Having been Archbishop of Milan for 22 years, Carlo Maria Martini was often considered as a sort of antagonist of John Paul II, the Pope who had chosen him as leader of the largest diocese in Europe and one of the most important dioceses in the world, at the age of fifty two.
Martini’s Christianity has always been considered open, deeply-felt and open to dialogue.
One need only recall the significance of the “Cattedra dei non credenti” (Lecture series for non believers) which the cardinal intended as a way for establishing a dialogue with non believers, with those who are searching and with those who are full of doubts. We must also not forget that the Cardinal Emeritus of Milan who passed away today after a long battle with Parkinson’s was the archbishop of the “Word of God”, of meditation, of prayer and of the Eucharist.
So to stereotypically label him a “liberal archbishop” who was ready to contrast the Pope and the official doctrine of the Catholic Church would be to do him wrong.
It is true that frequently during the Wojtyla years - which almost entirely coincided with those of the late cardinal’s Episcopate – Martini showed a certain openness with regard certain topics, almost as though he was trying to separate himself from Rome’s line of thinking.
But it is also true that emphasis was often given to his comments and statements in order to set him against John Paul II, presenting him for at least ten years as the cardinal who was most likely to become the next Pope and the liberal wing’s top candidate.
Other statements passed by practically unnoticed. For example, his declarations in defence of life and against abortion, in favour of equality in education and his proposals for a careful and intelligent integration of Muslims into Milanese society: this was all far from mere rhetoric.
On certain occasions, Martini even set himself apart from Benedict XVI, whose age and profession he shared (both professors). For example he expressed some objections to Ratzinger’s book “Jesus of Nazareth” (which Ratzinger surely appreciated more than all the vague praise he received for the work).
Some of the Jesuit cardinal’s positions in relation to remarried divorcees, the recognition of same-sex unions and the subject of bioethics, have sparked a great deal of debate in recent years. His thinking was considered too open for Catholic moral doctrine.
But what struck everyone the most, perhaps even more than his “Lecture series for non believers” and “School of the Word” and any of his numerous books - which he confessed he never wrote as they were almost always transcriptions of his speeches – was the way in which he dealt with his illness.
Cardinal Martini had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease, the same illness that had made Wojtyla’s last years so difficult.
Martini withered away slowly as his speech and movement became increasingly impaired. His words of hope, even to those who were far from the faith, had always been profound and never trivial.
But his recent suffering drew him closer to the ill.
It would be wrong on the day of his death to speak of his recent rejection of futile medical care, as if this represented his final act of resistance against “official” Catholic doctrine.
It is worth remembering that the Church is not in favour of futile medical care and that John Paul II had not wanted to be admitted again to Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic after his last attack.