chris@mcdonnell83.freeserve.co.uk           Previous articles by Chris

   October 24, 2012                              Chris McDonnell, UK   

A full and fearless life 

In the Tablet this week,  (October 27 pgs 10/11), Hans Kung reflects on his life as a theologian and catholic teacher,a title he held up to 1979 when John Paul II removed his accreditation to claim that position.

His life has been one of scholarship and enquiry, ever anxious to explore our Christian faith with an open mind and honest personal reflection. His writings have been copious and his public lectures, quite apart from his university  teaching, extensive and world  wide. He has challenged us to think from the time immediately before the Council to the present day.

By sheer weight, his output has been enormous. Setting that aside for the purpose of this Note, I would ask readers to refer to his Open Letter to the Bishops, already listed on this website, for in that he succinctly identifies the core questions that we face today. Go and re-read it and see what you think.

As he approaches his eighty fifth birthday, he has decided to call it a day.

He hopes to complete the third volume of his autobiography and that will be it.

The questions he has asked remain for others to continue the discussion.

But however we might feel about their validity and the tentative answers he has offered,
let us recognise the endeavour of his life’s work and the sincerity of his opinion