The following comes from an Oct. 3 Reuters story.
Hans Küng, Roman Catholicism’s best known rebel theologian, is considering capping a life of challenges to the Vatican with a final act of dissent — assisted suicide.
Küng, now 85 and suffering from Parkinson’s disease, writes in final volume of his memoirs that people have a right to “surrender” their lives to God voluntarily if illness, pain or dementia make further living unbearable.
The Catholic Church rejects assisted suicide, which is allowed in Küng’s native Switzerland as well as Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and four states in the United States.
“I do not want to live on as a shadow of myself,” the Swiss-born priest explained in the book published this week. “I also don’t want to be sent off to a nursing home … If I have to decide myself, please abide by my wish.”
Küng has championed reform of the Catholic Church since its 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council, where he was a young adviser arguing for a decentralized church, married priests and artificial birth control. The Council did not adopt these ideas.
A professor at the German university of Tübingen since 1960, Küng was stripped by the Vatican of his license to teach Catholic theology in 1979 after he questioned the doctrine of papal infallibility and ignored Vatican pressure to recant.
The university responded by making him a professor of ecumenical theology, securing him a post from which he wrote dozens of books, some of them best-sellers, and many articles.
In the third and final volume of his German-language memoirs, Erlebte Menschlichkeit (Experienced Humanity), Küng wrote that a sudden death would suit him, since he would not have to decide to take his life.
But if he does have to decide, he said, he does not want to go to a “sad and bleak” assisted suicide center but rather be surrounded by his closest colleagues at his house in Tübingen or in his Swiss home town of Sursee.
“No person is obligated to suffer the unbearable as something sent from God,” he wrote. “People can decide this for themselves and no priest, doctor or judge can stop them.”
Such a freely chosen death is not a murder, he argued, but a “surrendering of life” or a “return of life to the hands of the Creator.”
Küng, who writes openly about his Parkinson’s and other medical problems in old age, said this death was compatible with his Christian faith because he believed it led to the eternal life promised by Jesus.
He cited the late Pope John Paul’s public struggle with Parkinson’s and the silent suffering of boxer Muhammed Ali, also afflicted with the disease, as models he did not want to follow.
“How much longer will my life be liveable in dignity?” asked Küng, who said he still swims daily but is losing his eyesight and his ability to write his books by hand as usual. “A scholar who can no longer read and write – what’s next?”
To read entire story, click here.
I am sorry for his declining health. He came into the world dependent upon others for his survival. He is afraid to give up control over his life and to trust others to do the right thing for him. As I took care of my mother in law I watched her become a “child” again. Needing help with everyday activities and yet so giving of her heart. If he checks out before he feels his life is no longer worth living he will cave to the idol of his own importance. Maybe he needs this humbling stage of life to atone for all of the poor teaching he has given the world throughout his life.
lisag — beautiful comment.
“How much longer will my life be liveable in dignity?” asked Küng.
And there is the rub. While my heart aches for Kung, more from a spiritual standpoint than physical, he misleads himself and others into believing that the human concept of ‘dignity’ rises above submission to the will of God. In all of it’s inherent humiliations.
Thank goodness Our Lord Jesus Christ didn’t think the same when he was stripped, scouraged, crucified, derided and spit upon during His agony on the Cross while Our Blessed Mother watched, prayed, and yielded to God’s plan. That is giving oneself back to God – not this modernist construct that will lead many astray – and at the moment of death which is most important.
God have mercy on us all.
+ In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen. Lord, please help this man repent and surrender in humility to your will. Please unite this man’s suffering with your suffering on the cross for the salvation of souls, his and others. Please forgive him, and let none of his false teachings lead others astray. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen. +
Yes,
Looks like ordinary grace to be saved he’s passed by and an extraordinary grace of mercy would be needed to save him. Perhaps Benedict will intercede before the Throne of God. Otherwise, well, you know…. Much prayer by many people!
Enough of this heretic already he is so 1960’s yet he is in full “communion” with the Roman Catholic Church, and the S.S.P.X. are treated like lepers!!!!! Take our Holy Church back already, enough is enough I will no longer be silent about the heretics and modernists destroying the Church and a total return to The Traditional Latin Mass the Mass of All Times that will NEVER die!!!!!
