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Socci: Was Benedict XVI attempting to be Ambiguous about Papal Primacy for Union with the Russian Orthodox Church?

Antonio Socci in "The Secret of Benedict XVI" makes the case that Benedict XVI in his ecumenical dialogues with the Russian Orthodox Church specifically with Russian Orthodox metropolitan Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev was talking about being ambiguous about the primacy of the papacy.

Hilarion is quoted in the book:

"Ratzinger has made enormous efforts to clarify the question of the primacy of the bishop of Rome, shifting the emphasis from a juridical vision of primacy to understanding [the pope] primarily as a Christian witness of a particular type and as a service to unity in love"
(The Secret, page 27)

Socci says Benedict's goal is "the opposite pole from the 'rehabilitation' of Martin Luther attempted by Papa Bergoglio [Francis]... 'on the Eucharist and the Liturgy."
(The Secret, page 28)

Apparently according to Socci while Francis wants some type of union with liberal Protestantism and is willing to sacrifice the "Eucharist and the Liturgy" in this heretical goal, Benedict wanted union with the Eastern Orthodox Churches and seemed ready to be ambiguous about the infallible teaching of Vatican I.

The First Vatican Council infallibly taught as quoted by Legatus:

"[T]he Roman Pontiff holds primacy over the whole world... [is] head of the whole Church."
(Legatus, "What is papal primacy?," May 2, 2013)

The Legatus article "What is papal primacy?" says:

"Papal primacy... [is] universal jurisdictional authority to govern the Church... The Eastern Orthodox Church considers the bishop of Rome to have [only] a primacy of honor... They do not recognize his primacy in jurisdiction."

Pray an Our Father now for the restoration of the Church.


Comments

Charmaine said…
Here is the full quote (The Secret, page 27): "As a theologian, Ratzinger has made enormous efforts to clarify the question of the primacy of the bishop of Rome, shifting the emphasis from a juridical vision of primacy to understanding [the pope] primarily as a Christian witness of a particular type and as a service to unity in love. He was always firmly opposed to any compromise in the doctrine of the Faith, justly pointing out that unity -- which is in principle possible between the East and West -- requires careful preparation and must mature both spiritually and at the practical level, assisted by deep theological and historical studies."

Papal primacy is "the doctrine of the Faith", so isn't it contradictory to assert (your quote taken out of context) that he was attempting to deny doctrine, yet at the same time "he was always firmly opposed to any compromise in the doctrine of the Faith"?
2:34 PM
Fred Martinez said…
Good point. Ambiguous is a better way to put it rather than deny.
2:47 PM
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