Cardinal v. cardinal

By Domenico Bettinelli, Jr. ( articles - email ) | Jul 13, 2004

There's an interesting controversy in play in Germany with Cardinal Joachim Meisner of Cologne crticizing Cardinal Karl Lehmann of Mainz, the president of the German bishops' conference, for inviting dissident theologians to address a major conference last month.

Cardinal Meisner accused Lehmann of liberalism and excessive doctrinal tolerance, which he claims was manifested at the conference in Ulm. Meisner is forming a group of conservative priests and lay people together to denounce liberalism in the German Church.

Among the objectionable speakers were Eugen Drewermann, who had been suspended from the priesthood in 1992 for his heterodox views; Bishop Jacques Gaillot, removed from his diocese in France in 1995 for heterodoxy, a very unusual move for the Vatican; and Hans Kung, whose permission to teach as a Catholic theologian was revoked in 1979. Cardinal Meisner asked: "Does unorthodoxy predestine a person to be invited to the Katholikentag?"

I'm curious to see if the other well-known German cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger, weighs in on the controversy and on heterodox speakers being invited to speak at official Church functions.

One of the criticisms of the US bishops during the Scandal was that none of them were willing to criticize their fellows for their misdeeds, even those who were forced to resign for personal sins against chastity. It's good to see that at least in Germany there are bishops willing to stand up for truth and orthodoxy against the deeds of their brothers.