Word: paule
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Philadelphia and Chicago, John Paul came down hard on the conservative side of issues that divide the American church: there should be, he said, no artificial birth control, no married priests, no women priests, no acceptance of divorce or of sex outside marriage, including homosexuality. At the Chicago meeting with the U.S. church hierarchy, he praised American bishops for their doctrinal unity with the papacy. But their unity was anything but total. Grumbled one bishop: "He was harkening back to an orthodoxy that I thought we had passed by years ago." Said another: "I almost expected the bell to ring...
...John Paul elected not to reply and stuck to his prepared speech, an old-fashioned appeal for religious commitment by nuns. To him that is symbolized by the wearing of "a simple and suitable religious garb" as a "permanent" sign of their calling. As he spoke, about 50 nuns stood silently in protest of his policy on women priests; every one was clad in street clothes. Remarked Moral Theologian Charles Curran of nuns' garb, "Most American women thought that issue had been settled years...
Church intellectuals with a longer-term view are watching John Paul's approach to doctrine. They are upset over three developments begun under Pope Paul VI that have been continued by John Paul. One is this year's formal Vatican condemnation of writings by French Theologian Jacques Pohier on grounds that among other "evident errors," he denied the bodily resurrection of Christ. The Vatican is also quietly investigating iconoclastic Dutch Theologian Edward Schilebeeckx. The new "apostolic constitution" intended to reaffirm controls over faculties that grant degrees under Vatican authority, is also troubling. This last decree affects departments...
...papal tour, before a gathering of Roman Catholic academics from around the nation, John Paul sought to soothe anxieties, offering a "special word of gratitude" to theologians. But then he proceeded to declare that "true" academic freedom must balance independence with responsibility to the magisterium (the church's teaching office) in unity with the papacy. "It is the right of the faithful not to be troubled by theories and hypotheses that they are not expert in judging or that are easily simplified or manipulated by public opinion...
This is the nub of John Paul's contest with Roman Catholic liberals. He believes in a God who has revealed very specific teachings, known collectively as "the deposit of faith," and that no Pope is in a position to change them. But what will be the results if no change occurs? Liberals fear that despite the enormous regard in which multitudes hold this remarkable new Pope, his hard line will drive more Roman Catholics out of the church and discourage men and women from entering the priesthood and the religious orders. The competing theory, heard increasingly...