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Dialogue Mass - CXL
Ratzinger’s Spurious Pretexts for
Rejecting Scholasticism
Joseph Ratzinger thought that the rejection of Scholasticism was “a justified and necessary step”1 on the following grounds:
Given that all these criticisms were the stock in trade of mid-20th-century progressivist theologians, it is clear that Ratzinger was keen to join in the campaign of vilification of Scholasticism.
When we consider the reasons, listed above, why Ratzinger – in his own words – “wanted out of classical Thomism” (not that he was ever in it) with a view “to entering into a living conversation with contemporary philosophy,”11 the conclusion suggests itself that he was a revolutionary inciting others also to revolt against the Scholastic system.
Examples of Vatican II ‘thought control’
Let us examine each of Ratzinger’s points.
First, his objections to clarity: He makes this admirable and essential quality sound like something undesirable and worthless. Shortly after Vatican II, he published a work in German on the last session of the Council.12 In it, he mentioned the preparatory documents that had been thrown out – principally, it must be remembered, on his own insistence – precisely because they were based on Scholastic thinking drawn from the Manuals.
Paradoxically, he complained that the clear formulations expressed in these documents were imprisoned in the inner kernel of the Scholastic system, so that the more they shone with the light of clarity, the more they lost touch with reality. This would not, however, make any sense to a person trained in Scholastic methods of reasoning. To eschew clarity is to open the door to ambiguity, yet God created the human mind specifically to attain knowledge of the Truth by apprehending reality.
Reading Ratzinger’s publication, one is entitled to express astonishment that a Prelate, who served as Prefect of the CDF and rose to the position of Supreme Pontiff, represents a situation in which the opposite of what is normal or expected prevails – here one is reminded of Alice’s adventures in Through the Looking-Glass – and where clarity, objectivity and truth are to be avoided, and reality is discernible only in terms favored by progressivist theologians.
Well may it be said that the “New Theology” presents a “Looking-Glass” image of the Church, with everything reversed, whether it be the ends of marriage, the status of the clergy and laity, the objective and the subjective, or the whole of the Christian order in relation to the world. That is, of course, the revolutionary logic and legacy of Vatican II, which could only have been implemented once the Church had first rid herself of the “Manualist tradition.”
In the same publication, Ratzinger singled out for special criticism the teaching on marriage ethics based on the Natural Law which he (and other neo-modernists) believed to be an antiquated notion. His approach to the latter topic will be treated in more detail later.
Ratzinger’s critique of clarity is not without significance, considering that the key to the “success” of the new Vatican II documents (which replaced the original, clearly expressed ones) was precisely the fact that doctrine was not stated clearly in them, leaving the concept of reality open to diverse interpretations. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that in the post-Vatican II Church ‒ from which the “Manualist tradition” has been banished ‒ reality means something different to each person and to the same person at different points in his life. That is because the Church’s leaders no longer speak with an authoritative voice that brings with it any conviction apart from personal preference.
As for the negative connotation of Scholasticism as a “rigid” and “closed” system, again the mirror image pertains. There are no grounds for believing, as Ratzinger contended, that it is “far removed from the real world”; if it appears “rigid,” it is because it deals with truths that are immutable, and concepts that are true always, everywhere and for everyone; if it appears “closed,” it is only because its propositions are confined within the limits of logical reasoning and orthodox doctrine. The universality and rationality of Scholasticism are valuable assets, which is why it can be regarded as having been an important and influential intellectual movement in the history of Western thought.
The real problem is with the “New Theology” which is open to the influence of every passing philosophy in its bid to conform to modern trends of thought. And in the wake of this openness to a flood of unorthodox ideas, most of the Church’s spiritual leaders have closed their minds to the truths of the Catholic Faith as contained and explicated in the “Manualist tradition.”
Equally misplaced is Ratzinger’s criticism of Scholasticism as “impersonal and ready-made.” A relevant point here is that most Catholics today know nothing of Thomistic Scholasticism – not least because they have had it taken away from them – and would not know how much credibility to grant to the allegations made against it, let alone how to counter such criticisms. So they are easily convinced that they must believe all that they are being told by Church leaders who have contributed to the demise of Scholasticism through their corrosive criticism and use of loaded terms.
The expression “impersonal” is one such term; it is commonly understood as lacking in personal warmth and empathy, even tending towards being inhumane in the face of human suffering. All the Conciliar Popes from John XXIII to Benedict XVI, followed by Francis, have capitalized on this interpretation in order to counteract the stern and “forbidding” image of the Church by softening the rigidities of the Moral Law and ending anathemas. This skewed outlook finds its expression in the philosophy of “Personalism,” and was introduced into Church life by John Paul II who himself was imbued with its false principles.
All the Vatican II documents were written from a “personalist” angle, and this approach is seen in the pastoral tone of the Council. Anything “ready-made,” such as precisely defined dogmas or lists of sins, is frowned upon. The flaw in the argument is that in order for the Christian way of life to make sense, we cannot do without “ready-made” absolute standards, and these are provided not only in the Divine and Natural Law as listed in the Decalogue, but also in the law of logical coherence and non-contradiction found in the Manuals.
After Vatican II, Catholics deprived of objective, absolute standards were thrown upon their emotions, and began to say “I feel” instead of “I believe,” “I choose” instead of “I obey,” “I want” instead of “I must conform to God’s Holy Law.” It is the triumph of the will over the intellect, and the primacy of emotion over Truth, and subjective fancy over reality.
