Hans Küng warns against 'condemning the Church wholesale'

Hans Küng

Two weeks after his 'open letter to Bishops' which was critical of the way the Church has dealt with clerical sex abuse cases - theologian Hans Küng has warned against "condemning the church and its priests wholesale".

"It would be a bad generalisation to place the whole clergy and Catholic Church under suspicion," Küng said in an interview with The European, a Berlin-based news service.

The 83-year-old Swiss-born theologian told The European he still agrees with Pope Benedict XVI on some key issues.

He said: "In the course of its five years, this pontificate has seen many breakdowns, as well as many wasted chances, above all in its approach to Protestant churches. He said he also felt the Pope had missed an opportunity to consolidate links with Jews and Muslims.

But, he affirmed: "The Pope and I are united on the relationship between reason and science, the necessity of dialogue between religions and the need for worldwide ethics, even if my hopes of a reformist course have not been fulfilled," Küng said.

Source: The European/Church Resources

See also Hans Kung's Open Letter to Catholic Bishops: www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=15996