I Told You So
July 25, 2005
Professor Koyzis recently questioned my “interpretation” of some of the Vatican II documents such as Dignitatis Humanae and Gaudium et Spes. I refer him now to “Benedict XVI, Vatican II and Modernity (Part 1) : Tracey Rowland on the Pope’s Interpretation of the Council,” an interview published by Zenit:
MELBOURNE, Australia, JULY 24, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Many believe that “Gaudium et Spes” was the key document that shaped the life of the Church in the years immediately following the Second Vatican Council.
However, according to theologian Tracey Rowland, 40 years of post-conciliar history and reflection on the 1965 pastoral constitution have led many to conclude that the document had an inadequate understanding of culture, particularly that of the culture of liberal modernity.
The result, Rowland reckons, was the unleashing of currents within the Church that gravely harmed the liturgy and offered a false humanism ultimately destructive to the pastoral care of souls.
Rowland is dean and permanent fellow of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family – Melbourne and author of Culture and the Thomist Tradition: After Vatican II” (Routledge) [reviewed by Jeremy Beer for tNP].
She shared with ZENIT why a reconsideration and reinterpretation of “Gaudium et Spes,” a dominant theme in the theological work of Joseph Ratzinger, is necessary to reorient the Church’s encounter with liberal modernity.
Zenit notes that “Part 2 of this interview will appear Monday,” but it has not yet appeared. Part 2 is even better than Part 1.
This is I Told You So in The Japery, a part of The New Pantagruel. Previously: The Georges | Next: God Blog Capital | TrackBack (0) | Comments (0)
Trackback Pings:
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.newpantagruel.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.cgi/175