Continued
- He found its “crystal-clear logic” problematic;2
- It was too “rigid,” “too closed within itself;3
- It “had to get out of its armour,4
- It was possessed by an “evil spirit” which produced “a narrow Scholastic orthodoxy;”5
- “Too impersonal and ready-made;”6
- Too “far removed from the real world;”7
- It needed Vatican II to “take it out of its box and expose it to the fresh air of today’s life;”8
- Its rational approach to faith failed to produce certitude;9
- His own theological formation came only from “the Bible and the Fathers.”10
Always ‘wanted out of classical Thomism’
When we consider the reasons, listed above, why Ratzinger – in his own words – “wanted out of classical Thomism” (not that he was ever in it) with a view “to entering into a living conversation with contemporary philosophy,”11 the conclusion suggests itself that he was a revolutionary inciting others also to revolt against the Scholastic system.
Examples of Vatican II ‘thought control’
Let us examine each of Ratzinger’s points.
Congar, right, admits he met with Ratzinger to ‘discuss & agree upon a tactic against the theological schemata’
Paradoxically, he complained that the clear formulations expressed in these documents were imprisoned in the inner kernel of the Scholastic system, so that the more they shone with the light of clarity, the more they lost touch with reality. This would not, however, make any sense to a person trained in Scholastic methods of reasoning. To eschew clarity is to open the door to ambiguity, yet God created the human mind specifically to attain knowledge of the Truth by apprehending reality.
Reading Ratzinger’s publication, one is entitled to express astonishment that a Prelate, who served as Prefect of the CDF and rose to the position of Supreme Pontiff, represents a situation in which the opposite of what is normal or expected prevails – here one is reminded of Alice’s adventures in Through the Looking-Glass – and where clarity, objectivity and truth are to be avoided, and reality is discernible only in terms favored by progressivist theologians.
Well may it be said that the “New Theology” presents a “Looking-Glass” image of the Church, with everything reversed, whether it be the ends of marriage, the status of the clergy and laity, the objective and the subjective, or the whole of the Christian order in relation to the world. That is, of course, the revolutionary logic and legacy of Vatican II, which could only have been implemented once the Church had first rid herself of the “Manualist tradition.”
In Through the Looking Glass Alice enters a world much like the progressivist’s – bizarre & nonsensical
Ratzinger’s critique of clarity is not without significance, considering that the key to the “success” of the new Vatican II documents (which replaced the original, clearly expressed ones) was precisely the fact that doctrine was not stated clearly in them, leaving the concept of reality open to diverse interpretations. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that in the post-Vatican II Church ‒ from which the “Manualist tradition” has been banished ‒ reality means something different to each person and to the same person at different points in his life. That is because the Church’s leaders no longer speak with an authoritative voice that brings with it any conviction apart from personal preference.
As for the negative connotation of Scholasticism as a “rigid” and “closed” system, again the mirror image pertains. There are no grounds for believing, as Ratzinger contended, that it is “far removed from the real world”; if it appears “rigid,” it is because it deals with truths that are immutable, and concepts that are true always, everywhere and for everyone; if it appears “closed,” it is only because its propositions are confined within the limits of logical reasoning and orthodox doctrine. The universality and rationality of Scholasticism are valuable assets, which is why it can be regarded as having been an important and influential intellectual movement in the history of Western thought.
The real problem is with the “New Theology” which is open to the influence of every passing philosophy in its bid to conform to modern trends of thought. And in the wake of this openness to a flood of unorthodox ideas, most of the Church’s spiritual leaders have closed their minds to the truths of the Catholic Faith as contained and explicated in the “Manualist tradition.”
Ratzinger: ‘No!’ to the erudition of St. Thomas
for being ‘impersonal’
The expression “impersonal” is one such term; it is commonly understood as lacking in personal warmth and empathy, even tending towards being inhumane in the face of human suffering. All the Conciliar Popes from John XXIII to Benedict XVI, followed by Francis, have capitalized on this interpretation in order to counteract the stern and “forbidding” image of the Church by softening the rigidities of the Moral Law and ending anathemas. This skewed outlook finds its expression in the philosophy of “Personalism,” and was introduced into Church life by John Paul II who himself was imbued with its false principles.
All the Vatican II documents were written from a “personalist” angle, and this approach is seen in the pastoral tone of the Council. Anything “ready-made,” such as precisely defined dogmas or lists of sins, is frowned upon. The flaw in the argument is that in order for the Christian way of life to make sense, we cannot do without “ready-made” absolute standards, and these are provided not only in the Divine and Natural Law as listed in the Decalogue, but also in the law of logical coherence and non-contradiction found in the Manuals.
After Vatican II, Catholics deprived of objective, absolute standards were thrown upon their emotions, and began to say “I feel” instead of “I believe,” “I choose” instead of “I obey,” “I want” instead of “I must conform to God’s Holy Law.” It is the triumph of the will over the intellect, and the primacy of emotion over Truth, and subjective fancy over reality.
Continued
- Lorenzo Prezzi and Marcello Matte, ‘Interview with Cardinal Ratzinger’, 30 Days, April 1994, p. 62.
- J. Ratzinger, Milestones, p. 44.
- Ibid.
- J. Ratzinger, Salt of the earth : Christianity and the Catholic Church at the end of the millennium, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1997, p. 73.
- J. Ratzinger, The Nature and Mission of Theology: Essays to Orient Theology in Today’s Debates, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1995: “After the evil spirit of a narrow Scholastic orthodoxy has been driven out, in the end seven much more wicked spirits return in its place.”
- Lorenzo Prezzi and Marcello Matte, op. cit., p. 62.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- J. Ratzinger, Truth and Tolerance, trans. Henry Taylor, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2004, p. 136
- Benedict XVI with Peter Seewald, Last Testament, p. 134.
- Ibid., p. 78.
- J. Ratzinger, Die letzte Sitzungsperiode des Konzils (The Last Session of the Council), Cologne: J.P. Bachern, 1966, pp. 25-26.
Posted July 17, 2024
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