Peter Seewald
Peter Seewald (born 1954), German journalist and writer.
Quotes
[edit]- We have such difficulty understanding this renunciation today because the relationship to marriage and children has clearly shifted. To have to die without children was once synonymous with a useless life: The echoes of my own life die away, and I am completely dead. If I have children, then I continue to live in them; it's a sort of immortality through posterity. ...
- The renunciation of marriage and family is thus to be understood in terms of this vision: I renounce what, humanly speaking, is not only the most normal but also the most important thing. I forgo bringing forth further life on the tree of life, and I live in the faith that my land is really God - and so I make it easier for others, also, to believe that there is a kingdom of heaven. I bear witness to Jesus Christ, to the Gospel, not only with words, but also with this specific mode of existence, and I place my life in this form at his disposal.
- from "Salt of the Earth: Christianity and the Catholic Church at the end of the Millennium: An interview with Peter Seewald," by Ratzinger, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1997
- Celibacy is not a matter of compulsion. Someone is accepted as a priest only when he does it of his own accord.
- from "Salt of the Earth: Christianity and the Catholic Church at the end of the Millennium: An interview with Peter Seewald," by Ratzinger, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1997
- Islam has a total organization of life that is completely different from ours; it embraces simply everything. There is a very marked subordination of woman to man; there is a very tightly knit criminal law, indeed, a law regulating all areas of life, that is opposed to our modern ideas about society. One has to have a clear understanding that it is not simply a denomination that can be included in the free realm of a pluralistic society.
- 1997 interview with German journalist Peter Seewald, quoted in "Tough-talking pope has history with Muslims, refuses to give in", The Washington Times (20 September 2006)
- From the outset, Bergoglio wanted to break with papal continuity, challenge what had been handed down, confuse it or simply cause "chaos", as Javier Martinez-Brocal says in his new book.
- Fin dall’inizio Bergoglio voleva rompere con la continuità dei papi, sfidare ciò che era stato ricevuto, confonderlo o semplicemente provocare ‘caos’ come fa nel nuovo libro di Javier Martinez-Brocal Says.
- As quoted in Nico Spuntoni, Il biografo di Ratzinger smentisce Bergoglio: "Nessuna continuità tra loro", ilgiornale.it (April 11, 2024)
- He had been in a wheelchair for some time, and his voice was barely audible. But his spirit was still alert. He conveyed great sadness about what is happening in Europe, the war and the situation of the Church. I asked him, Pope Benedict, why he had not yet met death. He replied that he felt he had to stay, as a witness to what he represented, a sign of his direction, of Christ's message, of the desire to strengthen the conscience of the faith and, above all, not to think about adulterations and structural changes.
- He is the most widely read theologian of the contemporary age, with over 13 million copies of his books on Jesus in circulation. Symposiums on him are held all over the world.
- There are not two Ratzingers, there is only one who practises theology not against but with the Church. To write his biography, I interviewed more than a hundred people who knew him, went to school with him, studied under him or for him. And as a journalist who accompanied him for almost 30 years, I am convinced that this definition is wrong.
- He was a humble and unassuming man. Especially in his years as Pope Emeritus, when he always refrained from criticising his successor, one always had the impression that one was in the presence of a saint. Benedict will be irreplaceable for the future of the Church.
- Era da tempo sulla sedia a rotelle, la sua voce si capiva appena. Ma lo spirito era ancora sveglio. Trasmetteva una grande tristezza per quanto accade in Europa, la guerra e la situazione della Chiesa. Gli ho chiesto, papa Benedetto, perché non ha ancora incontrato la morte? Mi ha risposto che sentiva di dover rimanere, come testimone di quanto rappresentava, un segnale della sua direzione, del messaggio di Cristo, della volontà di rafforzare la coscienza della fede e soprattutto di non pensare ad adulterazioni e cambiamenti strutturali.
- È il teologo più letto dell'età contemporanea, ogni suo libro su Gesù ha una diffusione di oltre 13 milioni di copie. Ovunque nel mondo si tengono simposi su di lui.
- Non ci sono due Ratzinger, ce n'è uno solo che pratica la teologia non contro ma con la Chiesa. Per scrivere la sua biografia ho intervistato più di cento persone che lo conoscono, sono andate a scuola con lui, hanno studiato sotto di lui o per lui. E come giornalista che lo ha accompagnato per quasi 30 anni, sono convinto che questa definizione sia sbagliata.
- Era un uomo umile e senza pretese. Soprattutto negli anni da Papa emerito, quando si è sempre guardato dal rivolgere qualsiasi critica al suo successore, si è sempre avuta la percezione che di fronte a papa Francesco stava un Santo. Benedetto sarà insostituibile per il futuro della Chiesa.
- From an interview of Paolo Valentino, «Per la Chiesa sarà insostituibile. Progressista o conservatore? Non ci sono stati due Ratzinger», Corriere della Sera (January 6, 2023)
External links
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