Statement by CONCILIUM on the Planned
Beatification
of Pope Pius IX
The beatification of Pope Pius IX planned for this year will be very disturbing to many Catholics.
A beatification of Pius IX raises grave questions. Recently Pius XII was withdrawn as a candidate for beatification because his widely discussed connections with Hitler's Germany seemed to be a blot on his public reputation. Now the beatification of Pius IX is being propagated, yet the pontificate of this pope too was marked by serious theological and political crises.
Quite apart from his political entanglement in the fight for freedom in Italy, more than any pope before him Pius IX was opposed to all contemporary movements of thought and culture which were in favour of reform. He was especially opposed to freedom of conscience. Instead, he constructed a paternalistic system in the church and its administration; countless Catholics had to suffer under the authoritarian impact of this over a very long period. Instead of encouraging intellectual exploration of the faith in the Catholic Church he sought to prevent many theologians from an honest discovery of the truth by imposing an oath on them. The propagation and subsequent implementation of the dogma of infallibility at the First Vatican Council stems from his personal initiative. Episcopal collegiality meant little to him. On the contrary, under his leadership the absolutist system in the church was constructed.
In addition, even during his lifetime he was known for his anti-Jewish actions. Thus in 1850 he had the walls of the Jewish ghetto in Rome rebuilt. The freedom of the Jews in Rome was again constricted. Secretly baptized children were snatched away from their parents. All Jews became the objects of strong pressure to be converted. On the first Sunday in Lent 2000, Pope John Paul II solemnly repented for such acts of violence against the Jews. How is it possible to beatify a member of the church in the same year as one bitterly repents of his actions before the world? A beatification of Pope Pius IX would do considerable damage to the Catholic Church and make many people doubt whether the present leadership of the church was concerned for reconciliation and truth in the world.
For the Editorial Directors of the
International Journal of Theology CONCILIUM
R. Ammicht-Quinn,
Frankfurt
M. P. Aquino Vargas, San Diego
J. O. Beozzo, Sao Paulo
P. Brand, Ankeveen (Netherlands)
S. Freyne, Dublin
H. Häring,
Nijmegen
W. G. Jeanrond, Lund
M. Junker-Kenny, Dublin
H. Küng,
Tübingen
K.-J. Kuschel, Tübingen
J. B. Metz, Münster
D. Mieth, Tübingen
E. Schillebeeckx, Nijmegen
E.
Schüssler Fiorenza, Cambridge, MA
J. Sobrino, San Salvador
E.
Tamez, San José (Costa Rica)
C. Theobald, Paris
M. Tomka,
Budapest
E. van Wolde, Tilburg
June 2000