Reincarnation or resurrection? Either
way, I’m back after a bit of a hiatus.
In my initial post I disclosed that some
of the books I’ll be reviewing have been published by the company for which I
work as an editor. The subject of this post is one such book, and I was very privileged
indeed to have edited the English translation (the original was in German). It's Night Conversations with Cardinal Martini: The Relevance of the Church for Tomorrow by Cardinal Carlo M. Martini and Georg Sporschill (Paulist Press, 2013). Cardinal Carlo Martini was a great
scholar, cardinal archbishop of Milan, Italy, and for quite a while was considered
papabile or worthy of being elected
pope. One can’t help but think what a different church it would have been had
Cardinal Martini been given the opportunity of occupying the See of Peter: more
humane, more in touch with the times, more down to earth, and thus, most
importantly, appealing to young people, who are, after all, the future. I
profoundly regret that this never happened.
Shortly before his death in August 2012,
Cardinal Martini gave an interview in which he challenged the church to embark
on a radical journey of change. He went so far as to assert that the church is
two hundred years behind the times. Some people responded by asking why he
never had the courage to come out and say these things earlier. Well, the fact
is that he was always tirelessly working to realize the kind of church he
thought it should be—the kind that would truly meet the needs of the People of
God. This book, Night Conversations, is
a fascinating, personal book that develops his thoughts and offers a
tantalizing glimpse of what the church might have been like had he occupied the
Chair of Peter. His partner in conversation is a fellow Jesuit and prominent
Austrian priest, Fr. Georg Sporschill. Cardinal Martini and Fr. Sporschill met
in Jerusalem, where the Cardinal had gone to live after his retirement, and
they became friends as they shared a passionate search for ways in which the
message of Jesus of Nazareth can still be effective for tomorrow. What can faith mean for life? What future is
there in the church for young people, and what must be changed so that
Christianity itself has a future? What would Jesus say today? Actual questions from young people serve as catalyst
for deep thought.
This is a short, well organized, well
translated book. Read it, reflect on it, and, if you agree, pray that another brilliant
and compassionate man of this calibre may soon come to the fore in church
leadership--one who will ensure the relevance of the church for tomorrow.
