What does the Church say about the statements that the Pope Benedict XVI made in the book "God and the World"?
score:5
Benedict XVI said that Genesis is based on a myth
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, in his 1995 book, "In the Beginning ...: A Catholic Understanding of the Story of Creation and the Fall" (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, $13), has expressed well the view I am espousing here. He writes: "It has become clear that the biblical creation narratives represent another way of speaking about reality than that with which we are familiar from physics and biology." The creation stories "represent truth in the way that symbols do -- just as, for example, a Gothic window gives us a deep insight into reality, thanks to the effects of light that it produces and to the figures that is portrays."
Cardinal Ratzinger is not saying that the creation and fall stories are "just a myth," but that they are divinely inspired symbolic narratives that communicate reliable truth about the origins of the world. These stories cannot be dispensed with or cast aside, but have permanent and enduring value. (src)
Benedict XVI said that Heaven and Hell are not actual places
Here is a scanned copy of those pages of his book where he is supposedly said this (hosted on a non Catholic website). If you read what he said in its context, you might understand that he is talking about omnipresence of God. Not the reality of heaven/hell. This is taken out of context as with most of Church's teachings.
Benedict XVI abolished Limbo of the Children.
Nope he did not. The Church has explicitly said that it DOESN'T KNOW what happens to them. So limbo will always remain a valid theory. In other words it is not a dogma of Faith in the first place for Benedict to abolish it. It is just a theological opinion. That's it.
Limbo was never a defined truth of the faith. Personally - and here I am speaking more as a theologian and not as Prefect of the Congregation - I would abandon it since it was only a theological hypothesis. It formed part of a secondary thesis in support of a truth which is absolutely of first significance for the faith, namely, the importance of baptism. …. One should not hesitate to give up the idea of 'limbo' if need be (and it is worth noting that the very theologians who proposed 'limbo' also said that parents could spare the child limbo by desiring its baptism and through prayer); but the concern behind it must not be surrendered. Baptism has never been a side issue for the faith; it is not now, nor will it ever be." - Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
Francis says that atheists can be saved.
No he did not. He actually never used the word "save" (or salvation) in that conversation.(src). That is he did not say atheists don’t need to believe in God to be saved.
In conclusion
The actual statements are inline with the magisterial teachings of the church and are no way controversial if you are a Catholic. After all peter has the power to bind and loose.
More post
- 📝 Do non-Catholic traditions ever have family altars?
- 📝 Why did Pilate call Jesus The Man?
- 📝 Are things commonly blessed by priests at certain times of the year appropriate to bring to a priest for a special blessing?
- 📝 What are the general categories of benefits of being part of a denomination?
- 📝 Was Joseph a prophet?
- 📝 What is the definition of sons of God in Job 2:1?
- 📝 If the premise for Marcion's Two Principles (Dualism) is correct; which words in the Bible belong to the Demiurge?
- 📝 Was a Unitarian understanding of God present in the Early Church prior to 400 AD?
- 📝 What was Paul's "revelation" (mentioned in Galatians 2:2)?
- 📝 Should Christians (Protestants) play God of War?
- 📝 Who is "the Lord thy God" mentioned in scripture?
- 📝 What is the essential argument in favor of the tripartite nature of man?
- 📝 Women According to Bible
- 📝 Why eat when there was no death?
- 📝 Why is the Gospel of Mark said to present Jesus as "the Servant"?
- 📝 Why were Catholic fasting obligations steadily relaxed?
- 📝 Salvation Army and the brass band
- 📝 After resurrection, which one (if any) of the Mormon heavens will be here on earth?
- 📝 Are there any examples of sarcasm in the bible?
- 📝 What are the reasons for calling oneself a "follower of Jesus" rather than a Christian?
- 📝 In Catholicism, what does "mystical" mean?
- 📝 According to the Catholic Church, if the penitent thief had died before Jesus, would he have had to wait for his reward?
- 📝 Were the apostles alone in John 20:19-23?
- 📝 How do you interpret the verses where Jesus talks about giving your riches to poor people?
- 📝 What do Evangelicals who speak negatively of "religion" mean by that?
- 📝 What gift of God did Timothy have?
- 📝 How were the footnotes in LDS scriptures created?
- 📝 What happens if someone who is not elect tries to seek God?
- 📝 According to Catholicism, why did the robbers strip the traveler to Jericho?
- 📝 Christian Toleration
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What does the Church say about the statements that the Pope Benedict XVI made in the book "God and the World"?
- 📝 What does it mean when Archbishop Ganswein stated that Pope Benedict XVI expanded the Petrine Ministry?
- 📝 What does Catholic Church say about the post-resurrection wound marks of Jesus?
- 📝 On what basis does Thomas Aquinas say that the Church existed since the time of Abel?
- 📝 What does the Church have to say about the Pope's latest statement?
- 📝 What did the early Church Fathers (pre-Nicea A.D. 325) have to say about faith, baptism and if it is the act of baptism that saves?
- 📝 What does the Catholic church say about its own presence or absence when the tribulation starts?
- 📝 What does the Catholic Church teach about the communication that takes place among the Persons of the Trinity?
- 📝 What does the Catholic Church say about the experience of Joy felt by the martyrs?
- 📝 What does the Catholic church say about the book of Ezekiel, chapter 23
- 📝 What does the bible say about h*m*sexuality?
- 📝 What does the bible say about interracial marriages?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about Capital Punishment?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about tithing?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about Science?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about "bad" words?
- 📝 What does the Catholic church teach about fate of non-Catholic christians?
- 📝 What does the Roman Catholic church teach about those who die having never heard of Christ?
- 📝 What does the LDS Church (Mormon) teach about marriage and polygamy in the afterlife?
- 📝 What did Jonathan Edwards have to say about the fact that he owned slaves?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about life before conception?
- 📝 Does the Bible say anything about what demons *are*?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about God being a different type of being than man?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about sex before marriage / premarital sex?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about the appearance of angels?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about people with mental illness?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about vegetarian diets?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about birth control?
- 📝 Does the Catholic Church teach that it has the authority to change what is morally right and wrong?
- 📝 On what basis does the Catholic Church teach that women cannot be ordained?