Religion: Rome Sends a Strong Message

Chastised for dissent, a U.S. theologian loses his teaching license

Pope John Paul II began his reign eight years ago, at a time when theologians and laity alike were openly questioning some traditional teachings of the church. Since then the Vatican has attempted to restore a sense of doctrinal discipline; it removed renegade Swiss Theologian Hans Kung from his teaching post at the University of Tubingen in West Germany and silenced for a year Brazilian Franciscan Leonardo Boff, an advocate of Marxist-tinged liberation theology. Last week Rome moved against an American priest who has openly questioned the church's stance on sexual morality. Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, head of the Vatican's Congregation for...

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