“We have used ambiguous phrases during the [Second Vatican Council] and we know how we will interpret them afterwards.”—Fr. Edward Schillebeeckx, Open Letter to Confused Catholics,” p.106.
"[The Doctors of the Church] knew the capacity of innovators in the art of deception. In order not to shock the ears of Catholics, they sought to hide the subtleties of their tortuous maneuvers by the use of seemingly innocuous words such as would allow them to insinuate error into souls in the most gentle manner. Once the truth had been compromised, they could, by means of slight changes or additions in phraseology, distort the confession of the faith which is necessary for our salvation, and lead the faithful by subtle errors to their eternal damnation. This manner of dissimulating and lying is vicious, regardless of the circumstances under which it is used. For very good reasons it can never be tolerated in a synod of which the principal glory consists above all in teaching the truth with clarity and excluding all danger of error." Pope Pius VI, Apostolic Constitution Auctorem Fidei 1794
"From some fissure the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God.” Pope Paul VI, in a sermon on June 29, 1972 on the ninth anniversary of his coronation.
Fr. Schillebeeckx was a very famous Catholic theologian who was investigated for heresy on three occasions by the Roman Curia, suspected of not believing in the Incarnation. He did not hink the Virgin Birth or Resurrection should best be understood literally and that the younger generation would be repulsed by attempts to do so. It was all part of the 1960s idea that traditional religion was dead. In fact 1960s theology did religion a lot more damage than did preaching miracles.
The ideas of theologians and academics like him are now in the ascendant at Rome.
Fr. Hans Kung, another young theologian, who advised the Council and who does not believe in the Virgin Birth or the other Marian dogmas or papal infallibility, is no longer under such of a cloud as he was under Pope John Paul II. Though I remember scores of copies of his latest book taking up most of the big windows of the Westminster Cathedral Bookshop back in the 1990s. Cardinal Hume in the 1990s and the newly enthroned Pope Benedict XVI invited him for tea.
He is still with us in his early 90s. Although he does not believe in the Virgin Birth he does believe that Mahomet was a real prophet. He was friendly with Mr James Callaghan and Mr Tony Blair.
Evelyn Waugh said that in a more civilised age Hans Kung would have been burnt and Waugh really meant it.
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