The Pope. he said, is turning the Church away, from Vatican II and toward "conservative" stands against birth control   and the ordination of women   as priests, and insisting on celibacy   for the priesthood.

Fr. Kueng, who has been censured by the Vatican for his unorthodox stands on Papal infallibility   and other Issues, described the yearsfrom 1958 to 1963 under the late Pope John XXIII   as "years of plenty." Despite their differences, Fr. Kueng says he holds that he is "not a man of personal resentment" against Pope John Paul.

"I sent him my book ( Does God Exist?) as a Christmas present after his election," Fr. Kueng said, slightly tongue in cheek. "I thought he would see that we have a common ground, since we are both for God, but he never even gave a word of thanks ... never answered my letter."

Fr. Kueng said he had asked several times to talk with the Pope but has been refused.

"He (the Pope) talks to every boxer and every starlet and other people who come to the Vatican," Fr. Kueng said. "There are only two classes of people he won't talk to, critical Catholic theologians and critical Catholic Sisters."

When comparing the five years of John XXIII with the seven years of John Paul. II, and looking at what substantive changes have been made. "You will see that this has been seven lean years," said Fr. Kueng.

The theologian made his comments before delivering the Texas Christian University Brite Divinity School Lectures at University Christian Church in Fort Worth.

He also said the upcoming special Synod of Bishops in Rome called by the Pope will be used to try to give a false "conservative" image to the Second Vatican Council.

Fr. Kueng does not believe the Synod will be used to address "major issues" of the Church such as the ordination of women and married priests - but he hopes that bishops at the meeting who believe in "spirit of Vatican II" will try to bring up those issues.

"What will happen at the Synod is hard to say, but what they (the Church Hierarchy)   plan to do is easy to say,' said Fr. Kueng. "They plan to fix the Catholic Church on a very conservative interpretation of the Second Vatican Council."

Although Vatican II had "conservative" elements, the spirit of the meetings was toward revolutionary reform and renewal in the Church, he asserted.

"It was quite clear that the main (thrust) of the Council was an opening ... an opening to all the key questions before us, and to interpret the Council on its conservative points is just missing the greatest tendency of the Council....

"I think the tendency was quite clear and to deny that is really a betrayal of the Council," he said. "To make Vatican II just a conservative Council on the lines of (Pope) Pius XII is just a historical falsification."

The heterodox author said the Synod in Rome will not include theologians and also is for a relatively short period. 'They want to solve all the problems of the Church in two weeks," he said.

Fr. Kueng, 57, still is a professor and leader of an ecumenical institute at the University of Tuebingen in West Germany, but in 1979 the Pope stripped him of his credentials as an official teacher of Catholic theology because of his unorthodox stands, including his questioning the doctrine of Papal infallibility. Currently Fr. Kueng is a visiting lecturer at the University of Toronto.

From the Journal News, 4/26/01. Hans Kung has gotten into a lot of trouble with the Vatican for his views of papal infallibility. He had been strongly supportive of the elevation of Karl Lehmann to the College of Cardinals. This article will probably tell you why.

The Vatican reports that Cardinal Karl Lehmann of Mainz, Germany, has rekindled the controversy surrounding his February entry into the College of Cardinals. Cardinal Lehmann told the Italy daily La Stampa that the papacy   is "the principal obstacle" to ecumenical   progress. The German prelate said that a new council should provide the basis for "greater collegiality" among the world's bishops. Lehmann rejected the idea of a "Vatican III," saying it would "not be useful" to organize a new council on that basis today. Instead, he suggested "reflecting on the whole web of relations among synods, the Roman Curia, the episcopal conferences, and the College of Cardinals, and defining the specific duties of each." He also stated he had "no intention of calling into question" the role of the Pope, the Curia   or the bishops' synods. But he did say that "it is time to think about the manner in which the Church should make future decisions on fundamental pastoral questions." He pointed out that Pope John Paul II has encouraged discussions on how the papacy could be changed in order to fit the needs of the new millennium. (http://www.cwnews.com)

To read the rest of this story, go to: http://news.crosswalk.com/religion/item/0,,341708,00.htm

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