Madrid, Spain, May 15, 2005 / 22:00 pm
In comments to the Spanish daily “La Razon,” the Archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Joachim Meisner, dismissed the criticisms of theologian Hans Küng against Pope Benedict XVI, saying he “confuses his own imaginings with the Holy Spirit.”
“Küng has said things as a Catholic theologian that are not Catholic. He attacked the Pope. And Cardinal Ratzinger counseled him and gave him theological arguments to the contrary. And the Holy Father should continue doing so. But for our Church, the ‘Küng case’ is now closed. There are people who confuse their own imaginings with the Holy Spirit and this is the case with Küng,” said Cardinal Meisner.
Nevertheless, the cardinal did not rule out a possible reconciliation of Küng with the Church. “I hope for it. But Küng has become a very marginal figure,” he stated.