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Vatican City — With the recent death of Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, Catholics who call for church reform on issues such as homosexuality and priestly celibacy have lost one of their last leading lights in the top echelons of the church’s hierarchy.
Martini, who died Aug. 31, was a Jesuit and an archbishop of Milan from 1980-2002. More importantly, he was considered for decades the informal leader of “liberals” inside the church. But he has no clear successor in the current crop of cardinals.
He had a “rare combination of skills as a scholar, pastor, communicator and holy man,” said the Rev. Thomas Reese, a church expert and fellow at Georgetown University’s Woodstock Theological Center. This allowed him to be an independent voice in the church that prizes conformity to tradition. Read more
Sources
- Alessandro Speciale in The Washington Post
- Image: The Sydney Morning Herald
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News category: Analysis and Comment.
