Samuel Gregg of the Acton Institute contrasts the new books by two
theologians whose lives have crossed several times: Pope Benedict XVI
and Hans Küng.
The comparison is not flattering to Küng.
In the 2nd volume of his work Jesus of Nazareth, the Holy Father
shows the breadth of his theological vision, Gregg says.
Küng, on the
other hand, shows a dogged insistence on his own personal agenda:
So what is Kung’s book focused upon? In a word, power. For Kung, it’s all about power – especially papal power – and the need for lay Catholics to seize power if the Church is to be “saved” from sinister Roman reactionaries who have perverted Christianity for centuries.
Gregg adds that although Küng claims to promote a new vision for
Catholic leadership, in fact his theories have been tried for years, and
have contributed to a series of pastoral disasters.