Janek I feel your pain.
Listen to yourself, Janek, please. Do you really think the Lord Jesus, who would have died for Hans Kung alone, with or without repentance, could possibly be pleased with your comment?
Paul: Do you really believe that the Lord Jesus who did die for Hans Kung takes delight in one of his chosen few (that is priests) persisting in heresy while leading others to sin and eternal separation from God?
Our Lord Himself said that it would have been better for Judas had he never been born. That is not mean, but truth. Our Lord also said He would vomit the tepid out of His mouth.
While Janek may be filled with the passion of the Sons of Thunder, at least he is impassioned for the Lord and for the soul of Hans Kung.
Sorry Ann, but I’m not convinced. “Enough of thus heretic” doesn’t translate as “impassioned for the soul of,” but rather contempt for a person made in the image and likeness of God. And yes, it is proper for the Son of Man to judge Judas….and improper for you, Janek or I to do so. Hans Kung’s teachings, though? Well that’s another matter.
Whether you are convinced or not is of no consequence, Paul. Janek would not be so impassioned in his responses if he weren’t concerned for souls. While it seems that you are more concerned with how seemingly ‘Christian’ you or others look.
As to judging, you may want to look to yourself for you assuredly judged Janek based on his writings.
That said, I doubt Christ himself would have passed your test on charity when dealing with the Pharisees. (Specifically those with the prestige and position to cause ruinous scandal to themselves and countless others.)
Hans Kung was/is no poor man with no influence or notoriety dying quietly in a corner, Paul. So let your passions attend the reality of the situation. Kung’s ‘teachings’ on suicide are like the final call in a round up for the last bus to Hell.
You attribute words and intentions to me that I didn’t type…you give credit to Janek for intentions he didn’t voice as well…It’s hard to be persuaded by those kinds of arguments. Sorry.
Perhaps I am reading too much into your words, Paul:
“Do you really think the Lord Jesus, who would have died for Hans Kung alone, with or without repentance, could possibly be pleased with your comment?”
Why this tutting when Janek was merely expressing justifiable frustration with a renowned heretic who, even now, is taking the opportunity to spread anti-Catholic rhetoric that, if engaged in during end-of-life especially, will eternally separate souls from the Beloved? Paul’s passions are engaged. Passions that wouldn’t be engaged if he didn’t have a care for souls, truth, the Church, etc.
You may not be convinced of this, but that doesn’t really matter. Your words could be similarly analyzed and come up twisted in their intent – as I have supposedly done to you.
But ask yourself – what would Jesus have done or said? Human beings, their souls in particular, are temples of the Holy Ghost. That is the House of God. Hans Kung, and those like him, are trying to pervert that concept and make the soul into something that is man-centered. They are attempting to sell God’s people a bill of goods. And they are succeeding in droves.
That said, and in that situation, I like to mediate on Our Lord as He was when He crafted a whip and drove the sellers from the temple out of zeal for His Father’s House. My soul. With blows and the violent turning over of the seller’s tables.
His passion wouldn’t scare me or scandalize me. It would edify me and let me know that He cared and was desirous of protecting me from the wolves that like to garb themselves as teachers.
It’s that kind of zeal, that deep and often seemingly unpleasantly bold love that could see Him on the Cross.
Not sure if that explains my defense of Janek, but that’s about all there is. Again, if you are unconvinced, that matters very little as that is not the point.
…correction, Paul.
In my last post I misstated (perhaps not) that, “…Paul’s passions are engaged.” I mean to say Janek. Then again, it would seem that something is engaged in you so perhaps that should stand.
The Lord giveth, and Hans Kung taketh away, meanwhile also urging others to drink the lemonade should they so choose, following the teachings of Hans Kung. Hans assures us all that risking our immortal souls is not an issue with God but offers no money-back guarantee about that, redeemable on Judgment Day. Trust him, he’s a doctor of theology.
