{"id":959,"date":"2015-10-29T12:00:46","date_gmt":"2015-10-29T11:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stefanopitrelli.com\/?p=959"},"modified":"2015-11-05T01:12:09","modified_gmt":"2015-11-05T00:12:09","slug":"meet-the-82-year-old-progressive-german-cardinal-who-has-an-outsized-influence-on-pope-francis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stefanopitrelli.com\/?p=959","title":{"rendered":"Meet the 82-year-old progressive German cardinal who has an outsized influence on Pope Francis"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Michelle Boorstein & Anthony Faiola \/\u00a0Stefano Pitrelli in Rome contributed to this report<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"German Cardinal Walter Kasper arrives at Clementina Hall to exchange Christmas greetings with Pope Francis in 2014 in Vatican City. \u00a0(Sipa USA)<\/p>\n

In the coming weeks or months, Pope Francis is expected to come out with a significant teaching on how the Catholic Church should respond to the new shapes and challenges of the modern family. As he prepares the document, there may be few individuals as important in understanding the pope\u2019s thinking as an 82-year-old German theologian named Cardinal Walter Kasper.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

The prolific author and longtime Vatican bureaucrat has long been a major figure in the Catholic theological world, beloved by reformers who want to see the church adjust and change more and dreaded by more orthodox Catholics who fear that altering practice and teaching could divide the church and lead people away from Jesus.<\/p>\n

[\u2018The future of humanity\u2019 is in your hands, pope\u2019s top climate<\/em>\u00a0adviser says to workers]<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

But since becoming pope, Francis has made Kasper almost a household name, praising the German at his very first Sunday blessing as pope by mentioning Kasper\u2019s then-new book, \u201cMercy<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt did me such good, that book,\u201d Francis said in 2013. Then Francis selected Kasper to give the tone-setting opening address of a major bishop meeting last year \u2014 the first of two historic meetings Francis called to seek input on how the church can live out the teachings of Jesus while applying them in a modern context.<\/p>\n

The second meeting ended last weekend with dozens of the church\u2019s top bishops producing a final paper meant as a suggested theological road map for Francis. As pope, he has final say on whether the church will make changes to things like the place of divorced and remarried couples or how churches should relate to families with same-gender couples. While the document they agreed to suggests no changes to practice \u2014 including not adopting Kasper\u2019s call for Communion to Catholics who divorce and remarry outside the church \u2014 it unmistakably gave new priority to open dialogue, the possibility of more local control and mercy, three of Kasper\u2019s hallmarks. Even on the topic of the remarried, many saw an open door in the proposal\u2019s unspecific wording.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was at the heart of negotiations,\u201d said Bradford Hinze, president of the Catholic Theological Society of America and a student of the German church.<\/p>\n

While Kasper\u2019s Communion proposal, which became the most hot-button topic at the synod, was not approved, the ideas to which he has devoted his life now seem to have priority among the pope\u2019s guiding principles. The question Francis will answer in the coming weeks, theologians say, is how he plans to meld his obvious desire for a more pragmatic, flexible church with one still devoted to traditional ideas about the family.<\/p>\n

Francis biographer Austen Ivereigh, who attended the synod that ended last week, said while Kasper clearly influenced Francis, the reason the German is getting so much attention is because the church is swinging toward things he has been raising for decades: the need for the church to focus less on the forming of theological discussions and much more on the day-to-day care of people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Catholic Church terms that is a very significant shift. It may not look like it from the outside, but it is,\u201d Ivereigh said. \u201cDoctrine and pastoral action aren\u2019t in contradiction, but they are in tension.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of the reason Kasper is important is because he is part of the wealthy, theologically prominent German church \u2014 the home of Pope Benedict. Ivereigh was among those who called it \u201ca breakthrough moment\u201d for last week\u2019s synod, after weeks of bishops debating, when the German group was able to hash out a kind of compromise as various groups worked toward creating a final paper. That a famous reformer like Kasper was able to come to agreement with a towering conservative like Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, head of the Vatican\u2019s doctrine-enforcing arm, said everything.<\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"A bishop takes a selfie with Cardinal Walter Kasper, center, at the end of the synod of bishops at the Vatican on Oct. 24. (Alessandra Tarantino\/AP)<\/div>\n

That was a key moment, and it hinged on leaving some questions unanswered.<\/p>\n

