Can We Save the Catholic Church? by Hans Küng

Can We Save the Catholic Church? Reviews

• 
  Harry Allagree

  In a previous review of a book by Hans Küng, I offered my opinion that he is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, of Catholic theologians in the modern era. As I completed this latest book of his, I see no reason to change that opinion. Bear in mind that this is a book he's written rather late in life, at the age of 86, having celebrated his birthday only three days earlier from this review. Suffering from Parkinson's disease, he's not in good health. He has given his all as a loyal Catholic & theologian for over 50 years. He was one of the youngest experts at the 2nd Vatican Council, the mind behind the drafting much of what eventually appeared in its various documents. He had an illustrious career at Tübingen University, has travelled all over the world, is extremely knowledgeable in ecumenism & interfaith dialogue. Because of his creative & innovative writing, though it is solidly based in the teaching of Jesus as related in the Christian Scriptures, he has been harassed, criticized, & demonized by numerous individuals in the Vatican Roman Curia, subjected to humiliation & indignities and, for over 20 years, been forbidden to teach theology in Catholic institutions. One would have to search long & hard for another individual with credentials as impeccable as Hans Küng's.
  
  Küng, somewhat encouraged by the new Pope Francis, states his position at the beginning of the book: "Let me begin by saying that I would have preferred not to have had to write this book. But with the appointment of Pope Francis, we have an unprecedented opportunity, not seen since the days of John XXIII, to fulfill the aims and promises of his Second Vatican Council, and truly bring the Church into a meaningful dialogue with the modern world…despite my often painful and bitter experiences with the merciless Roman System which up to now has governed the Church, the Catholic community of faith remains my spiritual home."
  
  Küng approaches his thesis, "Can we save the Catholic Church?", using a medical model, a description of a disease afflicting the Church, how it got that way, the things which need to be excised as well as the good things which must remain, a realistic prognosis, and finally a reasonable plan for a progressive cure. At the end of the book he says: "In this book, I have once again--this time at a very advanced stage of life--set forth in summary fashion my vision of a Church which could fulfill the hope of millions of Christians and non-Christians alike. It is a vision based on my experience over decades of careful study, and my experience of struggling and of suffering for it. It is a vision of how the Church could not only be saved and survive but also flourish once again."
  
  His presentation throughout the book is solid, coherent, reasonable. He makes a good case, and puts forth specific suggestions & strategies. In the end, though, he has to ask the question, & does: "To conclude, I have a final question: what is to be done if our expectations of reform are dashed?…the Medieval equation of 'obedience to God = to the Church = to the Pope' patently contradicts the word of Peter and the other apostles:…'we must obey God rather than any human authority'." Yet he also acknowledges (p. 337): "Those in power in the Vatican are not likely to abandon the power that has been accumulated since the Middle Ages."
  
  All I can say is that I share his vision & his hope. Nevertheless, his book hasn't removed the serious doubts in my mind. I don't know if it's possible. It will surely not happen in my lifetime!
• 
  Stephie Williams

  This book is written by the former Catholic approved theologian Hans Kung. He served as an adviser at Vatican II. His liberal views led to his license to teach theology being revoked by the Church; although, he did continue to teach theology at the German university where he was a professor because the Catholic Church did not have authority over German universities. Ironically, to me at least, is that he was never defrocked or excommunicated. He, at the time of the book, was still an ordain priest, doing priestly duties. A good deal of Kung’s views are opposed to current Church teaching. He is for the ordination of woman, married priests, some forms of birth control, some forms of abortion (I think), support of stem cell research, a more strenuous fight against sex abuse by priest, financial reform, and finally (and probably the most important) the severe reform of the Papacy and Curia with a return to conciliar rule, abolishing, what he calls, Medieval monarchical rule.
  
  In the book he spells out his critiques in the form of a medical diagnosis, using the scalpel of history and the gospel. After he thoroughly diagnoses the Church’s ills, he provides what treatment he thinks it needs. He calls on everyone from the parishioner, parish priest, lay leadership, bishops, and above to speak out and act locally whenever possible. He hopes that Pope Francis will be a force from the top down for the needed reforms and root out the festering wound that is the current Curia.
  
  Do to technical difficulties I am unable to make any remarks based on specific pieces of text. I went to continue this review and found that my notes had disappeared, and I delete the notes I had written, since I now have no way to check the accuracy of the quotes I used. After sometime on a chat with amazon they were unable again (this has happen with at least two other books) to bring them back. I got a refund for this book and another one, so there is now no way to retrieve any text by searching, so I will skip to my overall opinion.
  
  Kung presents his case well. However, I cannot agree with the gospel, but since the Catholic Church is rooted into it, it makes good sense to have the Church play it out as long as they cherry pick the good stuff. Kung does exactly that. It was a good book, and it is good to see some people within the Church are willing to take a liberal tack and stand up for reforms.
  
