Response to “Is Benedict XVI really Innocent III?”

Submitted May 17, 2005

Forgive me, but the National Herald really needs to improve its quality and fidelity to Orthodoxy (if it's going to claim to be some sort of voice for the Orthodox community, that is). With all due respect to the Honorable Ambassador, the article "Is Benedict XVI really Innocent III?" published by the National Herald and displayed on the Orthodox News website is highly disappointing in its errors and viewpoints. Two things in particular are disturbing about this article:

1) Its condemnation of Cardinal Ratzinger's encouragement of US Roman Catholic bishops to deny Holy Communion to Roman Catholic politicians publicly rejecting the Roman Church's teaching that abortion is murder. Any faithful Orthodox Christian should agree 100% with this encouragement and, indeed, should advocate that such denials of Holy Communion not only be encouraged, but enforced! The Holy Orthodox Church condemns the murder of children and its "members" who support such murder in the US government should have the decency to remove themselves by name (as well as by belief) from the Church so as not to shame and degrade it and its Lord. The Roman Church has every right to deny the Eucharist to those who claim to be its members, but who do not believe what it teaches. We do not inherit church membership whatever our background; rather, we accept or reject the Faith of our spiritual forefathers in its entirety. If one wishes to pick and choose (abortion in, prayer out, homosexuality in, the celibate episcopate out...) what to accept and reject, then convert to Episcopalianism/Protestantism.

2) St. Benedict of Nursia, a Saint of the Orthodox Catholic Church (Greek, African, Palestinian, Russian, Albanian, or American, it makes no difference), compiled the Rule that became the guide for what later coalesced as the Benedictine Order. He most definitely did NOT found the Cistercian Order, which developed later out of the milieu Benedictine monasticism if I'm not mistaken (as all the early orders of the post-Schism Roman Church did). St. Benedict's Rule is, as far as I have read and heard, completely Orthodox Christian in teaching and is in the same patristic and monastic Tradition as the Rule of St. Basil the Great followed by most Eastern Orthodox monks today.



Volume 7 Number 20 - Tuesday, May 17th, 2005	A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY