A group of dissident Catholics has organized public opposition to the quick beatification of Pope John Paul II (bio - news).
Eleven theologians and one journalist from Europe and Latin American have joined in a statement entitled "The beatification of John-Paul II: appeal for clarity." In their statement, they list what they consider seven "negative" aspects of the late Pontiff's life, and encourage other Catholics to testify against his beatification.
And what are the seven reasons? With a few exceptions, the same type of stuff that the religious left trots out every couple of months.
the "repression and marginalization" of controversial theologians;
the movement away from collegiality in Church governance;
the unwillingness to engage in "real and serious debate about the status of women in the Roman Catholic Church;"
the opposition to "a reconsideration-- in the light of the Gospel, science, and history-- of certain norms of sexual ethics;"
the adherence to the discipline of clerical celibacy--which, the statement said, continues despite the evidence that many priests in some geographical regions live with women, and the sexual abuse of children in other regions;
the lack of control over Church financial institutions, leading to the banking scandals of the 1980s;
the "ecclesial isolation" of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the failure to support the theology of liberation in Latin America."
You'd think these temper tantrums would tire out the Kungs of the world, but they keep coming. You'd also think the bottom of their feet would get sore from all that stomping, but apparently not.
JPII's personal secretary summed up the proper response:
The Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwiszof Krakow, who served as the late Pope's personal secretary, was more openly dismissive of the protest. "In principle, one should ignore these attacks," said the Polish archbishop. "You only have to look at the list of people signing the appeal to be reassured about the process of beatification."
Link.
