Vatican Files

Studying the Roman Catholic interest of the calendar is a fascinating exercise. In expressing the way in which time is sequenced, it gives access to what Roman Catholicism considers important for the Christian life and for humanity in general. The Roman Church has always paid great attention to establishing the rhythms of life by shaping and filling them with religious contents and symbolism. It is not by chance that our Gregorian calendar (i.e. our Western calendar) takes its name for Pope Gregory XIII who in 1582 stabilized the previous Julian calendar and gave shape to our modern one. It is worth considering that our way of measuring time was basically decided by a Roman Emperor and then by a Roman Pope.

            In the Middle Ages the Roman Church punctuated the established Christian calendar centered around traditional festivals (e.g. Easter, Pentecost, Christmas) by adding the veneration of a saint for each day of the year. Popular devotion was therefore given a daily opportunity to exalt the virtues of exemplary men and women and to pray to them. The practice of the intercessory prayers to the saints was also encouraged and still remains a defining practice for many Catholics around the world.  Time is marked by devotional practices that convey a powerful religious worldview.

            Besides holy years, yearly festivals, special weeks, single days, and the liturgy of the hours, the Roman Catholic calendar also focuses on particular months. Different cycles of life are saturated with different liturgical and devotional exercises. One month in particular deserves some comments.

1. Why May?

In the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar May is traditionally the Marian month. In Marian encyclopedias and in Mariological dictionaries the only explanation that is given for the choice of this particular month is that May is the time of year when Spring shines forth with warm weather and the fields begin to show the coming and growing harvest. As nature in May, so to speak, awakens after Winter, so the Christian life reflects the reinvigoration of life. The Virgin Mary is associated with the renewal of things and the beginning of a new fruitful season.

            At the end of XIX century, Mothers’ Days began to be celebrated in the West. Apparently, there was no previous connection with the Marian month which was already a well established practice in the majority of Catholic nations. Mother’s Day started with the desire to honor the memory of one’s own mother.  Of course, many Catholics saw the emergence of Mother’s Day in May as a “providential” coincidence to honor the Mother par excellence, the Virgin Mary. The two meanings, religious and secular, are now blended, thus resulting in an ever more “catholic” month.

2. What Happens in the Marian Month?

The Marian month is celebrated in a variety of ways. The highly sophisticated Mariology coincides with popular practices that are deeply rooted in folk Catholicism. From the bottom up, grassroots Marian movements organize vigils of prayer to Mary at the parish level, with open air processions, rosaries, and chains of prayer. The idea is to mark the territory with Mary’s presence. In Marian sanctuaries activities become frenzy due to the pilgrimage of groups. In homilies references to the various Mariological dimensions are even more emphasized. In Catholic bookshops, special rosary chains and devotional tools are given special interest.

            In May, even papal speeches and addresses take a more Marian slant. Between Easter Sunday and Pentecost, the Pope recites them prayer Regina Coeli (i.e. “Queen of heaven”) instead of the Angelus at midday in St. Peter’s square. Pilgrims and tourists gather to listen to and pray with the Pope. Regina Coeli is an old Marian prayer whose text contains Roman Catholic Mariology in a nutshell:

Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia.

For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia.

Has risen, as He said, alleluia.

Pray for us to God, alleluia.

Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.

For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

 

Let us pray.

O God, who has been pleased to gladden the world

by the Resurrection of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ,

grant, we pray, that through his Mother, the Virgin Mary,

we may receive the joys of everlasting life.

Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

In Regina Coeli Mary is the recipient of prayers and the intercessor between the faithful and Christ. This is the strong emphasis of the Marian month.

Leonardo De Chirico

leonardo.dechirico@ifeditalia.org

Rome, 15^th May 2012

Both the topic and the author make this book a must read for all who are interested in present-day Roman Catholicism. Katholische Kirche. Wesen, Wirklichkeit, Sendung (The Catholic Church. Essence, Reality, Mission)[1] is the last volume by Cardinal Walter Kasper, one of the most interesting voices of contemporary Roman Catholic theology. In a 500 plus page book Kasper, now 80 years old, outlines both his theological pilgrimage in the Church and the main tenets of Catholic ecclesiology with particular reference to Vatican II. The book therefore combines autobiographical narratives and thick theological arguments.

