Belief or Nonbelief?: A Confrontation by Umberto Eco & Carlo Maria Martini

Author:Umberto Eco & Carlo Maria Martini [Eco, Umberto]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781611455991
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2012-01-12T06:00:00+00:00

Carlo Maria Martini

Men and Women — According

to the Church

Dear Martini,

It’s once again time for us to resume our conversation. And I must admit I’m a little sorry the editors have seen fit to make me go first every time; it makes me feel like a nag. Perhaps they’ve fallen victim to some banal cliche about philosophers specializing in the formulation of questions they don’t know the answers to and pastors always having the right answer. Fortunately, in your previous letters, you demonstrate how complicated and agonized a pastor’s reflections can be, thus disappointing those who might be expecting you to perform the function of oracle.

Before posing a question for which I have no answer, I’d like to put forth some premises. When a religious authority of any persuasion pronounces upon principles of natural ethics, the layman should recognize that while he can agree or not, he has no reason to challenge the authority’s right to make such a pronouncement — even if it is a criticism of the way the nonbeliever lives. Laymen have the right to challenge the position expressed by the religious authority only when it tends to force nonbelievers (or believers of another faith) to behave in a way forbidden by the laws of their state or religion, or prevents them from behaving in a way the laws of their state or their religion do allow.

I don’t claim that the inverse right exists. A secular man does not have the right to criticize how a believer lives — except, again, if it runs counter to the laws of the state (the refusal to allow one’s children to have a blood transfusion, for example) or limits the rights of those of a different faith. A religious perspective always proposes an ideal way of life, while a secular person sees an ideal life as the product of free choice, as long as that choice doesn’t impinge on the free choice of others.

I believe no one has the right to judge the obligations different creeds impose on their followers. I have no right to object to the fact that Islam prohibits the consumption of alcohol; if I don’t agree with this, I will not become Muslim. I can’t see why secular people are scandalized by the Catholic Church’s condemnation of divorce. If you want to be Catholic, don’t get a divorce. If you want a divorce, become Protestant. You only have the right to protest if you are not Catholic and the Church wants to keep you from getting a divorce. I confess that homosexuals who want to be recognized by the Church and priests who want to get married exasperate me. I take off my shoes when I enter a mosque, and when I’m in Jerusalem I accept that in some buildings, on Saturday, the elevators run on automatic and stop at every floor. If I want to keep my shoes on or control the elevator, I go somewhere else. There are receptions (very secular affairs) for which a

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