I missed this yesterday. It's an opinion piece by a theologian named Hans Kung -- a man who knows Ratzinger well. Here are a few excerpts.
To this day the Curia, which in its current form is likewise a product of the 11th century, is the chief obstacle to any thorough reform of the Catholic Church, to any honest ecumenical understanding with the other Christian churches and world religions, and to any critical, constructive attitude toward the modern world.
Under the two most recent popes, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, there has been a fatal return to the church’s old monarchical habits.(snip)One shouldn’t be misled by the media hype of grandly staged papal mass events or by the wild applause of conservative Catholic youth groups. Behind the facade, the whole house is crumbling.
While
Kung is critical, it seems he wants better for the church. With an eye
toward the future, he states his hope that the next pope will be
open-minded. Fat chance of that. Made interesting reading, though. (Note
that Kung ignores the church's position on gays, though he champions
the ordination of women. Perhaps he axed gays from the op-ed in hopes of
reaching more bigots with his arguments. Or maybe he's just another
anti-gay Christian git. I have no idea.)
