Countdown to the Conclave, Day 4: The New York Times and Hans Kung

By Deal W. Hudson & Deacon Keith Fournier
3/1/2013
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

The New York Times Trots Out the Alternate Magisterium

Whoever walks out of the doors onto the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica next week, or the following, will not be a disciple, even secretly, of Hans Kung. His legacy, if is there is such a thing, is gradually dying out with the retirement, one-by-one, of the tenured professors of theology in our nation's Catholic universities.

Prof. Hans Kung, the 'godfather' of the alternative magisterium.

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WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - More Conclave hilarity yesterday, this time from a reliable source of hilarity, the New York Times. Our friend at the Catholic League, Bill Donohue, immediately sent out an email alert when the op-ed by Hans Kung appeared.

Prof. Kung, now 85 years old, is himself the embodiment of what John Paul II and Benedict XVI rescued the Church from becoming. This is not to say that Kung is not a man of immense learning -- he is! -- or a scholar with a worldwide reputation -- he has that! -- or even a man who would be a delightful companion over a glass of wine at dinner -- he would be! (Indeed, Benedict XVI surprised everyone by having him to dinner in the Vatican in 2005.)

But to feature Prof. Kung on the last day of the pontificate of Benedict XVI is the equivalent of the New York Times holding up its middle finger to the Holy Father, the Church, and the 1.3 billion Catholics around the world. This is how Donohue summarizes Kung's evaluation of the latest pontificate: According to Kung, Benedict XVI

"'irritated the Protestant churches, Jews, Muslims, the Indians of Latin America, women, reform-minded theologians and all pro-reform Catholics.' He blames the pope (when he was Cardinal Ratzinger) for covering up the sexual abuse of minors, and cites 'Vatileaks' as a problem. He also says the two major scandals of his tenure were giving 'recognition' to the 'Society of St. Pius X, which is bitterly opposed to the Second Vatican Council, as well as of a Holocaust denier, Bishop Richard Williamson.'"

Kung should know better than to speak to his elders that way! Benedict XVI, now pope emeritus, is one year older, having been born in 1927. And at least Benedict XVI knew when to "hang up his spikes," whereas Prof. Kung remains on the "spirit of Vatican II" treadmill, much like poor Sisyphus pushing his rock up the hill, only to watch it roll back down again.

If you are not familiar with the name Hans Kung, let us provide a few basic facts: He was the first major Catholic theologian to reject the doctrine of papal infallibility (see his book, Fallibility: An Inquiry, 1971). Eight years later he was stripped of his license to teach Catholic theology. His criticism of the Church, and the papacy in particular, has continued unabated ever since, including an embrace of euthanasia among other intrinsically evil practices.

Hans Kung is, it seems to us, very much a tragic figure, one of the best minds and best scholars the Church has produced in the last century. But somewhere along the road he took a wrong turn and became the virtual magisterium of Catholic dissent, a font of authority much imbibed by theologians in the academy, including many Catholic departments of "religious studies." But he became irrelevant to the development of Christian doctrine over the past forty years.

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1 - 5 of 5 Comments

John
3 months ago
People like Hans Kung are a dying breed..good riddance.I never understand these so-called Catholics that attack their own faith..or pick and choose what they want to believe.Why don't they just leave?Afterall they are really Protestants at heart.It is because of Protestants and they're own confusion that we have abortion,contraception,euthanasia,and "gay"marriage.None of these things would be approved of by God..yet sinful man wants to appease himself and make himself comfortable in his sin.By doing so..they reject the discomfort of the cross..they refuse to carry their cross.They follow Judas..not Jesus.Their cry is that of Satans..I will not serve.Instead of being obediant to the church,trusting in God,and staying humble..as Mary did..they are the opposites and so they are blinded by their own malice and hatred for Gods plan.I hope Mr Kung as well as all so-called liberal Catholics will truly learn their faith..start with the example of Our Blessed Lady and Our Queen..she is the prime example of obediance,trust,and humility..Mr.Kung is no better than the likes of Luther and all others who set themselves up against God for their own comfort and gain.It seems for all his theological knowledge..he does'nt really know anything about the Catholic faith.
ADAM HORDOS
3 months ago
The neck -tie tells all. this is a catholic priest. How would anyone know. He is 85 yrs old usually when someone is losing their soul they seem to live a longer life , our lord hoping that he will come to his scenes. He is a clone off Judas. You follow him Frank you will follow him right to hell.
Frank
3 months ago
This was an unfair and cruel article. Hans Kung has helped many of us find a relevant and useful faith, hope and love without having to blindly follow any particular outdated religion.
John
3 months ago
Hans Kung may be 85yrs old. but he is still living in the siixties when we had one 'expert saying one thing and had ten others saying the opposite'. Kung has nothing new to say, except what the Media want to hear.. I say, " Hans the Media is not going to save you., so grow up while you still have time to make peace with your Lord".
Stephen
3 months ago
The problem with people like Kung is that they believe the Catholic Church should be more like the Protestants, rather than the reverse. They and many other public figures who continuously give scandal to the Catholic name insist upon acting thinking and behaving like a bunch of disparate argumentative Prots who cannot even agree on who was Jesus of Nazareth over a cup of morning coffee. What they never learned, or accepted if learned, is that discussion is fine but to be Catholic is to ultimately accept the magisterium authority of the Church regarding faith and morals. If you cannot accept it you have the moral duty to leave. Something Kung and others have never quite gotten around to doing. A pity.

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