1999

CDT Online

Letters to the Editor

Ad misrepresents views of 'rational' Catholics

The paid advertisement in a recent CDT, "The Catholic Response," is disturbing. It is pretentious to call itself the Catholic response. Most of the statements in the ad are actually those of Joseph Ratzinger -- albeit a prominent administrator of a Vatican bureaucracy (the same that once condemned Galileo), but hardly the univocal articulator of Catholicism. The Catholic Church is more comprehensive than Ratzinger (and his local devotees). In its theology, Catholi-cism embraces diversity and is better defined in the majestic language of the Vatican II Council: "The Church is the People of God," not just the so-called magisterium that too often is identified with an individual like Cardinal Ratzinger, as if they are the same.

The ad is conspicuous in its lack of signature, reminiscent perhaps of the anonymous Klan who also styled themselves as vigilantes of virtue. But most disturbing is the ad's insidious implication that it is good moral theology to justly discriminate against homosexuals -- "Their rights can be legitimately limited ... and if they assert their homosexuality .... neither the Church nor society at large should be surprised when ... irrational and violent acts increase." This "theology" of homophobic negativity evokes a frightening reminiscence of another era in this century when it became legitimate to marginalize and sub-human another group of people as a threat to "normal" values.

As a Catholic, I find this ad reprehensible. It doesn't speak for me -- it is a shameful distortion of authentic Catholic spirituality. It doesn't capture the theological vision of billions of Catholics who honor Christ's words, "In my Father's house there are many mansions," and who witness to the Church's evangelical mandate: "By this shall all people know that you are my disciples if you love one another."

To those wounded by reading that pseudo-Catholic ad, an apology is due.

David J. Brown

State College

Note: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is the head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith in the Roman Curia. As seen in the Vatican's web page his position is to be the official articulator of Catholicism.