Kung in Conflict

By Hans Küng

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385175523
• ISBN13: 9780385175524
• Release Date: January 1981
• Publisher: Image
• Weight: 1.44 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A SYMPATHETIC PRESENTATION OF KUNG'S SIDE OF THE BATTLE

Leonard Swidler (who has written many books Catholic and religious dialogue matters) has edited the definitive book from the pro-Kung side, that is) on the controversy between the Catholic church and the Swiss Catholic priest Hans Kung, who in 1979 (one week before Christmas) was dismissed from his position as professor of Theology at the University of Tubingen in West Germany. Kung remains a priest "in good standing," although his license to teach "Catholic theology" has been revoked. This very large book is largely a collection of documents (usually "to" and "from" Kung), beginning with the controversy over Kung's book The church, and continuing with the even larger controversy over his later book, Infallible?: An inquiry, and then his very popular work, On Being a Christian. Swidler's comments to these documents are very brief, and only set the stage for them. A section, "New Pope, New Problems" deals with the actions since the ascent of John Paul II to the papacy. Documents such as the actual Declaration of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on December 15, 1979 are presented in their entirety, along with the responses of Kung. There is also a lengthy section on the "World Protest" over this action, with many "open letters" of support for Professor Kung presented. The final chapter in the books is Swidler's 3-page essay, "A Theologian-Historian's Evaluation," in which he poses the question, "Why does Kung get into trouble with the Vatican when other Catholic theologians do not?" Swidler argues that "the Vatican move against Kung .... violated not only a basic sense of justice but also the Doctrinal Congregation's own order of procedure." Since 1979, Kung has moved on (even publishing the second volume of his autobiography, Disputed Truth: Memoirs Volume 2), and the Catholic Church has moved on as well (making the former Cardinal Ratzinger Pope Benedict XVI); but this book remains a very valuable resource for anyone interested in this controversy.