Italian Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, a Jesuit, renowned biblical scholar, former archbishop of Milan and one-time “progressive” candidate for the papacy, died on Aug. 31 at the age of 85 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was still making headlines after his death when his final interview was published in Italy. In it he described the church as “200 years out of date” and said the pedophilia scandals “oblige” the church to begin “a journey of transformation.” He said, “Our culture has aged, our churches are big and empty and the church bureaucracy rises up; our rituals and our cassocks are pompous.... The church must admit its mistakes and begin a radical change, starting from the pope and the bishops.” Cardinal Martini was known as a strong pastor and as a thoughtful advocate of wider discussion and dialogue on controversial church positions. At various times, he expressed openness to allowing married Latin-rite priests, ordaining women as deacons and allowing Communion for some divorced Catholics.
Cardinal Martini's Final Thoughts
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
The conclave that begins next Wednesday to elect a successor for Pope Francis is the first in 46 ½ years for which the Vatican hasn’t ordered a set of cassocks from the two best-known papal tailors.
Papabile: How do conclave watchers come up with their lists of the next pope—and should we trust them?
The people of God see the bishop of Rome as a teacher, but they also unquestionably see him as a father.
Since the death of Pope Francis, lists of his possible successors have proliferated on social media and in newspapers. Should you trust them?