At first, Wolfgang Beinert was hesitant. “Who’s going to read this?” he asked himself. Memoirs of a Catholic theologian who “never played in the premier league”? In the end, 616 pages came out – and they are as exciting as a thriller. The former Regensburg professor of dogmatics turns 90 on March 4th and has a lot to tell. About a childhood in Breslau, about fleeing and starting over in Franconia, about his student days in Rome, about his habilitation with Joseph Ratzinger. Above all, he gives an insider’s view of the development of the church up to the present day and the behavior of its clerical protagonists.
When Beinert decided to enter the Bamberg seminary after graduating from high school in 1952, he wanted to preach the “wonderful message of God’s freedom” and learn to preach well. Among the theological disciplines, dogmatics appealed to him the most: “I had to get to know faith systematically, all sides, byways and detours. Only then can one say what is going on.” His grades were good, so in 1952 his Archbishop of Bamberg sent him to the Collegium Germanicum in Rome.
At priestly ordination: no feast for the mother
“Rome was a stroke of luck for my biography,” says Beinert. In this way, he received the tools to think for himself at the Jesuit institution. In 1959 he was ordained a priest in the Eternal City. But a shadow fell on the brilliance of the day. Because while his father and brother were allowed to eat the banquet in the college with him, the priest mother, who was “highly praised” by the clergy, was denied entry, as Beinert notes. A year later, the rule was repealed: “Our sadness about the mental cruelty of the mother didn’t fix it.”
It is comments like these that show Beinert’s critical spirit. The student did not hold back when it came to Joseph Ratzinger, with whom he habilitated. Over time, the theologian, who taught dogmatics at the University of Regensburg from 1978 to 1998, says it became clear to him that sooner or later the Catholic Church would have to slide into a major crisis. “At best one can be surprised at the quantity of evil and in which places one finds it everywhere.”
He also doesn’t mince his words when it comes to celibacy. A resolute “yes” is added when it comes to his person. Otherwise he accuses the church of being partly to blame for the lack of priests due to its immobility. Even today there are enough vocations, but not to celibacy. “I know of a number of young people who feel the need for pastoral care, but also for a lifelong partnership,” writes Beinert in his book.
The hope for changes was so great when John XXIII. announced a council. Beinert can still clearly remember January 25, 1959. It was a Sunday, he was sitting with fellow students when a fellow student suddenly broke the unbelievable news. They asked themselves what this Pope wanted when everything was fine in the church. In fact, since the death of Pius XII. In 1958 there was only peace and quiet, the theologian analyses. The euphoria at the Council (1962-1965) and at home was great among bishops and laypeople.
The Pentecost mood was soon history. Reason: The following marriage and family pastoral with the ban on the pill – the opposite of what the council wanted, says Beinert. Paul VI was a sharp-thinking man, but was afraid of his own courage. It is also this fear of change that has accompanied the other popes in their decisions since then.
Sunday Meditations on Youtube
In contrast, the theologian refers to an episode in the Gospel of Matthew: Peter gets out of the boat and walks across the water to meet the Lord. When the apostle no longer looks at Jesus but at his feet, he sinks. “Jesus calls him of little faith – the harshest insult that has come from his mouth,” explains Beinert. His conclusion: Only those who look to the Lord and go forward can survive in trouble. Otherwise you should stay in the boat or not get in at all. If you want to hear more of Beinert’s interpretations of the Bible, we recommend his Sunday meditations on YouTube.
Wolfang Beinert on Youtube
Beinert produces videos with Sunday meditations on the Gospel of the day on YouTube.
