The Weight of the Structure

Now this is interesting -- the Pope's critique, albeit indirectly, of Tom Reese.

At The Window (it's a clean window, Deal Hudson being nowhere in sight) for his Regina Caeli, Benedetto made a pointed statement -- pointed straight at the former editor of America and Vaticanologists everywhere. As I don't have the formal translation, I must subject everyone to my barely passable Italian, but will publish the original text below for review and comparison.

The Pope said (italics are my emphasis):

"The happy coincidence of Pentecost and the priestly ordinations calls me to underline the indissoluble link which exists, in the Church, between the Spirit and the institution..... The Chair [of Peter] and the Spirit are intimately joined in reality, as are the call and the ordained ministry. Without the Holy Spirit, the Church is reduced to being a merely human organization, weighed down by its own structures. But, in his time, in the plan of God the Spirit has continually served by human means to work in history. According to Christ, who has built his Church on the foundation of the apostles and, in turn, on Peter, he has also enriched us with the gift of his Spirit, granting in the course of centuries its comfort, and its guidance toward all truth. May the ecclesial community remain always open and docile to the action of the Holy Spirit as the credible sign and effective instrument of the action of God among men!"

"La felice coincidenza tra la Pentecoste e le Ordinazioni presbiterali mi invita a sottolineare il legame indissolubile che esiste, nella Chiesa, tra lo Spirito e l’istituzione.... La Cattedra [di Pietro] e lo Spirito sono realtà intimamente unite, così come lo sono il carisma e il ministero ordinato. Senza lo Spirito Santo, la Chiesa si ridurrebbe a un’organizzazione meramente umana, appesantita dalle sue stesse strutture. Ma, a sua volta, nei piani di Dio lo Spirito si serve abitualmente delle mediazioni umane per agire nella storia. Proprio per questo Cristo, che ha costituito la sua Chiesa sul fondamento degli Apostoli stretti intorno a Pietro, l’ha anche arricchita del dono del suo Spirito, affinché nel corso dei secoli la conforti (cfr Gv 14,16) e la guidi alla verità tutta intera (cfr Gv 16,13). Possa la Comunità ecclesiale restare sempre aperta e docile all’azione dello Spirito Santo per essere tra gli uomini segno credibile e strumento efficace dell’azione di Dio!"

The discussion is open.

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