Pope Benedict speaks out from retirement. Modern liturgy "darkens" God.

Benedict XVI: Modern liturgy "darkens" God

It is one of the life themes of Benedict XVI: the Second Vatican Council and its reception. The fact that he has not finished so far is shown by his latest publication.

Five months after his 90th birthday, Benedict XVI received a retrospective ecumenical birthday present: the Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion handed over a copy of the Russian edition of the Liturgy volume of the Ratzinger-Gesamtausgabe to the emeritus pope at the end of September. The volume entitled "Theology of the Liturgy" was published by the Moscow Patriarchate. And this is not the only peculiarity: Benedict XVI. himself had written the preface for the Russian edition. The Italian daily newspaper "Corriere della serra" had already published the text of the two-page text in April. But at that time he found little attention. On Wednesday the Italian daily "La Stampa" published the text again.

In it, the professorial writer writes about one of his theological life themes: the Second Vatican Council and, in his opinion, often distorted reception. The (emeritus) Pope, in the preface, is pursuing a core thesis that the deeper cause of the present crisis of the Church is the darkening of God in the liturgy. "The misunderstanding of the liturgical form, which is widespread in the Church, focuses on the aspect of submission as well as its own activity and creativity". The consequence: "The doings of men and women has certainly sent the presence of God in oblivion". The Church, however, lives from the "correct celebration of the liturgy," Benedict XVI emphasises.  If the pre-eminence of God were no longer clear in the liturgy and in life, the Church herself is in danger.

Benedict: Nothing is more preferable to worship

Pope Benedict XVI draws a pessimistic picture of the present in his text. "In the consciousness of today's people, the affairs of God and thus also the liturgy did not seem urgent," he complains. All things are urgent today, only the matter of God is not. The Pope recalls the principle of the monastic Rule of Benedict of Nursia (around 480-547) that nothing should be preferred to worship. The founder of Western monasticism had deliberately formulated this with a view to seemingly greater urgency in agriculture or science. But the priority of God does not only apply in monastic life, emphasizes Benedict XVI.

Written comments by the emeritus pope have repeatedly sparked debates in the past. His memory of the funeral of Cardinal Joachim Meisner lastly caused debates in August. Why "La Stampa" published the preface only now remained unclear.

Update:  Full text here of preface

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Jesus would accept Luther as a friend on Facebook says German bishop

If Jesus and Martin Luther were alive today, they would be on the social media, according to the convictions of the bishops, Ludwig Schick and Heinrich Bedford-Strohm. 

"I am sure Luther would be tweeting today," said Bedford-Strohm, the Bavarian Protestant Church bishop, in a joint interview with Catholic Archbishop Schick. Luther would be where the people are: "And the Internet is a place where people spend a lot of time," explained Bedford-Strohm in the interview for the "Heinrichsblatt" and the magazine "Life in the Archbishopric of Bamberg" the Evangelical Press Service (epd) reported on Wednesday.

As far as Archbishop Schick was concerned, Jesus would have a Facebook profile. "He would use all available means to spread the Good News." And, of course, he would accept a friend request from Martin Luther, said Schick. "Of course I would do that, then we would surely enter into an exciting exchange." Both bishops have a Facebook profile, on which they also regularly post.

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Church competes with wedding chapel for unbelievers

Sham packaging!

The church benches can be decorated according to the wishes of the couple. A fireplace replaces the altar.

Whoever finds weddings in a church romantic, but is not a believer, has recently found an alternative: From today onwards, the Hohenstein-Ernstthal Registry Office will be giving appointments for weddings in the new wedding chapel of Callenberg. The real church finds the competition unpleasant.

The musicians, Tino Taubert (53) and Vivienne Leis (39) had a renaissance chapel built on their site for around 850,000 euros (TAG24 reported). "We want to give bridal couples the opportunity to marry in the ambience of a church, even if they are not ecclesiastical," says Taubert.

This is precisely what Christian Luther's Protestant pastor Christian Schubert (34) finds: "It is a sign of how little the power of the church in society has become." An ecclesiastical ceremony in the godless chapel, which is possible according to builders the pastor categorically rejects: "That would be a border crossing for me."

In an interview with Domradio, the Catholic Zwickauer parish priest, Markus Böhme (41) also says: "For me, this is a kind of sham packaging. It is not in it what is conveyed from the outside ... people are deceived here."