            Kasper’s previous works (e.g. Jesus the Christ, 1976, and The God of Jesus Christ, 1984) made him one of the leading theologians after Vatican II, sometimes aligned to “progressive” tendencies, but always within the borders of mainstream catholicity. The fact that he was made cardinal and then President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity (2001-2010) testifies to his “orthodoxy” from the Vatican’s point of view. Unlike Ratzinger, he did not take part at the Council, though he has been a fervent advocate of it, especially the call for renewal within the Tradition that Vatican II reflected.

            At times, he has been played against the “conservative” Ratzinger, but to no avail. For instance, ten years ago a controversy was mounted around an ecclesiological issue between the two, i.e. the ontological primacy of the “one” Church over the particular churches (Ratzinger’s view), or the “particular” churches (Kasper’s) over the one Church. In other words, does the “one and catholic” Church come first and express itself in the particular churches or do the “many and particular” churches constitute the one Church? The solution was very catholic: et-et, both-and, with Ratzinger continuing to stress the “one” and Kasper underlining the “many”!

1. A Vatican II Ecclesiology

This book is the result of a lifetime of reflection on the Catholic Church, its sacramental reality, dogmatic apparatus, historical tradition, and present-day problems and challenges. Kasper pays tribute to his theological fathers that made a lasting impression on him: the XIX century Catholic school of Tübingen (J.S. Drey and J.A. Möhler) and J.H. Newman. The former gave him a “living” sense of the Church as the sacramental body of Christ, the latter instilled in him the sense of “development in continuity” of the Church’s tradition. According to Kasper, Vatican II is the child of the combination of both trends. Its overall significance can be summarized as “a continuity accompanied by a creative renewal” (27).

            The main attempt of the book is to articulate a vision of the Catholic Church around the categories of mysterium and communio. The former underscores the sacramentality of the Church, i.e. its being a sign and instrument of communion with God and of the unity of mankind. The latter underlines its catholicity, i.e. the ability to join together both past and future, faith and reason, grace and works, Roman institutions and catholic afflatus, clergy and laity, papacy and movements, living and dead, Christ and Mary, and so on. To this thick Roman Catholic view, Protestant accounts of the church appear to be marred by “ecclesiological docetism” (158) and the difference between the two is “fundamental” (263). Whereas the Church of Jesus Christ subsists in the Roman Catholic Church in its fullness, it also exists in other Christian communities, though in defective ways. Kasper adheres to the “tiered concept” of the Church (261 and 293) whereby the Roman Catholic Church stands in the center and other churches revolve around it depending on their proximity or distance from it.

            This is standard Vatican II ecclesiology. Kasper hopes that the “spirit” of the Council will continue to breathe in the Roman Catholic Church to encourage renewal within the parameters of Tradition. In spite of past real or fictional controversies, this program is very close to that of Pope Benedict XVI’s.

2. The Missing Interaction with Modern Evangelical Theology

Throughout the book Kasper interacts with Martin Luther’s writings and theology. The German reformer is read with respectful criticism. His main fault was that he broke with the institutional Church whereas other saints, though critical of, never rebelled against it and its magisterium (229). Other XVI century reformers are less present in Kasper’s horizon. This is understandable given his German provenance. Of course the Cardinal is also very well versed in ecumenical theology and makes extensive use of its history, dialogues and literature, especially those that stem from Eastern Orthodox, mainline Protestant and Anglican churches.

            There is only one passing reference to the “Evangelical movements and communities” (53) which are associated with the Global South. Unfortunately, there is not a single reference to a present-day Evangelical theologian or to a significant Evangelical movement such as Lausanne. Given the fact that Kasper was the President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity for nearly ten years, it seems that his “professional” interaction with Evangelicals did not raise his interest towards Evangelical theology. There may be a number of reasons for that: 1. A bias concerning Evangelical theology that is not perceived as a serious discourse deserving attention; 2. An evaluation of the Evangelical movement that is not seen as having a coherent or interesting theology worth interacting with (especially its ecclesiology); 3. A lack of Evangelical self-awareness that makes it difficult for Evangelicals engaged in dialogue with Catholics to use Evangelical sources and literature as their working tools; 4. A defective penetration of Evangelical books in official Roman Catholic circles.

            There may also be a combination of those. The fact is that Kasper is abreast with both Catholic and non-Catholic present day theology, except with Evangelical theology. And this is not very catholic.

 

Leonardo De Chirico

leonardo.dechirico@ifeditalia.org

 

Rome, 7^th May 2012

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