Pope meets with controversial theologian
-27/09/05
A meeting has taken place between Pope Benedict XVI and the famous and controversial theologian Hans K¸ng.
During their meeting on Saturday they are said to have discussed “issues related to global ethics and the dialogue between science and faith”.
Hans Kung has always been a controversial figure, perhaps most notably because of a much-publicized clash over papal infallibility when he had his permission to teach revoked by the Vatican.
In his autobiography he gives a frank and outspoken account of the first four decades of his life, speaking of his youth in Switzerland and his decision to become a priest; his doubts and struggles as he studied in Rome and Paris, and his experiences as a professor in Tubingen, where he received a chair at the amazingly early age of 31.
Most importantly, as one of the last surviving eye-witnesses he gives an authentic account of the struggles behind the scenes at the Second Vatican Council, in which he took part as a theological expert.
His recent project has been to seek to common religious ground in the global affirmation of human rights issuing from the Western liberal tradition, is said to have influenced amongst others, the British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
He is one of the “Group of Eminent Persons” convened by the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and a friend of other heads of government such as President Mubarak of Egypt.
The director of the Vatican press, JoaquÌn Navarro-Valls, issues a statement following his meeting with the Pope: “The meeting took place in an amicable climate. Both agreed that there was no sense, in the context of the meeting, to enter into a dispute about doctrinal matters persisting between Hans K¸ng and the leader of the Catholic Church”.
Navarro-Valls said: “The Pope appreciated the effort by Professor K¸ng to contribute to a renewed recognition of the essential moral values of humanity throughout the dialogue of religion and the meeting with secular reason”.
Find books by Hans Kung in the Ekklesia shop
Pope meets with controversial theologian
-27/09/05
A meeting has taken place between Pope Benedict XVI and the famous and controversial theologian Hans K¸ng.
During their meeting on Saturday they are said to have discussed “issues related to global ethics and the dialogue between science and faith”.
Hans Kung has always been a controversial figure, perhaps most notably because of a much-publicized clash over papal infallibility when he had his permission to teach revoked by the Vatican.
In his autobiography he gives a frank and outspoken account of the first four decades of his life, speaking of his youth in Switzerland and his decision to become a priest; his doubts and struggles as he studied in Rome and Paris, and his experiences as a professor in Tubingen, where he received a chair at the amazingly early age of 31.
Most importantly, as one of the last surviving eye-witnesses he gives an authentic account of the struggles behind the scenes at the Second Vatican Council, in which he took part as a theological expert.
His recent project has been to seek to common religious ground in the global affirmation of human rights issuing from the Western liberal tradition, is said to have influenced amongst others, the British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
He is one of the “Group of Eminent Persons” convened by the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and a friend of other heads of government such as President Mubarak of Egypt.
The director of the Vatican press, Joaqu’n Navarro-Valls, issues a statement following his meeting with the Pope: “The meeting took place in an amicable climate. Both agreed that there was no sense, in the context of the meeting, to enter into a dispute about doctrinal matters persisting between Hans K¸ng and the leader of the Catholic Church”.
Navarro-Valls said: “The Pope appreciated the effort by Professor K¸ng to contribute to a renewed recognition of the essential moral values of humanity throughout the dialogue of religion and the meeting with secular reason”.