The Vatican declared that Hans Kung is no longer to be considered a Catholic theologian not function in a teaching role.
https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19791215_christi-ecclesia_en.html
To Father Kung: Just because something can be done does not mean it should be. Please do not kill yourself. Think of the bad example you will give to the young, to the elderly and to mentally ill. I am sorry for your suffering. I will ask the Lord to lighten your burden and to remove this temptation.
Hans Kung has lead thousands, maybe even more, to perdition through his heretical teachings and the bishops who allowed him to continue share in his guilt.
Pray that he does not die in this final act of defiance of God’s Church.
I do believe he once spoke at the Religious Education Congress, REC, but I am not sure.
May God have mercy on an amoral America!
Viva Cristo Rey!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
Countless souls have been misled by Hans Kung. His influence has affected generations and it will continue to effect generations to come. There will be those who still call themselves Catholics who will cause more doubt and more confusion to others and create more difficulty for faithful teachers by suggesting that Hans Kung should be canonized because he dared to care about the sufferings of so many. They will carefully taint the lemonade and they will write that Han Kung tread where others feared to go on a daily basis. There will even be those who will romanticize a Hollywood movie about Hans Kung’s life of caring for the suffering of those who are dying. They will not keep foremost in mind that Hans Kung’s misleading influence could eventually cause many others the greatest suffering of all. The cost of their eternal life. Pray for Hans Kung to repent while he still has time.
Catherine I agree with you. Although I have never heard of this man before. praise God! I don’t know his history but I trust what you are saying. I know that you get your facts well and are a good soul. Yes I agree and may God hear our prayers for his true repentance.
I didn’t do my research on him because I found it to be pointless but telling from this article, he is truly wrong on wanting to take his life.
“Men’s courses will foreshadow certain ends.” Kung is caught in his own false logic as tightly as was old Nietzsche. Let us pray he will escape back to the truth.
I am saddened to learn of Father Kung’s condition. He is a brilliant man and a gifted writer. I’ve read many of his books and my Roman Catholic faith has grown as a result. While I do not agree with all of his positions, particularly this one (assisted suicide), I think his bold efforts to challenge the Church and all of the world religions to work for the betterment of humanity (Global Ethic) are supported by many. Perhaps he could learn something from Stephen Hawking about how to cope with and adapt to physical decline and challenges. May God grant him a peaceful and natural death.
If you were to read much about how Stephen Hawking is said to treat other people, including his two ex-wives, caregivers (one of whom was married, but with whom he had an affair, later married, and still later divorced), relatives, etc., and the fact that he has recently published his conclusion that there is no God, I would not be surprised if you were perhaps to remain in awe of the intellect that God lent him for a time but to reconsider holding him up as a model of anything one should aspire to emulate in his or her private life.
Bill, you are kind and compassionate. We should all pray for Father Kueng. Wasn’t it Pope Francis who said “Who am I to judge?” Kueng’s great heresy was to deny the doctrine of papal infallibility and its validation by Vatican I. How ironic! There are many today who question the validity of the decrees issued by Vatican II. Should they all be declared heretics now? The “Old Catholic Church” that split off after Vatican I still exists here and there, a mere remnant. Will those V2 critics, like the SSPX, eventually become another remnant? Theology is not an exact science. God will judge us all in the end, including Father Hans Kueng. May God have mercy on his soul.
” I think his bold efforts to challenge the Church and all of the world religions to work for the betterment of humanity (Global Ethic) are supported by many.”
Sounds familiar in more ways than one. Such creative trolling but the consistent red flags always appear. Lucifer was supported by many. Lucifer also used bold efforts in a prideful attempt to change “Global ethics.” Sacred Scripture tells us what happened to Lucifer and to those who pridefully drank Lucifer’s poisonous lemonade.
The disguised goal topics may be different, such as the vague complaining about the Church’s mistreatment of women or same sex marriage but the methods are the same. The method that trolls are using is to say, “While I do not agree with all of his positions, particularly this one (assisted suicide), I think his bold efforts to challenge the Church and suicide), and all of the world religions to work for the betterment of humanity (Global Ethic) are supported by many.”
