Cardinal Lehmann: I don`t believe in Church

From the programme Cross Questioned on the 7th March. Video of the whole of the programme here www.swr.de/mediaplayer/player/webplayerframes.php?nurl=/imperia/md/video/quergefragt/2007/8.ram&prog_id=1198&type=&media=tv&descr=Sendung%20vom%207.%20M%E4rz%202007%20als%20Real%20Video&descr_long=&format=1. Minute 43 onwards!!

Interviewer: There are more and more people who don’t believe in the Church or Christendom, who are skeptical…..

......

Lehmann: I do not believe in Church and also not

Interviewer interrupts: You don’t believe in Church

Lehmann: No, I believe in God. One can only believe in God in the end

[Loud applause]

I believe the Church is a tool, a place, and a means where God can realize what he wants to do in this time. The Church belongs only to a second rank, beneath God.

In the last resort, one can only believe in God because the Church is only a means to an end. The Church is holy and at the same the Church of sinners. One cannot talk about a belief in church, as one can talk about the belief in God. This is theologically the case and has been believed over many hundreds of years.

The Cardinal also speculated that one day the Catholic Church will cease to exist.

The atheist who he was debating wondered how this fitted with Church teaching.

A Church-hostile website has said that he is a "heretic", a word that does not fall easily from the lips of such a source.

The ever-excellent kreuz.netalso reporting on this story says that the reaction of the Pope and the other German bishops will be interesting.

The Cardinal himself on who and what has influenced him, not least Karl Rahner, who had the idea that "anonymous Christianity" was possible.

Cathcon provides a reality check for Cardinal Lehmann from

The Nicene Creed.
Et unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam.

The Apostles' Creed
Credo in Spiritum Sanctum; sanctam ecclesiam catholicam; sanctorum communionem; remissionem peccatorum; carnis resurrectionem; vitam oeternam. Amen.

St. Cyprian
"No one can have God as Father who does not have the Church as Mother"

And further his flock in Germany pay a Church tax, as a result of their Catholicism, in case he has not noticed.

And finally,
The Church, in which he does not believe, made him a Cardinal.


Cardinal Lehmann who would not, it has been said, been a Cardinal apart for the intervention of the man on the right, Helmut Kohl, the former German Chancellor.