New Pope is a Disaster for the World and for the Jews

[Ian David]

From: Rabbi Michael Lerner <[e-mail]>

Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2005 00:26:57 -0400 (EDT)


This New Pope is a Disaster for the World and for the Jews

San Francisco, California
The Selection of Cardinal Ratzinger Is Bad News for the World and for the
Jews

Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of the world's largest circulation progressive
Jewish magazine, TIKKUN, and rabbi of Beyt Tikkun Synagogue in San
Francisco, took the unusual step of criticizing the choice made by the
Catholic Church for its new Pope, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. Lerner was
careful to make clear that he was NOT speaking as leader of The Tikkun
Community, the interfaith organization whch he co-chairs, which has NOT
taken a stand on these issues, but only as editor of TIKKUN magazine.
Moreover, Lerner started with the following: "I want to bless the New pope
and pray that he transcends his views on gays, women, secularists, the lack
of validity of other religious paths, etc. I also pray that all the good
people in the Church who do not share his views and want to preserve the
social justice orientation of Jesus' teachings will join with us in creating
an interfaith Network of Progressive Spiritual Activism--now more than ever
such a context both for secular and for progressive religious and spiritual
peole is badly needed."

Rabbi Lerner issued the following statement: "Since the days in which he
served in the Hitler Youth and Nazi army in Germany (apparently against his
will, but nevertheless apparently absorbing the deep patriarchal and
authoritarian character structure that the fascists did so much to foster in
younth) to his role as the leader of the forces that suppressed the
liberatory aspects of Vatican II and purged or silenced the Church of its
most creative leadership (including German Catholic theologians Eugene
Drewermann and Hans Kung, Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff, and several
prominent American Catholic thinkers), to the present moment in which he is
recognized as the leader most identified with the forces of reaction and
suppression of dissent within the Church, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has
distinguished himself as a man who can be counted on to side with the most
anti-humane and repressive forces, in opposition to those who seek to give
primacy to a world of peace and justice.

"Although normally Jews would welcome any choice of leadership by our sister
religion, we have particular reason to comment on this choice.

"Jews have a powerful stake and commitment in ending global poverty and
oppression. We fully well understand that in a world filled with pain and
cruelty, the resulting anger is often channeled in racist, sexist,
anti-Semitic, and homophobic directions. Both as a matter of principle,
based on our commitment to a prophetic vision, and as a matter of
self-interest, Jews have disproportionately supported liberal and
progressive social change movements seeking to end war and poverty.

"So it was with great distress that we watched as Cardinal Ratzinger led the
Vatican in the past twenty-five years on a path that opposed providing birth
control information to the poor of the world, thereby ensuring that AIDS
would spread and kill millions in Africa.

"And we watched with even greater distress as this Cardinal supported
efforts to involve the Church in distancing itself from political candidates
or leaders who did not agree with the Church's teachings on abortion and gay
rights, prioritizing these issues over whether that candidate agreed with
the Church on issues of peace and social justice. As a result, Cardinal
Ratzinger has led the Church away from its natural alliance with Jews in
fighting for peace and social justice and toward a stance which in effect
allies the Church with the most reactionary politicians whose policies are
militaristic and offer a preferential option for the rich.

"We can't help noticing that under Cardinal Ratzinger's tutelage the Church
began moves to elevate the infamous Pope Pius XII to the status of saint.
Instead of repenting for the failure of the Church to give unequivocal
messages telling all Catholics that they would be prevented from receiving
communion for collaborating or cooperating in any way with Nazi rule, or for
failing to hide and protect Jews who were marked for extermination,
Ratzinger has sought to whitewash this disgraceful moment in Church history.
Many Jews are outraged at a Church that denies communion to those who have
remarried or those who oppose making abortion illegal but that did not
similarly deny communion to those who participate in crimes against
humanity.

"In fact, Cardinal Ratzinger publicly praised the fascist movement in the
Church known as Opus Dei and supported canonization of Josemaria Escriva,
the founder of Opus Dei, an open fascist who served in the government of
Spain's dictator Franco, and who publicly praised Hitler.

" While many of us agree with Ratzinger's critique of moral relativism, he
extends that critique in illegitimate and dangerous ways, equating
secularism with moral relativism and suggesting that secularism is now
repressing religion. Since many, many Jews are secular, we have much concern
about the way that this assault can quickly turn in anti-Semtiic directions
(some of us remember the Nazi-supporting priest Father Coughlin of the 1930s
whose US radio show always insisted that he was only agaisnt the secular
Jews and hence wasn't "really" anti-Semitic). But whether or not he turns
against Jews, those of us who are religious Jews or people of faith in other
religions should rally against the attempt to demean all secular people and
blame on them the problems of selfishness actually rooted in the dynamics of
the the global capitalist market.

Ratzinger also publicly critiques all those inside the Church who are
tolerant enough to think that other religions may have equal validity as a
path to God. This is a slippery slope toward anti-Semitism and a return to
the chauvinistic and triumphalist views that led the Church, when it had the
power to do so, to develop its infamous crusades and inquisitions.

