"I Did Not Change, They Did"
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“I Did Not Change; They Did!“ Joseph Ratzinger, Karl Rahner and the Second Vatican Council by Oliver Putz ABSTRACT With their participation in the Second Vatican Council, two German theologians have been instrumental in shaping modern Catholicism like few others, namely Karl Rahner and Joseph Ratzinger. Both were collaborators on a wide array of issues in theology and ecclesiology, but their ways were to part ater the Council, and according to many observers, one of them, Ratzinger, was to undergo a signiicant and absolute change of heart. This change of direction does not cease to puzzle Catholics today, which makes it worthwhile to take a closer look at it. If indeed, Ratzinger not so much abandoned as developed further his already existing views, it would be of considerable importance for how we can think of the reception of the Council and its inal documents. If, however, Ratzinger did change completely, the question could be what caused this change and how does the conversion afect the Church. By comparing the development of both theologians before, during, and ater the Council, the present study wants to hypothesize that Ratzinger did not change as much as became more rigid in his already existing neo-Augustinian ideas, while Rahner probably underwent a far greater change following the Council.
“Si un hombre nunca se contradice, será porque nunca dice nada.“ Miguel de Unamuno Introduction Ever since in the early days of the irst session of the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council the participating bishops refused to discuss the schemata presented by the largely curial preparatory commission, it has been the common The notion that the reformers perception that at the Council two monolithic blocs faced of agreed on virtually all issues is in a clash over the future of the Church. According to lore, certainly an oversimpliication. the atempts of ultramontanist traditionalists to maintain the status quo failed due to the overwhelming conformity among progressive reformers.