Don’t pander to polls
That was Pope Benedict’s message to the International Theological Commission at the end of their week long meeting in Rome. Some people were waiting for him to make a pronoucement of some sort on the discussions this week of the concept of ‘limbo’ for unbaptized babies. He did not do that.
However the Pontiff did warn strongly against the temptation for theologians to “speak to elicit applause,” and to be guided by “what men want to hear.” That approach, he said, is “a kind of prostitution.” The proper approach to theology, the Holy Father continued, is one of “harsh discipline in obedience to the truth.”
Benedict really speaks strongly and with clarity. He expects the same of theologians, among whom he is pre-eminent. He know some of their tendencies well…
“God is not the object,” the Pope reminded the group; “God is the subject of theology.” He urged the scholars to follow the “path of purification,” seeking to become “only instruments through which God may speak.”
When Pope Benedict celebrated his first anniversary in the papacy, he asked the Church to pray for him to be a “firm but gentle” shepherd. He is that.