Saul Alinsky overly praised Lucifer’s bold efforts too. “Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins — or which is which), the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom — Lucifer
No thank you Mr. or Mizz Troll.
cont.
Revelation 12:4 “And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered; that, when she should be delivered, he might devour her son.”
Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible
Catherine is right….look how some are followers of this man…Bill is one who compliments this man’s work. How many more souls lost because of his work…..it will take much more work from the church to correct those errors. Maybe they can reach out to Bill and others of like mind before it’s too late….maybe that gives us a big clue as to why we have so much dissent and heresies in the church
Good. And, good luck, Mr. Kung, when you meet the Lord immediately after death!
not St. Christopher comments are disturbing to me…..why is this good? Are you forgetting God’s commandments?
Choosing to end your life by assisted suicide is dignified? Even now this man has the luxury of being given extra time to make the right decision and he can’t even get that right…a heretic to the end. He even has the gall to tell God that what he might choose to do would not in the least offend Him. I suppose one must assume that someone who has been so unalterably opposed to truth his whole life must in the end die as he lived and be a lesson to the rest of us and cause us to tremble. “There but for God go I”.
Very sad story.
Reminds me a dab of another Swiss, Doctor Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, who had written so many inspiring books about death and dying — only to renounce them all when she herself got sick.
Father Hans Küng and Father Joseph Ratzinger are the same age, and used to teach as colleagues in Germany—Father Küng would sometimes give Father Ratzinger a ride home in his car because Father Ratzinger only had a bike, and when it rained, it was not much fun cycling home!
How much better for Father Küng to ask his former friend and colleague, Pope Emeritus Benedict, for refuge at the Vatican, where they could live out their final days together, discussing theology as they used to, praying, debating, and talking about their Catholic Faith, rather than throwing in the towel? German is the native language of both men, so they would need no translator, either!
Goodness me, if I were to have retired from the papacy because of a need to spend the rest of my days in prayer and quiet contemplation, and perhaps study or pleasant visits with old friends, I would not think to waste a moment of my few remaining years on earth in the company of a heretic and dissident! Why invite unnecessary discord into one’s life if one is in need of spiritual and physical peace? I can relate to that already, and I only have a few gray hairs!
“A scholar who can no longer read and write – what’s next?” What about a life of prayer? It can be very useful.
By all means we should pray for his conversion we are all sinners, but he has led countless souls into the abyss not following the teachings of Holy Mother the Church.
Maybe I missed it in the article or background – but where does it say that Suicide ‘Improves’ things?
Matter of Fact – where is the information he has on what happens to the Soul Afterwards – or is it just a supposition that like the song (MASH) Said:”suicide is painless and brings on many changes…”?
Who knows – perhaps he will be the first to Return from Suicide and share the video showing it is better than going to Disneyland – Not.
It was observed long ago that “The Revolution Devours its Young” – as does the ‘Tolerance’ Industry today. Who needs GID Therapy – when a dose from Dr. Death ‘solves the problem’ much more quickly and cleanly::
Woman legally euthanized in Belgium over depression after sex change
BRUSSELS, October 4, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A 44-year-old Belgian woman struggling with gender confusion has been legally euthanized after her sex change procedure was botched, resulting in physical deformities she said made her look like “a monster.”
Nancy Verhelst was killed Monday by the same team of doctors who… claimed their patients’ emotional distress was so severe as to make life “unbearable” for them.
In Verhelst’s case… severe gender confusion that led her to believe her only path to happiness was to become male instead of female.
– Verhelst toward a life of self-hatred that led her to begin hormone therapy in 2009, followed by a double mastectomy and surgery to build a simulated penis in 2012. But, Verhelst told Het Laatste Nieuws, “none of these operations worked as desired.”
“I was ready to celebrate my new birth,” said Verhelst. “But when I looked in the mirror, I was disgusted with myself. My new breasts did not match my expectations and my new penis had symptoms of rejection. I do not want to be… a monster.”
