Liturgy becomes corrupt if it is turned into a “show”, warns Cardinal Ratzinger

Madrid, Spain, Mar 3, 2004 / 22:00 pm

In an interview published in the Spanish daily “La Razón,” Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, warned of the danger of transforming the liturgy into a “show” and altering it according to one’s whim.

“When we do this we corrupt it,” said Ratzinger.

When asked about his severity towards “those who use the liturgy in an exclusively communicative way,” the German Cardinal clarified that “the liturgy is communicative and pastoral.”

“I oppose those who think the liturgy is communicative if it is turned into some sort of ‘show,’ thereby diminishing this great work of art which is the liturgy, when it is celebrated properly and with interior participation.  The faithful do not feel they are involved in ‘creative’ celebrations that don’t speak to them,” he added.

Likewise, he expressed dismay that “all too frequently the liturgy is treated as something that can be subjected to one’s whim, as if it belonged exclusively to us.  But when we do this we end up corrupting it.”
 
In the interview the Cardinal also expressed his concern with the most serious problems the Church is facing, such as “the current difficulty in believing.” 

“Relativism is now natural to modern man.  To think that truth comes from God is considered today to be arrogant and incompatible with tolerance.” 

Ratzinger went on, “It seems that to be tolerant one must consider all religions and all cultures equal.  In this context it becomes more difficult to believe.  A quiet loss of faith is the result, with no sizeable protest, in a large section of Christianity.  Tolerance is not indifference, but rather love and respect for others and mutual help on the path of life,” he concluded.