Theologian Hermann Haering went so far as to say that the Pope should resign: “If the Pope wants to do something good for the church, he should step down.”
But Hamburg bishop Hans-Jochen Jaschke told BILD: “A mistake was made and it was in his name. He was probably badly advised. There is now a need for damage limitation, the rehabilitation process should be stopped. People want to hear clear words. If he had known what the unenlightened Williamson had said, he would not have undone the excommunication. The matter was badly dealt with.”
The Pope's recent decree aimed to “undo the scandal of divisiveness” with the reinstatement of British bishop Williamson (68) into the Catholic Church, as well as three other bishops who had been excommunicated by Benedict XVI’s predecessor John Paul II.
But Vatican spokesman, Reverend Federico Lombardi, told AP that the Pope’s “absolutely indefensible” decision to reinstate Williamson did not reflect the Vatican’s views: “They are his personal ideas ... that we certainly don't share”
So long Lombardi.
Not been very nice knowing you, I'm afraid.
2 comments:
I'm afraid something's been lost in translation here. Lombardi's remarks, widely reported in other outlets, were in regards to Williamson's views, not anything that Pope said or did. That is, it is Williamson's position, not Pope Benedict's decision, that Lombardi said was "absolutely indefensible", and it is Williamson's ideas that Lombardi indicates that "we" (i.e. the Holy See) do not share.
pity.
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