Having worked for a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon for a while who had performed 10,000 sex change operations on patients, and having seen all the before, during and after photographs in the files as the patients went through the typical long series of surgeries, hormones and hair removal procedures, and having met a number of those patients myself, I can report from the front that tragically, the patients are deeply troubled as a rule when they come in, undergo horrific treatments during the long process of change, generally have horrifying physical results that are beyond description, and are generally even more distressed when they realize they’ve paid a fortune to look seriously deformed. Even if they revert to their birth gender, they will never again appear anything remotely akin to normal, and it is my opinion that these procedures should be made illegal to protect the consumer from himself or herself. It is harder for them to find a partner after they become so deformed, and several have committed suicide or even been murdered afterward, often leaving their families bereft and in serious debt if they loaned them the money for these procedures.
But to think the doctors would kill them – legally! – because their lives were unbearable afterwards – good heavens! Whose lives: the patients (yes!), or the doctors to whom they are no doubt complaining, embittered, and suing?
This popular and extremely expensive series of surgeries and treatments indeed results in change – but it is not unlike Obama’s chants for change when he ran for office!
Kutting Edge Gender
” worked for a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon -10,000 sex change operations… my opinion that these procedures should be made illegal.” ML
Well Said Maryanne – Have You participated in any ‘Panel Discussions’ (like the Misandrist Farce at Santa Clara) – as your insights are truly valuable?
Perhaps CCD Itself might sponsor some Public Debates on the subjects it reports on – Although admittedly finding those on the Opposite side willing to get Contradicted in a Public Debate is akin to searching for a Lost Tribe.
For the PC Thought Police controlling ‘kollege’ – Free Speech / Exchange of Ideas, Including those in Favor of Catholic Teaching – is the last thing they want students exposed to.
BTW – My own take is there are two very different classes of ‘Tranneez’ – Those with Fetishes (like male drag queens) and those with Political Axes to Grind, like the Steroid Dykes claiming to be “New Men”.
The former can be linked to some sort of ‘sexuality / orientation’ (though Author Tammy Bruce in her book “The Death of Right and Wrong” pops their balloons quite sharply) based on sex thrills.
By Contrast – The Steroid Dykes I have encountered (like the Santa Clara Mau Mau Session) represent the most Extreme Hate Driven Exterminationist Misandrists I have ever seen.
The claim to be “New Men” – isn’t about Admiring Males and wanting to be like them – it is about Exterminating the Y-DNA BioManPigOppressorPatriarchy’ –
Via BAMN BAMN – To Bash Men, By Any Means Necessary.
Don’t forget to include that that poor, dear woman was told from birth that her mother had no use for her because she was a girl and that the mother felt absolutely no remorse on her poor daughter’s death and said that she never wanted her but only a boy. I’m sorry but that is not a fair example, Michael and I think that tortured young woman is forgiven by our loving God. Please pray for her soul and may God have mercy on her…may she finally find eternal joy with Him. Her mother is utterly to blame.
It certainly does seem that the mother was to blame for the most part. I wonder if the father had a part in her life also, and if he was also to blame because he would not accept a girl.
Euthanasia is not Catholic. Bl. Pope John Paul II had it exactly right with his teachings of the culture of Death. Abortion, sterilization and euthanasia are all liberal sacraments. I wish Pope Francis would speak more on the need to confront Modern Culture. We do not need inculturation now.
Let us pray for this man, that he does not give into despair — the unforgivable sin. Christ can still forgive him if he only asks his forgiveness for his sins against the Church.
This evil, yes, I mean evil, priest should have been excommunicated decades ago. He has probably done more damage to Holy Mother Church than Luther did. It took Pope John Paul II to silence him,, but he has still managed to attack and destroy the Church he was ordained to serve. We must pray for him that he dies in the state of grace, but then, if he commits suicide, then there is no much hope. May God have mercy on him.
Hans Kung, to put it succinctly, is PRIDE personified.
Himself, uber alles.
The logical conclusion of a self-serving life, the burden of arrogance and theological nihilism. Make yourself small Hans. It just may save your life.
Exactly what are his heresies?
When each of us faces the end, how will we differ from Kung?