While Francis brought Kasper\u2019s name into the spotlight \u2014 his tome on mercy went from 1,000 books sold to 70,000, in 10 languages \u2014 he wasn\u2019t as obviously visible during this synod. Some say that was by design, as he\u2019d become such a controversial figure. Kasper in a way has become a metric for the forces shaping and dividing the Francis papacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first heard what Francis had said [at his first Sunday blessing], that he had mentioned Kasper, I went to YouTube to watch his speech and hear it for myself,\u201d said Thomas Stark, a theology professor at the Benedict XVI Academy of Philosophy and Theology in Heiligenkreuz, Austria, who has written essays highly critical of Kasper. \u201cAt that time, I had fear that things would go the way that they have. All the things that are happening now. Kasper is not the root. But he is, at the moment, the most prominent representative of a movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kasper drew great attention in February 2014, when he spoke at the first synod on the family. There, he expounded on his Communion proposal for divorced Catholics, saying it would not infringe on church teachings about the indissolubility of marriage. Rather, he said, through penance, they could earn a path back to the sacrament \u2014 a suggestion that scandalized some in room.<\/p>\n

Francis\u2019s precise position on Kasper\u2019s proposal remains unclear. But the decision to grant him such a powerful pulpit nevertheless had the effect of elevating the progressive theologian who had stepped aside from full time duties during the tenure of Pope Benedict XVI.<\/p>\n

\u201cKasper, a man in semi-retirement, suddenly became the name giver of factions within the church. Out of nowhere, there were now \u2018Kasperites,\u2019\u201dsaid a senior German cleric at the synod who spoke on the condition of anonymity. \u201cI think it started an unhealthy focalization on Kasper. It made him a symbol, and a kind of scapegoat for those who didn\u2019t like his ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rev. George Augustin, head of the Cardinal Walter Kasper Institute in Vallendar, Germany, said\u00a0it is wrong, however, to describe Kasper as a \u201cliberal.\u201d Rather, he described the cardinal as someone who simply wants the church to have \u201ca dialogue with the modern world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking about how Kasper has been demonized by some in the church, Augustin said, \u201cit is sad and unfortunate because I think all these so-called conservative Catholics, especially in these fanatic times, have misunderstood what Kasper has said.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe never questions the indissolubility of marriage,\u201d Augustin said. \u201cHe is only talking about a pastoral way for helping those who are in a situation where there is no way for them to come back to their first marriage to find a full place in the church. I would say he is in line with Pope John Paul II in much of what he says. They misunderstand him, and they started a big campaign against him. But all he is talking about is mercy and a pastoral way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kasper declined to comment for this article, saying in an e-mail that he was feeling ill. But in an interview last weekend with the Italian press after the synod, he said he was satisfied with the final recommendations to the pope.<\/p>\n

On his pet issue \u2014 Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics \u2014 the synod offered a vaguely worded recommendation. As part of a way to bring divorced Catholics closer to the life of the church, the synod raised the concept of a case-by-case analysis by priests of each couple\u2019s situation. While never mentioning a reinstating of Communion rights, it did not explicitly exclude it either. It\u2019s left to the pope to clarify.<\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"Cardinal Walter Kasper speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in his home at the Vatican in September 2014. (Domenico Stinellis\/AP)<\/div>\n

\u201cI am satisfied, a door was opened on the possibility to give the Communion to the divorced remarried,\u201d Kasper told the Italian newspaper Il Giornale. \u201cThere\u2019s some opening, yes, but consequences haven\u2019t yet been talked about. Now it\u2019s all in the hands of the pope, who will decide what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

After serving for years as the bishop of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, one of Germany\u2019s largest dioceses, he was brought to Vatican City by Pope John Paul II, taking over the church\u2019s office on dialogue with other Christian faiths in 2001.<\/p>\n

A key moment in the relationship between Francis and Kasper came several days before Francis was anointed by the conclave in March 2013. Kasper had recently obtained a few Spanish translations of his book \u2014 simply called \u201cMercy.\u201d Inside the Vatican\u2019s lodgings, he happened to hand one to an Argentine cardinal staying in the room across the hall. That cardinal was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who would shortly become Pope Francis.<\/p>\n

Who says \u201cthere is no such thing as fate?\u201d said the Rev. Bernd Hagenkord, head of the German language section at Vatican Radio.<\/p>\n

