By Philip Pullella 23 hours ago
….Kasper says the Church needs a "paradigm change" to seek a solution to the problem of divorced and remarried Catholics and suggested that each case should be studied separately and couples possibly given personal dispensation from the rules.
He accused conservative critics of attacking him in order to undermine their real target - the pope.
"It is obvious that there are people who are not in full agreement with the present pope," he told the Jesuit weekly America. He accused conservatives of political maneuvering and using fear tactics to block potential change.
Kasper's most vocal critic is Cardinal Leo Raymond Burke, a Vatican-based American arch-conservative, who, along with four other like-minded cardinals launched a pre-emptive strike by publishing a book, "Remaining in the Truth of Christ", defending the status quo on rules for the divorced and re-married.
Burke, in a conference call with reporters this week, bluntly called Kasper's position "fundamentally flawed," accused him of "misunderstanding" basic Church teachings and called some of his statements "outrageous".
"I have to say that I find it amazing that the cardinal claims to speak for the pope. The pope does not have laryngitis. The pope is not mute. The pope can speak for himself," he said.
A Vatican source said "the pope is not thrilled" by the sometimes shrill tone of the debate even though he wanted to encourage dialogue. The source said Francis did not want the synod to be dominated by the "clerical ivory tower types".
Another persistent voice against change is German Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, the Vatican's top doctrinal official, who has belittled Kasper's calls for a more merciful Church.
"God's mercy does not dispense us from following his commandments or the rules of the Church," Mueller wrote in a book published earlier this year.
After the October synod, participants will continue dialogue locally and return next year for the main meeting. That gathering will present the pope with suggestions that could lead to changes in Church teachings.
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