Good cause, surely you are not comparing men like Blessed Pope John Paul II to Hans Kung.
Caroline, with regard to Kung’s heresies, there are too many to list them all: start with these [I have included the book title and year reference to briefly validate my points]: 1)The Church is not infallible–at all. “Let heresy be constructive, not destructive.” (Kung: The Church, 1967). 2) Jesus is mainly a human, not divine person. Jesus’ miracles he calls “exaggerations” (Kung: On Being A Christian 1974) (oxymoronic title, no?). 3) The whole “People of God”, the whole Church, is anointed with priesthood. There is no unique sacramental priesthood, no “ordination.” (K: The Church; Why Priests?, 1971). 4) Each Christian (he eschews “Catholic” ) “has a moral duty to reject Church teachings” (K: Can the Church Be Saved, 2011). 5) Papal Infallibility and Magisterial teaching infallibility does not exist (K: “Infallible? An Inquiry.” (1971). Hans Kung long ago renounced any faith when he lapsed into the post modern German functional atheism he really holds, in my view. There is no Jesus Christ, Son of God; there is no Spirit working in the Eternal Church; there is nothing. That is why it is logical that now he wants to commit suicide (a view he first floated in a book of his in 1998, by the way, “Dying with Dignity.” We must pray for these diseased great intellects (throw in Rahner; Raymond Brown; Charles Curran, Schillebeeckx): something terrible happened to them around the 1960’s and 1970’s.
That something has a name, and his name is legion and he wants us all to end like this, believing in nothing, feeling alone and hopeless, living on the fumes of pride. (that’s quite a list, Steve…thanks for sharing that)
May we have the grace to keep our faith and courage til the end that we may be with God for eternity. Even now this man could be restored to our loving Father by repentance and contrition. How many people meet an untimely end, unable to say goodbye to family and friends, to confess sins or reconcile with God? Whenever I catch myself starting to feel self-pity or anger at others, I just remember who I’m pleasing by such weakness. I remember that satan loves to see us succumb to our baser nature …gloats over our failures…is slavering for our very souls. Who are we pleasing? Who are we wounding? Who is Kung pleasing by choosing to self-destruct? Who is he imitating? Who else chose his own time to die after he threw away 30 pieces of silver?
If Han Kung were right in all the things he supposedly said, and he was not, we certainly would not need him as a priest, or any Catholic priest for that matter. “Priests” like this pull the rug right out from underneath themselves as far as a reason for their even being a priest. As St. Paul said, “If Christ rose not from the dead, our preaching is in vain.”
Anyone who calls Hans Kung a “heretic” is either 1) a liar or 2) a moron.
Heresy is: Pertinacious adhesion to a doctrine contradictory to a point of faith clearly defined by the Church is heresy pure and simple, heresy in the first degree. But if the doctrine in question has not been expressly “defined” or is not clearly proposed as an article of faith in the ordinary, authorized teaching of the Church, an opinion opposed to it is styled sententia haeresi proxima, that is, an opinion approaching heresy. Next, a doctrinal proposition, without directly contradicting a received dogma, may yet involve logical consequences at variance with revealed truth. Such a proposition is not heretical, it is a propositio theologice erronea, that is, erroneous in theology.
What many forget is that Kung used to be a mentor for Pope Benedict and that while Benedict sharply disagreed with Kung on many issues, he still respects him (see the surprise that many had when Kung and Benedict had dinner shortly after Benedict’s elevation and held a polite debate about theology).
Benedict was the one that stripped Kung of his teaching credentials in 1979 (As Cardinal Ratzinger). Yet, Kung DID NOT dispute this decision of Church authority. Technically, his theological positions are considered “erroneous in theology” which is why he’s still an ordained priest. The difference is that the SSPX defiantly ordains priests and bishops outside Vatican authority.
It’s sad to think that Kung, because of his sufferings, wants to end his life. It seems to make A mockery of all those wunderfull
Christian martyrs who suffered long with debilitated diseases and offered their sufferings to God with gladness for the conversion
of sinners. I pray that Fr.Kung does the same.