Kasper was one of a handful of clerics who would later stand behind Francis as the pope gave his first blessing in St. Peter\u2019s Square. It was a new and higher profile role for the cleric. During the papacy of John Paul II, Kasper would engage in heady theological debate with a fellow German cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger, who would become Pope Benedict XVI. That debate, which played out in public, focused on whether the church should be \u2014 as Kasper argued \u2014 less centralized,\u00a0giving more freedom and control to local bishops\u2019 groups and individuals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s at the root of this is that rules do not apply themselves. They have to be applied and they may be applied differently in different circumstances,\u201d said Terrence Tilley, a Fordham University theologian who participated in a public dialogue with Kasper last year.<\/p>\n

Kasper chose to retire four years ago and had been far less in the public eye when Francis pulled him back there.<\/p>\n

His re-emergence has appeared to re-energize him and other clerics seen as reformists \u2014 as well as their opponents. Last year, Kasper\u2019s conservative critics penned an entire book aimed at refuting the theology behind his arguments.<\/p>\n

Those arguments \u201cshare the same main issues, openness and mercy,\u201d said Bishop Johan Bonny of Antwerp, Belgium, a liberal cleric who made headlines last year by openly calling for the church to recognize the spiritual value of same-sex relationships.<\/p>\n

Yet because of Francis\u2019s penchant for ambiguity, it\u2019s not clear what he thinks of Kasper\u2019s proposals \u2014 particularly the idea to give Communion to the divorced and remarried. Kasper suggested at one time Francis supported it but later said what Francis actually backed was broader debate.<\/p>\n

Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington and a close Francis ally, said Kasper was less visible at this year\u2019s synod, compared with last year\u2019s, \u201cbecause it became clear that there wasn\u2019t a groundswell of support\u201d for his proposal. \u201cHis voice became less audible, but that doesn\u2019t mean his voice or ideas went away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, Kasper\u2019s fingerprints were all over the one minor victory scored by liberals at the synod: a vague reference to an \u201cinternal forum\u201d that could bring divorced and remarried Catholics closer to the faith.<\/p>\n

The theological term refers to the private relationship that exists between a priest and his parishioners. Reformists had wanted to explicitly state that through penance, the priestly relationship could be used to eventually restore Communion rights. Though Communion rights for divorced Catholics were never mentioned in the final synod text, the mere fact that the internal forum was made was interpreted as a breakthrough for liberals. They say the language gave the pope the maneuverability he needs to make such a declaration should he choose.<\/p>\n

The language came from the German working group \u2014 the one including both Mueller and Kasper.<\/p>\n

Interviews with five participants in the group suggested its generally collegial atmosphere was punctuated by tense moments, particularly as Kasper and other reformist bishops and cardinals sought to sway Mueller with a legal-like case citing the scholarly evidence for a selective\u00a0application of church rules based on each parishioner\u2019s unique situation.<\/p>\n

German Bishop Franz-Josef Bode said that eventually, the body of cited evidence brought Mueller around to the position that a crack in the door could be opened that would give Francis the final say.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis path we are describing is not a general opening, it is an opening under very strict criteria,\u201d Bode said.<\/p>\n

The types of examples theologians mentioned as exceptions might be whether a woman becomes Catholic in places in the world where polygamy is common, and she is in a polygamous marriage. Should she have to leave her family? What about condoms for someone who is HIV positive? These are not the most common cases, but the Kasper proposal heightened debate about when exceptions are okay \u2014 even if the specific proposal was rejected.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t done yet,\u201d Hinze said. \u201cFrom the perspective of a lot of people who left the synod, it\u2019s very \u00a0much viewed as not a done deal. A lot of people said for the first time people were talking about things that mattered. Francis said, \u2018You can\u2019t say to anyone: This can\u2019t be said.\u2019 And Walter Kasper embodies that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stefano Pitrelli in Rome contributed to this report<\/em><\/p>\n

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By Michelle Boorstein & Anthony Faiola \/\u00a0Stefano Pitrelli in Rome contributed to this report. German Cardinal Walter Kasper arrives at Clementina Hall to exchange Christmas greetings with Pope Francis in 2014 in Vatican City. \u00a0(Sipa USA) In the coming weeks or months, Pope Francis is expected to come out with a significant teaching on how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[92,98,15,48],"class_list":["post-959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-washpost","tag-papa-francesco","tag-profili","tag-religioni","tag-vaticano"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stefanopitrelli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stefanopitrelli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stefanopitrelli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stefanopitrelli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stefanopitrelli.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=959"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.stefanopitrelli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":960,"href":"https:\/\/www.stefanopitrelli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959\/revisions\/960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stefanopitrelli.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stefanopitrelli.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stefanopitrelli.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}