CATHOLIC CHURCH....."200 YEARS OUT OF DATE"

Before any one starts beating up on me for what I am about to write, let me say I am qualified to tell this story.

I was born Catholic. Baptized and confirmed Catholic. Attended Catholic grammar school, high school and college. I was an altar boy in grammar school and high school. Sang in the Church choir in high school. I was married in the Catholic Church. My children were baptized and confirmed in the Catholic Church. They all attended Catholic grammar and high schools. Some attended Catholic colleges. All were married by Catholic priests. Their children, my grandchildren, have all been baptized Catholic.

I now am a fallen away Catholic.

My credentials established, let me speak of Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini.

Cardinal Martini was for many years a member of the Church hierarchy. He represented a liberal voice in the Church. In the 1900s and early 2000s, he was considered the next Pope. John Paul II was Pope at the time. However, Cardinal Martini was stricken with Parkinson's disease in 2002. The Papacy was not his to be. Though he continued to be an influence in Rome, his disability incapacitated him for the rigors of the Papacy.

When John Paul II died in 2005, a German Cardinal became Pope. Pope Benedict II. A doctrinaire as contrasted with Cardinal Martini who was a liberal.

Cardinal Martini recently died. Before his death, he was interviewed. He died four days after the interview. His death bed interview was recently published.

Cardinal Martini said the Catholic Church was "...200 years out of date." Its churches big and empty. The rituals and cassocks pompous. Culture aged was the way he described the Church.

He claimed "radical change" was required. Starting with the Pope and Bishops.

Cardinal Martini spoke of the pedophilia scandal. His position was that the Church was obligated to transform itself because of the scandal. He was referring to the way the Church had handled the pedophilia priest problem.

The Cardinal had some strong and novel opinions/beliefs regarding certain issues. From his perspective, condom use was acceptable in some cases. He also recognized the existence of the modern family which he described as a new kind of family. People fell out of love, husbands abandoned wives. A woman is left to raise and care for the children alone. She lives without love. Under these and similar situations, he felt divorce and remarriage was proper.

His thoughts eye openers, window openers. Fresh air time again.

Will Cardinal Martini's positions have an impact on Church teachings?

Who knows. We will have to wait to see who succeeds Benedict II. If the new Pope is liberal as opposed to doctrinaire, yes. Even then, it will take a long time for change to occur.