Hans Küng, who died recently aged 93, was a “great figure in the theology of the last century whose ideas must always make us reflect on the Catholic Church, the churches, society and culture”. Perhaps surprisingly, it was the Pontifical Academy for Life that said so. Of course, it was not the only thing the Vatican authorities had to say about him. Küng was chastised when he denied papal infallibility and when he opposed the canonisation of Pius IX. He was severely reprimanded for his accusation that Pope John Paul II was “an authoritarian pontiff” for forbidding women candidates for the diaconate, for his refusal to permit laicisation and for his strictures on the so-called liberation theologians of Central and South America. Küng also opposed the Church’s prohibition of euthanasia. For these things he was stripped of his licence to teach as a Catholic theologian – though he remained a priest.
9:16 AM
RIP Hans Kung – A notable renegade and of modern theology
hans küng, who died recently aged 93, was a “great figure in the theology of the last century whose ideas must always make us reflect on the...
Peter Mullen
4 min read
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