by Gian Guido Vecchi
Dialogue with the Jewish tradition, secularization and freedom of conscience in Ratzinger’s thoughts: he becomes a church father
VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict, Professor Ratzinger, was a true teacher for me…. Cardinal theologian Christoph Schönborn, 77, Archbishop of Vienna, speaks slowly and measures his words carefully, tired and sad. he is the most famous student of Joseph Ratzinger, even if he humbly names one of the students. Dominicans like Thomas Aquinas, studied theology and psychology between Vienna, Paris and Regensburg, the most influential thinker of the College of Cardinals, appreciated by Benedict as much as by Francis, who entrusted him with the very delicate task of presenting his final exhortation of the synod on the family and the journalists answered theologically more sensitive questions: Ask Schönborn. And now that his former professor is dead, the Cardinal of Vienna’s first thought is what has remained of Joseph Ratzinger: his work first.
Eminence, what remains of the thought of Ratzinger-Benedict XVI.?
I put him next to the great ones as a Doctor of the Church, Father of the Church. In my library I have placed the works of Pope Benedict next to the works of St. Augustine.
Author of Confessions and The City of God, perhaps the greatest Christian thinker…
Yes, I compare him to St. Augustine his teacher, I dare to put them together. His teaching, his works, his episcopal and Petrine office. Centuries later we have a theologian pope, a master of theology. I had the joy of being his student, among many others, and I was not only a teacher of great skill, with the gift of clarity, but a true master, in written texts as well as in the living word. I have learned so much from him and I think that his ability to teach, to share the faith and to reflect on faith almost makes him a father of the church. He will remain among the greats we will remember for centuries to come, we will remember Joseph Ratzinger in the 20th century as we remember John Henry Newman in the 19th, or Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure da Bagnoregio in the 13th th century remember.
was an outdated thinker, is the depth of his work better understood over time?
Yes, Ratzinger’s legacy is certainly not exhausted, in a few decades the richness of his theological work will be better understood. Among the many themes I think of in particular his work on Jesus of Nazareth: he was the first pope in history to write a theologically scientifically sound book about Jesus himself, and it is important that he did dialogue with Jewish Thinking starting with Jacob Neusner. Another point is Ratzinger’s political teachings: the great theme of freedom of conscience in his speech to the London Parliament, the reference to what we call natural law in his speech in Berlin, the dialogue with the philosopher Jürgen Habermas about the ethical foundations of Politics . And finally his reflection on the presence of Christians in secular society, the role of “creative minorities”: Ratzinger does not lament the evils of his time, but sees the chance of the creative minority here, above all, in the dialogue with Judaism with Jonathan Sacks. Judaism and Christianity in dialogue as creative minorities… All contributions that will remain for the next generations.
What distinguished him as a theologian?
I was his student, his teaching has enriched me greatly, and I am not alone. he was a teacher for the whole church and also beyond the church through his theological thinking full of wisdom, clarity and light. But beyond the professor, the master, dare I say he was a father figure to me. Because the true master is not just the teacher, the person who guides and accompanies you, who opens up horizons for you. The years of collaboration with Cardinal Ratzinger, first with Professor Ratzinger and finally with Pope Benedict XVI. is a real gift of spiritual fatherhood for me. And then a real friendship grew over the years.
What did you think when the Pope decided to resign?
February 11, 2013 was certainly a turning point, an unexpected surprise, a shock that the Church will remember. But I accepted his resignation with respect because I believed what he said: he no longer felt fit to serve as Bishop of Rome and Successor of Peter. And this act, which so surprised the world, I think had an important effect on the character of the Pope.
What do you mean?
The decision to retire, as a man of God and of prayer, humanized the Petrine ministry in some ways. Because Benedict XVI. said humbly: Well, I can’t take it anymore. It is the simple fact that the pope could say: I am out of strength, the challenges ahead are too great, a younger man must take over, a courageous act that opens a door into the future of the papacy.
January 2, 2023 (change January 2, 2023 | 23:16)
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