11/24/17
This 24th of November, 1962, was special for the Church. The Second Vatican Council had been in session
for three months.
You know how our American president has a cabinet with a
dozen secretaries : one of State, one of Education, one of Health and welfaries.
In a similar way, the pope is assisted by the Curia, made up of a dozen or so
congregations,, with a cardinal in charge of each of them.
The most powerful of those congregations was "The Holy
Office." The carinal in charge of the Holy Office was the church's Theological
watchdog. He had the authority to ban anyone from preaching or publishing theological
theories of which he disapproved. The Prefect of the Holy Office for five years
had been Cardinal Ottaviani
On this November 24, 1962 Cardinal Ottaviani rose to answer the question of how God speaks
to us directly. His answer was that God speaks to us directly through the Bible and the teachings
of the Catholic Church.
To my amazement, cardinal after cardinal and bishop after bishop rose to say that the
Church
cannot speak directly
for God. Some of those objecting said that often the Church' s directives are
more political than theological. Others quoted St. Anselm who said "Theology
isaith seeking understanding. " All of us have Faith that is forever
seeking understanding.
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