Great theologian, but not only. Joseph Raztinger, who today announced plans to abandon the pontificate at the end of the month, he was also the man who led the Catholic Church to look beyond capitalism. "A revolution", according to Giulio Sapelli, professor of economic history at the University of Milan and intellectual of Catholic inspiration.
FIRSTonline – Professor, what was Ratzinger's contribution to the evolution of economic thought in the Catholic world?
Sapelli – Ratzinger was the Pope of Caritas in veritate, an encyclical which has the same importance as Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum. Indeed, I would say that it is even more important, because with that text the Church for the first time admitted in the clearest possible way the "polygamy of forms of exchange", the need for different forms of property to exist: not only the capitalist one, but also the cooperative one and the non-profit one, in view of an economy that is truly at the service of the person. Caritas in veritate indicates that there may be an economic and social formation in addition to capitalism, which it seems to me has not given good proof of itself in recent decades. I believe that this encyclical will have extraordinary importance not only on the theological level, but also on that of economic reflection: it denounced finance as an end in itself, speculation, unemployment. Caritas in veritate is animated by a veritable indictment of capitalist accumulation and profit for its own sake.
FIRSTonline – How do you evaluate the Pope's resignation?
Sapelli – I consider them a tragedy. Ratzinger said he wanted to leave "for the good of the Church", I believe he was plagued by the endless series of trials to which our Lord subjected him: corruption, pedophilia, the Vatican finance scandal, the IOR... The his is truly an emblematic figure of the great challenges that the Catholic Church has had to face, including the controversies against celibacy, which is the most sacred aspect of the priestly vocation.
FIRSTonline – Was it really a surprise for everyone?
Sapelli – Not really. For some time there had been discussions in the most informed and shrewd theological circles of this possibility of the resignation of the Holy Father. It is not a bolt from the blue: this has been debated for some time in North America and Germany. On the other hand, admitting this principle does not mean questioning the presence of Christ on earth, represented by the pontiff, but the principle of spiritual obligation, which is the very essence of the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church. Throughout his life, from the XNUMXs onwards, Ratzinger argued with Hans Küng, the great Catholic theologian who however was suspended a divinis by the Church, and the discussion was precisely on the principle of authority. It seems that Hans Küng has now won.
FIRSTonline – What is your opinion of Ratzinger and his pontificate?
Sapelli – Benedict XVI will be remembered over the centuries for the theological innovation precisely on this question, which is the heart of the difference between Catholic theology and all the others, above all from Protestantism, or the principle of pontifical authority. This is why I say that the choice of him was particularly dramatic. But Ratzinger was also the Pope who made Rosmini saint, author of the work “Of the Five Wounds of the Holy Church”. His reflection also focused on Christology, on the presence of Christ in history, reconnecting with the great interpreters of what is the most intimate and profound vocation, also managing to look, as Rosmini said, into the wounds of the Church. Ratzinger, in the wake of Romano Guardini, the great German theologian, even though he was born in Italy, continued his theological reflection up to the last days of his life. He also spoke with the greatest Western intellectual, who is Jürgen Habermas. In short, I have always been a follower and a supporter of Ratzinger. Today's decision was a tragedy.
