Thursday, September 15, 2011

Regensburg Remembered


The Regensburg lecture was a lecture delivered on 12 September 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI at the University of Regensburg in Germany, where he had once served as professor of theology. It was entitled "Glaube, Vernunft und Universität — Erinnerungen und Reflexionen" (German: Faith, Reason and the University — Memories and Reflections)…

In his lecture, the pope, speaking in German, quoted an unfavorable remark about Islam made in the 14th century by Manuel II Palaiologos, a Byzantine emperor...

The controversial comment originally appeared in the Dialogue Held With A Certain Persian, the Worthy Mouterizes, in Anakara of Galatia, written in 1391 as an expression of the views of the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaiologos, one of the last Christian rulers before the Fall of Constantinople to the Muslim Ottoman Empire, on such issues as forced conversion, holy war, and the relationship between faith and reason. The passage, in the English translation published by the Vatican, is as follows:
Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached

On 16 September 2006, Tarcisio Bertone, the Secretary of State of the Holy See, released a declaration explaining that the "position of the Pope concerning Islam is unequivocally that expressed by the conciliar document Nostra Aetate" and that "the Pope's option in favour of inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue is equally unequivocal."
“ As for the opinion of the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus which he quoted during his Regensburg talk, the Holy Father did not mean, nor does he mean, to make that opinion his own in any way. He simply used it as a means to undertake — in an academic context, and as is evident from a complete and attentive reading of the text — certain reflections on the theme of the relationship between religion and violence in general, and to conclude with a clear and radical rejection of the religious motivation for violence, from whatever side it may come. [The Pope] sincerely regrets that certain passages of his address could have sounded offensive to the sensitivities of the Muslim faithful and should have been interpreted in a manner that in no way corresponds to his intentions



On 17 September, before his regular weekly Sunday Angelus prayer, Pope Benedict XVI stated the following:
“ At this time, I wish also to add that I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg, which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims. These in fact were a quotation from a medieval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought. Yesterday, the Cardinal Secretary of State published a statement in this regard in which he explained the true meaning of my words. I hope that this serves to appease hearts and to clarify the true meaning of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with great mutual respect.- Regensburg Lecture, Wikipedia.
VATICAN COUNCIL II INDICATES ISLAM IS NOT A PATH TO SALVATION
http://eucharistandmission.blogspot.com/2011/09/vatican-council-ii-indicates-islam-is.html#links

WHAT DOES THE CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACH ABOUT ISLAM: VATICAN COUNCIL II INDICATES THE PROPHET AND MUSLIMS ARE LOST
http://eucharistandmission.blogspot.com/2011/02/what-does-catholic-church-teach-about.html

Poor, poor Vatican Council II!
http://eucharistandmission.blogspot.com/2011/09/poor-poor-vatican-council-ii.html

-Lionel Andrades