The Highest Duty of the Church
is the preservation of the purity of the depositum fidei- for if that becomes corrupted, only evil follows.
All other drafts - particularly those prepared by the preparatory theological Commission chaired by Cardinal Ottaviani – are judged by Ratzinger to be “too scholarly”. One draft he dismissed particularly vehemently was the text on the preservation of purity of the depositum fidei (“it is lacking to such an extent that it cannot be presented at the Council as it is”). As concerns the text on the “sources” of the divine Revelation, Ratzinger suggested substantial changes to its structure and content. Meanwhile, the drafts concerning Christian moral order, virginity, family and marriage are dismissed with arguments based on pastoral opportunities. According to Ratzinger these texts “overwhelm the reader with their excessive use of words.” The young professor form Bonn University stated that Council documents “should provide answers to more pressing problems and should do so, as far as possible, without judging and condemning, but by using a maternal language, presenting the wealth of the Christian faith and its comforts.”
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