighth German pope.

In April, 2005, he was identified as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by the [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Magazine"][color=#0000ff]Time Magazine[/color][/url] [url="http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1274&storyid=2946699"][color=#0000ff][1][/color][/url] ([url="http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1274&storyid=2946699"]http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1274&storyid=2946699[/url]).

Some of Cardinal Ratzingers strongest supporters include Rome's [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camillo_Ruini"][color=#0000ff]Camillo Ruini[/color][/url], head of the Italian Bishops' Conference, [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Mario_Bergoglio"][color=#0000ff]Jorge Mario Bergoglio[/color][/url] of Buenos Aires, [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelo_Scola"][color=#0000ff]Angelo Scola[/color][/url] of Venice and Sydney Archbishop [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Pell"][color=#0000ff]George Pell[/color][/url], who all believe that fighting Western secularism is the most vital challenge.

more at: [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Cardinal_Ratzinger"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Cardinal_Ratzinger[/url]

albion

2005-04-16 16:12 | User Profile

Interview with Cardinal Kasper:

Q: [u]Cardinal Kasper, how do you see the present moment in Catholic-Jewish dialogue?[/u]

A: I would say a series of things have happened, and the balance is positive. First of all, I believe the Pope’s trip to Israel was of great importance in building bridges with the Jewish People. Today, many Jews in Israel have a different view of the Catholic Church than they had in the past.

No doubt, the "Dominus Iesus" document issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, caused problems and produced a crisis of trust for our Jewish partners. However, I believe that the article written by Cardinal Ratzinger for the "Osservatore Romano" around Christmas time, helped to overcome this - although Israel’s Ambassador to the Holy See, Joseph Lamdan, said that there were some difficulties with the end of that article, which says,"We will pray that [God] grant also the children of Israel a deeper knowledge of Jesus of Nazareth, who is their son and the gift they have made to us. Since we are both awaiting the final redemption, let us pray that the paths we follow may converge."

This prayer or hope expresses an eschatological outlook. It is not to be interpreted as an attempt to missionize. I think there cannot be any mission of Catholics towards Jews. The "nations" who will convert, according to the Gospel, are "Goyim", not Jews.

We have different opinions about Jesus Christ, and that is our main problem. But this article by Cardinal Ratzinger made it clear that Jews do not belong within the category of world religions, but are, rather, at the bottom of our own origins. Ratzinger asserts that "it is evident that our dialogue, as Christians, with Jews is on a different level than that with other religions." [The Jewish faith "as witnessed in the Jewish Bible, the Old Testament of the Christians, is for us not another religion but the basis of our faith." LP-B] * - - - - - - [url="http://www.jcrelations.net/en/?id=1428"]http://www.jcrelations.net/en/?id=1428[/url]*

Walter Yannis

2005-04-16 16:33 | User Profile

[QUOTE=albion]**I think there cannot be any mission of Catholics towards Jews. The "nations" who will convert, according to the Gospel, are "Goyim", not Jews. [/QUOTE]

Wow.

I'm speechless.