I’ve always been an admirer of Küng. He was a prodigious writer and speaker. Notably, he was censured by Pope John Paul II because he would not “bring his opinions into harmony with the doctrine of the authentic magisterium.” The magisterium is the Church's teaching authority, vested in: (a) the bishops, as successors of the Apostles, under the Roman Pontiff, as successor of St. Peter, and (b) the Pope, as Vicar of Christ and visible head of the Catholic Church.
As a consequence, in 1979 it was decided Küng could no longer be considered a Catholic theologian or function in a teaching role. Nevertheless, his many books have taught me a great deal. Much insight into our faith is revealed in “Christianity: Essence, History, and Future” (1994). Father Küng was a professor at the University of Tübingen and founder of the Global Ethic Foundation.
A particularly fascinating and thoughtful book he wrote when Pope Francis assumed leadership of the Church was “Can We Save the Catholic Church!?” (2013). An example of how he angered Vatican past leadership was this statement regarding women and the priesthood: “…Jesus and the early Church were ahead of their time in holding women in high esteem; by contrast, the Catholic Church today lags far behind the times, and behind other Christian churches where female pastors and bishops have fulfilled their roles very successfully…”
He ended his book with this statement: “…the Medieval equation of ‘obedience to God = to the Church = to the Pope’ patently contradicts the word of Peter and the other apostles before the High Council in Jerusalem: ‘we must obey God rather than any human authority’ "(Acts 5:29)
Needless to say, Father Küng never pulled any punches, and he suffered many a body blow. He is now with the Father. One wonders how he was received. Likely, quite joyfully!
Deacon David Pierce
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