Last night I was doing some research into all the controversies that this pope has been involved in; ‘controversy’ being one of the apt words to sum-up his pontificate. In the course of this I had revisit his May 28, 2006 visit to Auschwitz. I was reading his speech there when these words (underlined in red), which I know were widely reported in the media at the time, literally jumped off the screen:
Click image to access the original transcript at www.vatican.va
These words seems awfully incongruous coming from THIS pope — supposedly quite an expert on theology and an ardent supporter of faith.
It kind of reminded me of Cardinal Ratzinger’s interview in 1997 when he (the future pope) said that the Holy Spirit may not pick out the pope. Refer to my November 28, 2010 post for the exact quote and context.
‘Why, Lord, did you remain silent?‘ coming from a pope bothers me at multiple levels. If a pope is going to ask this question publicly, why limit it just to the Holocaust? Couldn’t it equally well be applied to the Crusades? But, why even stop there? This question, coming from a pope, to me, opens up a veritable rats nest of issues.
But, the one that bothers me the most, has to do with ‘Free Will’. To me, and I could as ever be wrong especially as I am a rank Philistine when it comes to theology, it would appear as if the pope is implying the God, on certain occasions, should glibly step in and override ‘Free Will’. Wow. Well, if that is the case, maybe it is something that the Pope, as God’s vicar on earth, should have a hand in. I don’t know, but this question by the pope does not sit well with me.
N.B. The Vatican cutely misses out the keyword ‘CONCENTRATION’ when it refers to Auschwitz … just calling it Auschwitz Camp — making it sound like it was a Summer camp for the Polish!
2 Responses to “Pope Benedict XVI’s (#266) 2006 Visit To Auschwitz Concentration Camp – The Silence Of God”
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Hey Anura! The ” Silence of God” is a theological issue which is not new to us Catholics. It can be found in the Psalm 22: 1-2
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My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer.
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Nothing better than reading the Pope himself commenting it here:
http://lavignadelsignore.blogspot.it/2011/09/ludienza-generale_14.html
( Select English in the field on the upper left)
Personally, I find it very poetic. I don’t see any contradiction. After all, the religious feeling doesn’t work like a software
We are human, and our finitude in the face of the deity was also a feature which belonged to Christ Himself.
Pope Benedict XVI in his papal coat of arms has a SHELL..which is meant to recall a legend about St. Augustin, whose meaning has something to do with this issue, on my humble opinion…
Thank YOU. So good to have you commenting on the blog. I really appreciate your insights into this. Thank you.