They did not want to hurt religious feelings, stress the Tauberts. The idea was born out of her many years of experience with weddings, which she designed as a musician and free-lance speaker. The first wedding vow in the non-church chapel is to be taken in November

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Leading Muslim: West must cease to declare criticism of the religious foundation of the extremism as "islamophobic"

The Islamic scholar Kyai Haji Yahya Cholil Staquf is the Secretary General of Indonesia's largest Muslim Association. He talks about Islamic terrorism. The West must cease to declare criticism of the religious foundation of the extremism as "islamophobic", he says.



There is a clear link between fundamentalism, terrorism and basic Islamic orthodoxy, "said Kyai Haji Yahya Cholil Staquf, Secretary General of the largest Muslim Association in Indonesia, in an interview with the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung". In particular, the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims, as well as the attitude of Muslims to the state and law, are problematic and lead to segregation and hostility. "Too many Muslims see civilisation, the peaceful coexistence of people of different faiths, as something to be combated," says Yahya Cholil Staquf. The growing fear of the West before Islam is therefore quite understandable. And one must be clear about the connections: "The West must stop thinking that questions about Islam are Islamophobic."

"We have to come to the conclusion that an understanding which sets the traditional norms of Islamic law as absolute is wrong. Religious values ​​and social reality must fit together. And it must be crystal clear that the state laws take precedence, "says the Islamic philosopher in conversation with the Frankfurter Allgemeine.

Kyai Haji Yahya Cholil Staquf comes from a Sunni scholar family. He is General Secretary of the Supreme Council of Nahdlatul Ulama, the largest Muslim association in Indonesia, which is the country with the largest Muslim population worldwide. The community of Nahdlatul Ulama gives its membership as fifty million and at least partly understands itself as moderate. Kyai Haji Yahya Cholil Staquf belongs to the spiritually oriented wing of the organisation.

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Cardinal: "Democracy does not run by itself"

On the Day of German Unity, Cardinal Reinhard Marx called on the citizens to participate in society in view of the outcome of the Bundestag elections.

"Democracy does not run by itself," said the Archbishop of Munich and Freising and Chairman of the German Bishops' Conference on Tuesday in his sermon at a church service in Munich's Trinity Church. "Just after the last election, we realised that the great experience of German unity does not mean that all problems are solved by themselves. A democratic, open community needs constant commitment, "said Marx. The Cardinal recalled when he separation of East and West and the Wall had already become self-evident: "As a young man, I could never have imagined the Day of German Unity. There were no signs that communism would disappear during our lifetime. "This had taught him to reckon with the surprises of the history and surprises of God. "Much is possible when there are people who are brave and have a hope," said Marx.

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Cathcon:

The ceiling of the church where the Cardinal was preaching whose message is less secularised than that of the Cardinal.

Archbishop planning conference on assisted suicide, says being pro-life is not just about protecting unborn children

The Pontifical Academy for Life (PAL) is planning a conference on assisted suicide in November. Details of the Vatican's two-day congress, organised jointly with the European section of the World Association of Doctors, are due to be announced shortly, as President Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia announced on Monday. It was exceptional, he emphasised that an "absolutely non-religious organisation" had asked themselves to speak with the Vatican about this "very delicate" topic for both sides.

Paglia commented on the occasion of the presentation of the first annual meeting of PAL after an organizational and personnel transformation. The focus of this meeting, which takes place from Thursday to Saturday, is the accompaniment of the different life phases in the technological era.

In the meantime, the Vatican wants to invite the Belgian branch of the Brothers of Charity (Broeders van Liefde) into the debate on active euthanasia. They are to be given the opportunity to explain their point of view, according to the press release of the General Administration of the Brothers of Charity in Rome, published on Monday. The meeting in Rome was the last chance for the organization to reconcile itself with the Catholic doctrine, according to the statement.

On September 12, the Belgian organization of the Brothers of Charity affirmed its position not to exclude active euthanasia for the mentally ill in the non-terminal stage. The organization manages 15 psychiatric clinics in Belgium.

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia said on Monday, among others. also, that "Pro Life" must mean not only protecting life for unborn children, but also for refugees and migrants. "The position of guardians of life must not be restricted to bioethical aspects." As Pope Francis recalls, everyone must always be pro-life, in any case and everywhere, "says Paglia. These include the admission of migrants and refugees or the prohibition of arms trafficking. "We want to limit the notion of 'life' not only to a level of theory, but also to take account of the historical and geographic events." Pro Life is not simply a theory, but a concrete attitude that is not limited to medicine

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Cathcon:
This is the same Archbishop who featured in a homoerotic painting which he commissioned for a church.

The Pope believes that refugees are "warriors of hope".  Warriors maybe.