  I would recommend this book for any Catholic or anyone else interested in the Catholic Church. It may be an eye opener to some, but not all interested readers. And, of course, it should definitely be read by those in the Church hierarchy.
• 
  Tom Gorski

  Brilliant theologian nearing the end of his lengthy career...faithful to his priesthood even after decades of abuse from Rome...this is a good summary of his position. I have the utmost respect for his writing over these many, many years and voluminous works. That said and accepting that this is a summary of his position it can at times become repetitive and perhaps even a bit egotistic (although that may also be partially due to the translation from a strident German language). At times in this book, written in 2013 in his mid 80's and experiencing early Parkinson's apparently, he comes across as an angry old man - in particular when addressing issues with Pope Benedict (Ratzinger). He has every right to be angry with his church. And yet...he remains...and in that fact alone there is a message for all struggling Catholics. His hope is for a paradigm shift...it will happen...but in whose lifetime?
• 
  Tyrone_Slothrop (ex-MB)

  Il malato (terminale?) Chiesa sotto la lente del Dottor Kung
  
  libro importante, che si spera possa avere eco e scuotere le coscienze. Hans Kung abbandona ogni timore e si cimenta in una diagnosi impietosa e a tratti quasi disperata dello stato di salute della Chiesa Cattolica, di cui continua a sentirsi parte e che non abbandonerà mai. Per questo motivo la sua analisi lucida e chiara non è mai di parte, ma è come l'ultimo grido di un figlio che vede il terribile stato del proprio padre. A volte la visione è molto germano-centrica (con alcuni riferimenti specifici che suonano nuovi a noi italiani) e la critica si concentra su Roma e il sistema romano: Kung è convinto che un ritorno alle basi del Vangelo possa ridare vigore alla Chiesa e identifica il centro della corruzione con Roma - anche Ratzinger (vecchio amico di Kung e le cui strade spesso si incrociano) non è pienamente responsabile, sembra, in quanto rovinato dal sistema curiale in cui ha passato troppi anni....
• 
  David Bisset

  A Radical Agenda for Reform
  
  Hans Kung writes with scholarship and passion. He is indeed a modern prophet. He loves the Catholic Church, but does not refrain from sharp critique. He has a great vision of a genuinely Petrine ministry for the papacy. He hopes much from Pope Francis. Will this hope be rea!ised?
  
  
• 
  Charles Bell

  Exposes a lot of what's wrong in the Catholic Church.
• 
  ferrigno

  Dai regimi assoluti non viene mai nulla di buono.
  
  Mia madre, insegnante di storia e di educazione civica, me lo diceva sempre: «dai regimi assoluti non viene mai nulla di buono». Eppure, a una trentina d'anni di distanza, mia madre accetta l'assolutismo insito nella curia romana e tutto lo status quo: l'esclusione delle donne, l'obbligo del celibato (con la nefasta conseguenza dei non infrequenti disturbi alla sfera sessuale), il centralismo e il lusso inappropriato. Accetta, in sintesi, la sostanziale marcia indietro rispetto alle conquiste del Concilio Vaticano II, lontano ormai anni luce.
  
  Kung analizza anche questo fenomeno: molti credenti preferiscono interessarsi solo alla propria parrocchia, senza mai sollevare lo sguardo sulle oscenità della curia romana. Preferiscono non focalizzare l'attenzione sul marcio, per un misto di rassegnazione, ignoranza e filosofia dell'"occhio non vede, cuore non duole".
  
  Kung vuole contrastare soprattutto questo fenomeno. È perfino riuscito nell'intento di convincermi che una chiesa democratica è cosa desiderabile anche per gli agnostici e gli atei come me: dagli assolutismi non viene mai nulla di buono e la curia romana è una corte, per alcuni versi medievale, per altri cinquecentesca, ma incastonata nel XXI secolo, con tutto quello che ne consegue in termini di violazione delle libertà personali e dei diritti umani.
  Né il fatto che si vìolino i diritti di preti e credenti, né la mia condizione di non credente, mi autorizzano a ignorare tutto ciò, quanto il fatto di essere estraneo a un incidente non mi autorizza a ignorare i feriti.
  
  Quella di Kung è una critica scientifica, pacata, eppure ostinata. "Salviamo la chiesa" è un libro scritto da un prete teologo cattolico, principalmente con l'intento di svegliare i cattolici e in esso c'è tutto il sincero amore di Kung per la chiesa; l'amore di un ottantenne che ha preso parte al Concilio Vaticano II e che vede smontato il suo lavoro, pezzo per pezzo, in favore di un ritorno al medioevo.
  
• 
  Amber

  I appreciate Kung's call for reform in the church immensely. I also love that he is a very faithful and loyal Catholic, which is the viewpoint from which I am most interested in seeing where/how we can enact change in the church. I don't, however, like his all-or-nothing attitude, which tends to be true of most progressives and conseratives alike. I wish there was more discussion of how reform would lead to nuance in dialogue within the church- instead of the assumption that all reforms would lead to the goal that he, as a white male, has in mind.
• 
  Linda Rogde

  Not the easiest read but worth the effort - from a brilliant theologian of our times. Analyzes the historical framework from which some of the Church's most contentious positions- clergy celibacy, position of women in the Church, and artificial birth control arise. And offers some possibilities for the Church to consider how to modernize and make the Gospel message more relevant to people today.
• 
  Nick

  I love Hans Kung's refreshing and challenging view. He is the 'other' voice. His brother theologian became Pope. A great intellect, thwarted by events. His work is addressed to the leadership of the Church, though I am not certain who is listening (reading)
• 
  Christopher Johnson

  Time is a-wasting.
• 
  Mike

  Kung's argument is based on history, but warning, he's calling for huge changes. Catholics who see no need for change will hate this book.
• 
  Jo Christian

  Excellent stimulating please God some of it is put into effect