From Zenit:
Ratzinger Students Discuss Fidelity, Openness
Prelate Stresses Importance of Spiritual Life in Ecumenism
VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 2, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The annual meeting of the "Ratzinger Schulerkreis," a group of the Pope's former students, focused on the Second Vatican Council priorities of fidelity and openness.
Archbishop Kurt Koch, the new president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the principal speaker for the meeting, reported this to L'Osservatore Romano. The Pope's former students gathered Aug. 27 in Castel Gandolfo for their annual study circle, which concluded Monday.
Benedict XVI also participated in some of the discussions.
Archbishop Koch noted that the gathering had a clear conclusion: "Fidelity to tradition and openness to the future."
He explained, "Fidelity to tradition, openness to the future is the most correct interpretation of the Second Vatican Council, which continues to be the magna carta of the Church also in the third millennium."
The speaker noted, "In the first session I proposed a reflection on how to read and interpret the Second Vatican Council, indicating the priority of an hermeneutics of reform."
He added that this is an "issue which I took up again and developed in the second presentation, reflecting further, in particular, on the constitution 'Sacrosanctum Concilium' on the liturgy, precisely to show concretely how an hermeneutics of reform can be implemented."
The two presentations were "followed by a debate of more than one hour, very interesting and rich in significant contributions," the prelate reported.
According to Archbishop Koch, "one was able to understand how fundamental is the spiritual dimension of Christian life in all aspects. And this is true, from my point of view, also in the ecumenical dialogue, which is the most direct field of work before me."
The archbishop commented briefly on a private audience he had with Benedict XVI on Monday.
"We spoke of my new ecumenical challenge," he said, "because the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity is not an independent reality but it has a mandate from the Pope to see how dialogue can develop in the future."
A longer article can be found here. (H/t to Messa in Latino)
Ratzinger Students Discuss Fidelity, Openness
Prelate Stresses Importance of Spiritual Life in Ecumenism
VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 2, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The annual meeting of the "Ratzinger Schulerkreis," a group of the Pope's former students, focused on the Second Vatican Council priorities of fidelity and openness.
Archbishop Kurt Koch, the new president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the principal speaker for the meeting, reported this to L'Osservatore Romano. The Pope's former students gathered Aug. 27 in Castel Gandolfo for their annual study circle, which concluded Monday.
Benedict XVI also participated in some of the discussions.
Archbishop Koch noted that the gathering had a clear conclusion: "Fidelity to tradition and openness to the future."
He explained, "Fidelity to tradition, openness to the future is the most correct interpretation of the Second Vatican Council, which continues to be the magna carta of the Church also in the third millennium."
The speaker noted, "In the first session I proposed a reflection on how to read and interpret the Second Vatican Council, indicating the priority of an hermeneutics of reform."
He added that this is an "issue which I took up again and developed in the second presentation, reflecting further, in particular, on the constitution 'Sacrosanctum Concilium' on the liturgy, precisely to show concretely how an hermeneutics of reform can be implemented."
The two presentations were "followed by a debate of more than one hour, very interesting and rich in significant contributions," the prelate reported.
According to Archbishop Koch, "one was able to understand how fundamental is the spiritual dimension of Christian life in all aspects. And this is true, from my point of view, also in the ecumenical dialogue, which is the most direct field of work before me."
The archbishop commented briefly on a private audience he had with Benedict XVI on Monday.
"We spoke of my new ecumenical challenge," he said, "because the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity is not an independent reality but it has a mandate from the Pope to see how dialogue can develop in the future."
A longer article can be found here. (H/t to Messa in Latino)
[Update (NC), excerpts, as reported by L'Osservatore Romano, according to the Italian blogs linked above]:
Last weekend, the annual meeting of the Pope with his former students took place [in Castel Gandolfo] and the relevant topic of discussion was the proper hermeneutics of Vatican II. ...."Loyalty to tradition, openness to the future: it is the more correct interpretation of Vatican II, which remains the Magna Charta of the Church in the Third Millennium." ... This is the sum of the so-called Ratzinger Schülerkreis according to archbishop Kurt Koch, keynote speaker of the meeting of the Pope with his former students, which was held between August 27 to 30 in Castel Gandolfo. ..."First - he says - I proposed a debate on how to read and interpret the Second Vatican Council, indicating the priority of a hermeneutics of reform." A "question that I took up and developed in the second report, with an emphasis, in particular, on the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium on the liturgy, just to show how to implement concretely a hermeneutics of reform." The two reports, he explains, "were followed by a debate of over an hour, which was very interesting and filled with significant contributions." ...Going into detail of his two reports, Bishop Koch explained that the first report, centered on "Vatican II between tradition and innovation", was divided into seven sections: "a history of receiving and not receiving; hermeneutic of reform in fundamental continuity; breaking the Tradition in the council?; return to the sources and updating the criteria of a hermeneutic of reform (full interpretation of texts, dogmatic and pastoral units, no split between the spirit and the letter); Catholic breadth and fullness, the legacy of the Council amidst current challenges; reform of the Church as a spiritual task. " For the second report, on the "post-conciliar reform of the liturgy between continuity and discontinuity," Archbishop Koch followed a line of eight subjects. "I started - he explains - by finding that the liturgy is the crux of hermeneutic reconciliation, then treating the phenomenology and theology of the liturgy, the liturgy in its organic development (the principle of active participation of all the faithful in the liturgy and the principle of easier readability and simplicity of the rites), lights and shadows in the Post-Conciliar liturgy, protection of the great heritage of the liturgy, the necessary reform of the reform, based on the primacy of Christology, the unity of the New Testament rite and liturgy, Christian liturgy and the religions of mankind; and the cosmic dimension of the liturgy. Finally, the revitalization of the Paschal Mystery was the last issue presented prior to the conclusions. "
