More on the Letter of Benedict XVI: BXVI Destroys FrancisTheologians?
Not only was there a key passage in it that was purposefully omitted in the press release sent out by Viganò himself:
> The Double "Foolish Prejudice." The Complete Text of the Letter by Benedict XVI
Not only had the beginning of this paragraph been manipulated to make it illegible in the photo of the letter released by Viganò’s secretariat:
> Vatican doctors photo of Benedict’s praise for Francis
There’s more. The letter by Benedict XVI that Settimo Cielo published on March 13 in its complete form was in reality not complete.
Between the paragraph omitted in the press release and the valediction there were, in fact, other lines.
And this much could be guessed just by observing the photo of the letter (see above).
In fact, between the first two lines that were made illegible in the photo, at the bottom of the first page of the letter, and the valediction and signature of Benedict XVI on the second half of the second page, there is a space too big to be occupied only by the last part of the paragraph omitted in the press release.
And what else was written there, that Viganò was careful not to read in public and took such pains to cover up in the photo with the eleven booklets on the theology of Pope Francis?
There was the explanation of the reason why Benedict XVI had not read those eleven booklets nor intended to read them in the future, and therefore why he had declined to write “a brief and dense theological page” of presentation and appreciation for the same, as Viganò had requested of him.
The reason adopted by Benedict XVI in the final lines of his letter - we are told by an incontrovertible source - is the presence among the authors of those eleven booklets of two German theologians, and one in particular, Peter Hünermann, who was an implacable critic both of John Paul II and of Joseph Ratzinger himself as theologian and as pope.
The other German theologian is Jürgen Werbick. About Hünermann, a professor at the university of Tubingen, it may be recalled that he is the author of, among other things, a commentary on Vatican Council II that is the polar opposite of the Ratzingerian interpretation. The booklets on the the theology of Pope Francis written by these two are respectively entitled: “God’s weakness for man” and “Men according to Christ today.”
It is therefore clear that, given what Benedict XVI writes in the second half of his letter, the first half also takes on a new significance, entirely different from the one that Viganò wanted to attribute to it in his mangled and biased press release.
And even more could be understood about what Benedict XVI writes there on himself and on Pope Francis if this could be compared with the letter from Viganò to which he replied.
(English translation by Matthew Sherry, Ballwin, Missouri, U.S.A.)
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POSTSCRIPT - Six hours after the publication of this post, the secretariat for communications headed by Viganò released the complete text of the letter by Benedict XVI.
Here is the final part:
[...]
Translated:
[...] all the more so in that I am under other obligations to which I have already agreed.
Just as a side note, I would like to mention my surprise at the fact that the authors also include Professor Hünermann, who during my pontificate put himself in the spotlight by heading anti-papal initiatives. He participated to a significant extent in the promulgation of the “Kölner Erklärung,” which, in relation to the encyclical “Veritatis Splendor,” attacked in a virulent manner the magisterial authority of the pope especially on questions of moral theology. The Europäische Theologengesellschaft, which he founded, also was initially designed by him as an organization in opposition to the papal magisterium. Afterward, the ecclesial sentiment of many theologians blocked this tendency, making that organization a normal instrument of encounter among theologians.
I am certain that you will have understanding for my declination, and I cordially greet you.
Yours,
Benedict XVI
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