I’m currently being info-evangelized by a Traditionalist Catholic via email and it’s pretty interesting. Even though I don’t agree with lots of what they stand for, it’s always worthwhile to consider a viewpoint which has aspects that are radically different from my own. And Traditionalist Catholicism certainly has that - in spades. (Here’s a link to one of the more popular Traditionalist websites for anyone who’s interested: Traditio)

For example, they firmly believe that Pope Benedict XVI is basically a bleeding-heart liberal or a modernist when it comes to Catholicism, since he essentially abides by the findings of the Vatican II council, in which he played an instrumental role. Based on what I learned about Ratzinger’s past in my own research, I find the idea of him being some kind of moderate to be extremely hilarious. But hey, that’s just me. I’m not a Traditionalist Catholic (or a Catholic at all for that matter - though I was raised one, I’ll admit).

Anyway, thanks to my new personal info-evangelist, I happened across what I find to be the first positive thing I’ve seen attributed to Ratzinger. In a 2002 interview, he’s quoted as saying:

“the Christian faith must give up its claim to truth,”

Hm… wait a second. I originally though the wording of that was different… that it said “sole claim to truth.” I’m kind of skeptical of the wording of that now, actually - especially since it’s only verifiable on a couple other websites (most of which seem largely Traditionalist). Perhaps a bit of info-evangelist propaganda?

There was one other quote which is much more readily verifiable. Ratzinger is said to have criticized the Italian Prime Minister in 2001 for saying Western Civilization is superior to Islam. Ratzinger responded:

“One cannot speak of the superiority of one culture over another, because history has shown that a society can change from one age to another,”

On a related note, in the other interview I linked, Ratzinger says, on the same topic:

When we speak of culture, we must distinguish the values of its historic realizations. The truth of the Christian faith appears to us in all its depth, but we mustn´t forget that, sadly, it has been darkened many times by the concrete behavior of those who called themselves Christians. Islam has also had moments of great splendor and decadence in the course of its history.

[…] It is true that the Muslim world is not totally mistaken when it reproaches the West of Christian tradition of moral decadence and the manipulation of human life. … This imposes on us a serious examination of conscience. What is important is to go to the roots of the values proclaimed by the different religions. It is here where a real interreligious dialogue can begin.

Like I said, this is the first not totally insane thing I’ve seen attributed to him so far. Although, I’ll admit, I’ve been more interested in uncovering the seemier side.

Anyway, its tricky territory once you start getting information from somebody who’s openly trying to evangelize you. As sort of an infophile myself, I appreciate their technique of just barraging me with all kinds of information, and then letting me sort through it however I may. I tend to like it better when people put their biases on the table in their discussions of what they are passionate about though. I know this is certainly how I try to approach this stuff myself.