Papal Insecticide

It's so far just in German, but this interview with dissident theologian Uta Ranke-Heinemann is lively.  The reaction to the Pope's death is interesting here in Germany.  People here have grown up with their church deeply programmed into their cultural identity in a qualitatively different way than Americans might.  It's still very popular to study theology here, and the study is rigorous; you come away from the study with a deep, intimate knowledge of dogma, and might decide to spend a weekend reading City of God. 

Anyone can criticise the Catholic church as an outsider, from a political or pragmatic perspective.  Heck, it claims the allegiance of over a billion people, that makes it fair game.  But I find it more interesting to read critiques from people who believe in God, view materialism as dangerous, and accept the notion that religion cannot be just a matter of loosey-goosey, choose-your-own-ending spirituality. 

Uta Ranke-Heinemann is one of those.  Daughter of a former German President and the first woman to obtain a professorship in Catholic theology, had her license to teach revoked by the Church in 1987 because she questioned the virginity of Mary.  It didn't faze her:

Spiegel Online: Are you looking forward to meeting the Pope in Heaven?

Ranke-Heinemann: I'm not going to begin fantasizing here, but I have the impression the Pope will first meet Mary, who will come to meet him with Jesus' siblings, of which he had at least six.  These siblings are, of course, mentioned in the New Testament -- but, to protect Mary's 'virginity,' they have been theologically aborted with papal insecticide.  But I don't view this papal mistake as tragic.  I've made plenty of mistakes myself.

Comments

[Theo Williams]

I am trying to ask Uta Ranke-Heinemann for help on a book project, where could I contact her?