On the coercive authority of the Church: a response to Fr. Martin Rhonheimer by Dr. Thomas Pink
A vigorous and extensive discussion on Vatican
II, and the plausibility of interpreting its decrees as being in continuity with
the teachings of the Magisterium of the pre-Vatican II era, has been carried out
since the early part of this year in the pages of Sandro Magister's websites, Chiesa (with English
translation) and Settimo Cielo
(in Italian only). As Fr. Giovanni
Cavalcoli OP put it in the course of the discussion: "The heart of the debate
is here. We all agree, in fact, that the doctrines already defined [by the
dogmatic magisterium of the former Church] present in the conciliar texts are
infallible. What is in discussion is if the doctrinal developments, the
innovations of the Council, are also infallible."
The following are the articles in Chiesa
that are part of this discussion, listed in chronological order:
1) High Up, Let
Down by Pope Benedict. (April 8, 2011) --
Noted by Rorate Caeli. An article describing the
disappointment of Roberto de Mattei, Brunero Gherardini and Enrico Maria
Radaelli over the approach of Pope Benedict XVI towards Vatican II, and
concluding with a defense of the hermeneutic of continuity written by Francesco
Arzillo.
2) The
Disappointed have Spoken. The Vatican Responds. (April 18, 2011) --
Noted by
Rorate Caeli. -- Concerning the defenses of the "hermeneutic of
continuity" written by Inos Biffi and Archbishop Agostino Marchetto in response
to Gherardini and de Mattei (see the first item in this list of articles).
3) Who's
Betraying Tradition. The Grand Dispute (April 28, 2011) -- Mainly
concerning Fr. Martin Rhonheimer's essay in "Nova et Vetera" regarding religious
liberty and the hermeneutic of reform.
4) The Church is
Infallible. But Not Vatican II. (May 5, 2011) -- Containing /
referring three articles: the first one by Roberto de Mattei regarding the
element of rupture to be found in Vatican II, the second one by David Werling in
response to Francesco Arzillo (see the first item in this list of articles), and
the last one by Fr. Giovanni Cavalcoli OP in response to Werling.
5) Benedict XVI
"The Reformist". - The Prosecution Rests. (May 11, 2011) -- Where
Massimo Introvigne responds to Roberto De Mattei and contends that Vatican II
indeed represents "renewal in continuity", while Fr. Martin Rhonheimer returns
to the fray and elaborates on "hermeneutic of reform."
6) Religious
Freedom. Was the Church Also Right When It Condemned It? (May 26, 2011)
-- Which publishes Fr. Basile Valuet's critique of Gherardini and de Mattei
on one hand, and of Rhonheimer on the other, after reprinting part of the
last-mentioned's Nova et Vetera article. Valuet's article is followed by a note
about David Werling's response to Cavalcoli (see the fourth item in this list)
and a long series of "postscripts" in Italian and French. (In sequence: separate
responses to Valuet by Rhonheimer and Cavalcoli, followed by a response of
Valuet to Cavalcoli and a second response by Cavalcoli to Valuet, then followed
by a long note from Introvigne, and then one response each to Introvigne and
Rhonheimer by Valuet.)
7) A
"Disappointed Great" Breaks His Silence. With an Appeal to the Pope.
(June 16, 2011) -- Noted
by Rorate Caeli --Enrico Radaelli's memorable contribution to this
discussion, an impassioned appeal to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to "restore
the divine 'munus docendi' in its fullness.
8) Bologna
Speaks: Tradition is Also Made of "Ruptures". (June 21, 2011). --
Where the historian Enrico Morini interprets Vatican II as a return to "what
the Church had lost", in the process making some unexpected nods to Eastern
Orthodox criticisms of Catholicism; followed by the responses of Cavalcoli,
Rhonheimer and Arzillo to Morini.
Rorate is now posting the following intervention (especially submitted to our blog) in this still-open debate. This particular intervention is in response to Fr. Martin Rhonheimer's essay in Nova et Vetera, part of which can be found in the third item in the list of articles above. More than being a mere response, the following essay throws further light upon the Catholic doctrine and theology of religious liberty and coercion from Trent to Vatican II, especially in relation to the coercion of belief.
The author is Dr.
Thomas Pink, Professor of Philosophy in King's College, London and
author of various books.
To the blogosphere, Dr. Pink is best known for his long introduction (Introduction
and Part 1. Part
2.) to the statement of Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller (the Roman Catholic
bishop of Regensburg) on the Church's Confession of Christ in
Jewish-Christian Dialogue (Part
1, Part
2). The latter statement -- and Dr. Pink's commentary on it -- were called
forth by the controversy over the reformulation of the Good Friday Oratio pro
conversione Iudæorum in the Missal of 1962.
Rhonheimer on
religious liberty
On The 'hermeneutic of reform' and
religious liberty in Nova et Vetera
Thomas Pink
Martin Rhonheimer sees doctrinal reform, not
doctrinal continuity, in Vatican II's declaration on religious liberty.
According to his Nova et Vetera paper, Dignitatis humanae is a
genuine revision of earlier doctrine. The pre-conciliar magisterium endorsed
religious coercion, calling for state restriction of the public practice of
false religions. Now, by asserting religious liberty as not only a natural but a
state or civil right, Dignitatis humanae has contradicted previous Church
doctrine.READ...