In 1997 Ratzinger said that Europeans attracted to Buddhism were
actually seeking an "autoerotic spirituality" that offers "transcendence
without imposing concrete religious obligations." Hindusim, he said, offers
"false hope," in that it guarantees "purification" based on a "morally
cruel" concept of reincarnation resembling "a continuous circle of hell." At
the time, Cardinal Ratzinger predicted that Buddhism would replace Marxism
as the Catholic church's main enemy.

"Ratzinger is being falsely described as a conservative, when in fact he,
despite his publicly genteel manner, is a raging reactionary. Unlike many
American conservatives who oppose gay sexual practices but not their legal
rights, Ratzinger in 1992 argued against human rights for gays, stressing
that their civil liberties could be "legitimately limited."

"Those of us in the Jewish world who have enormous respect for Christianity
and for the wisdom and beauty of the Catholic tradition are in mourning
today that the Church has confirmed for itself a destructive direction that
will hurt not only Catholics but all those who seek peace and justice in the
world.

"We remain hopeful that the new pope may return to his original more
progressive positions (pre-1968) and realize that the world needs a church
that can respond compassionately and wisely to what is needed rather than
remain wedded to dogma that is so destructive. In a statement that Ratzinger
made a few years ago, he seemed deeply aligned with TIKKUN's ciritque of the
selfishness and materialism of the contemporary world. We hope that he stops
blaming that on secularists and comes to understand that secularists too, as
well as people from other faiths, can be allies in the struggle for a new
ethos of love and generosity. We pray that he may find a way to bring a
better, kinder, more loving and compassionate agenda to the Catholic Church.
It is precisely because we continue to feel allied with the Church and see
it as an important ally in the struggle for social justice and peace that we
are so dismayed at this misdirection. Meanwhile, we reaffirm our solidarity
with the many millions of Catholics who had hoped for a very different kind
of Pope who would make the Church more open to women's leadership, to
prioritizing social justice, to rethinking its opposition to promoting birth
control, and to returning to the hopeful spirit of Vatican II. We can say
publicly what many of you can only say privately-that this new Pope does not
represent what is most beautiful and sacred in the teachings of Jesus."

Late this evening, Rabbi Lerner was interviewed on a national call-in radio
show on the issues discussed here, and he mentioned the problem that
Catholics have of speaking out on these issues, given Cardinal Ratzinger's
tendency to take retributive actions to purge from positions in the church
those who disagreed with his views. A retired catholic priest called in,
said he agreed 100% with Rabbi Lerner's position, and said that he wouldn't
dare say these things under his own name for fear that his retirement
pension would be cut off, so he thanked Rabbi Lerner for saying for
progressive Catholics what many do not dare say for themselves.
Rabbi Michael Lerner is editor of TIKKUN and author of ten books, including
Healing Israel/Palestine (North Atlantic Books, 2003) and Jewish Renewal
(Harper Perennial, 1995).

I

I

Meanwhile, we invite our Catholic brothers and sisters, and people of all
faiths, and spiritually-sensitive secular people, to join with us in
creating a voice for spiritually or religiously committed progressives--by
helping us create The Network of Progressive Spiritual Activism, at our
founding conference on Spiritual Activism, July 20-23 at the University of
California, Berkeley. For more details, go to www.tikkun.org and REGISTER
NOW. More than ever, this alternative voice is so badly needed!

Click here for more info about the Conference on Spiritual Activism
<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=b8k89dbab.0.ynpdp5aab.xvv5xyn6.39975&p=http%3A%2F%2
Fwww.tikkun.org%2Fcommunity%2Fspiritual_activism_conference> ; To Register
for the Conference Click here
<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=b8k89dbab.0.opuosdbab.xvv5xyn6.39975&p=https%3A%2F%
2Fwww.donate.net%2Ftikkun%2Fbasket.asp%3Fdept_id%3D950%26shopper_id%3D328167
> . To Join the Network of Spiritual Activism, membership fees are the same as
membership in The Tikkun Community (and if you are a member of The Tikkun
Community, you do not have to pay any more money to becme a member of the
Network--it is free to paid up members). Fees: Incomes under $40,000 :
$40/yr. Incomes between $40,000 and $80,000: $80 yr. Incomes over $80,000:
$120/yr. World Transformer: $1,000/yr Founding Member: $500/yr. Tikkun
Associate: $250/yr. Send check made to TIKKUN and specify: Network of
Progressive Spiritual Activists--Membership. 951 Cragmont Ave, Berkeley, Ca.
94708

About Tikkun

Click here for more info about the Conference on Spiritual Activism
<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=b8k89dbab.0.ynpdp5aab.xvv5xyn6.39975&p=http%3A%2F%2
Fwww.tikkun.org%2Fcommunity%2Fspiritual_activism_conference> ; To Register
for the Conference Click here
<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=b8k89dbab.0.opuosdbab.xvv5xyn6.39975&p=https%3A%2F%
2Fwww.donate.net%2Ftikkun%2Fbasket.asp%3Fdept_id%3D950%26shopper_id%3D328167
> .
Website: http://www.tikkun.org
<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=b8k89dbab.0.cdfap9n6.xvv5xyn6.39975&p=http%3A%2F%2F
www.tikkun.org>
Tikkun
Rabbi Michael Lerner
email: [e-mail]
phone: [phone]
[e-mail]

[LiberalinNC]

1. Thanks for the great read!