Ek het
lank laas so 'n aangrypende stuk soos die een hieronder gelees wat 'n onderhoud met die bekende kardinaal Martini bevat. Hy het byna
pous geword toe hy meer stemme as Ratzinger in die eerste rondte
van die verkiesing gekry waarin Ratzinger in later rondtes wel verkies sou word.
Ek onthou dat ons in Milaan 'n byeenkoms van die SNTS (die
internasionale vakvereniging vir Nuwe-Testamentici) bygewoon het waar
hy, 'n prominente lid van die vereniging, gasheer was. Daar was hoë respek vir hom onder die kollega's by die konferensie.
Hierdie onderhoud is 'n dag of wat na
sy dood gepubliseer. Dit sou sy laaste onderhoud word - 'n merkwaardige
testament.
Dit is 'n teks wat oor en oor die moeite werd is om goed gelees te word - want dit is eintlik van toepassing op kerke in vele wêrelddele.
Translated final interview with
Martini
John L. Allen Jr. NCR
Today
Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini died in
Varese, northern Italy, on Aug. 31 at the age of 85. Two weeks earlier, on Aug.
8, Martini gave a final interview to his fellow Jesuit Fr. George Sporschill,
with whom Martini had collaborated on a book titled Nocturnal
Conversations in Jerusalem, and an Italian friend named Federica Radice
Fossati Confalonieri. Radice has told Italian media outlets that Martini read
and approved the text of the interview, intending it as a sort of
"spiritual testament" to be published after his death.
The
following is an NCR translation of the interview published in
Italian by the newspaper Corriere della Sera.
How do you see the situation of
the church?
The church is tired, in the Europe
of well-being and in America. Our culture has become old, our churches and our
religious houses are big and empty, the bureaucratic apparatus of the church
grows, our rites and our dress are pompous. Do these things, however, express
what we are today? ... Well-being weighs on us. We find ourselves like the rich
young man who went away sad when Jesus called him to be his disciple. I know
that we can't let everything go easily. At least, however, we can seek people
who are free and closest to their neighbor, like Archbishop Romero and the
Jesuit martyrs of El Salvador. Where are the heroes among us who can inspire
us? By no means do we have to limit them by the boundaries of the institution.
Who can help the church today?
Father Karl Rahner often used the
image of the embers hidden under the ash. I see in the church today so much ash
under the embers that often I'm hit with a sense of impotence. How can we
liberate the embers from the ash, to reinvigorate the fires of love? For the
first thing, we have to seek out these embers. Where are the individuals full
of generosity, like the Good Samaritan? Who have faith like the Roman
centurion? Who are enthusiastic like John the Baptist? Who dare the new, like
Paul? Who are faithful like Mary Magdalene? I advise the Pope and the bishops
to seek out twelve people outside the lines for administrative positions,
people who are close to the poorest, who are surrounded by young people, and
who try new things. We need to be with people who burn in such a way that the
Spirit can spread itself everywhere.
What tools do you recommend
against the exhaustion of the church?
I recommend three very strong ones.
The first is conversion: the church must recognize its errors and follow a
radical path of change, beginning with the pope and the bishops. The pedophilia
scandals compel us to take up a path of conversion. Questions about sexuality,
and all the themes involving the body, are an example. These are important to
everyone, sometimes perhaps too important. We have to ask ourselves if people
still listen to the advice of the church on sexual matters. Is the church still
an authoritative reference in this field, or simply a caricature in the media?
The second is the Word of God.
Vatican II gave the Bible back to Catholics. Only those who perceive this Word
in their heart can be part of those who will help achieve renewal of the
church, and who will know how to respond to personal questions with the right
choice. The Word of God is simple, and seeks out as its companion a heart that
listens. ... Neither the clergy nor ecclesiastical law can substitute for the
inner life of the human person. All the external rules, the laws, the dogmas,
are there to clarify this internal voice and for the discernment of
spirits.
Who are the sacraments for? These are the third tool of healing.
The sacraments are not an instrument of discipline, but a help for people in
their journey and in the weaknesses of their life. Are we carrying the
sacraments to the people who need new strength? I think of all the divorced and
remarried couples, to extended families. They need special protection. The
church upholds the indissolubility of matrimony. It's a grace when a marriage
and a family succeed ...
The attitude we hold towards
extended families determines the ability of the church to be close to their
children. A woman, for instance, is abandoned by her husband and finds a new
companion, who takes care of her and her three children. This second love
succeeds. If this family is discriminated against, not only is the mother cut
out [from the church] but also her children. If the parents feel like they're
outside the church, and don't feel its support, the church will lose the future
generation.
Before communion, we pray: "Lord, I am not worthy ...'
We know we're not worthy ... Love is a grace. Love is a gift. The question of
whether the divorced can receive communion ought to be turned around. How can
the church reach people who have complicated family situations, bringing them
help with the power of the sacraments?
What do you do personally?
The church is 200 years behind the
times. Why doesn't it stir? Are we afraid? Is it fear rather than courage? In
any event, the faith is the foundation of the church. Faith, trust, courage.
I'm old and sick, and I depend on the help of others. Good people around me
make me feel their love. This love is stronger than the sentiment of distrust
that I feel every now and then with regard to the church in Europe. Only love
defeats exhaustion. God is love. Now I have a question for you: What can you do
for the church?
