One Baptism
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System, theology, generally not persons (except for specific persons, who may be looked at later, in their open and gross sins), moving on.... I heard thousands of people say the Catholic church is evil, diabolical even the whore of babylon. ...
Did you know that officially, The Magisterium of Rome, including the pontificate, and the congregation for the doctrine of the faith, that the Roman [Catholic] Church, is the great "whore" ["Meretrix"] of Revelation 17, see for yourself:
"... In the 1950's Fr. Hans Urs von Balthazar published the work Casta Meretrix ...
... In 1988 Fr. von Balthazar was made Cardinal by Pope John Paul II. ..." - http://www.traditioninaction.org/ProgressivistDoc/A_043_BalthasarMeretrix.htm
"... Catholic theologian Hans Urs von Balthazar, a friend and colleague of both Pope John Paul II and Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) ..." - http://wquercus/faith/casta_meretrix.htm
"... Balthazar was moved by his parents to Stella Matutina College run by the Society of Jesus in Feldkirch, Austria. ... In 1929, having submitted his thesis, he entered the Society of Jesus, better known as the Jesuits (in Germany, since the Jesuits were banned in Switzerland until 1973). ... In 1932, he moved to Fourvieres, the Jesuit school at Lyon, for his four years of theological study. ...
... At Balthazar's funeral, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later to become Pope Benedict XVI, said, speaking of Balthazar's work in general, "What the pope intended to express by this mark of distinction [i.e., elevation to the cardinalate], and of honor, remains valid, no longer only private individuals but the Church itself, in its official responsibility, tells us that he is right in what he teaches of the faith." [17]" - Hans Urs von Balthasar - Wikipedia
We can also bring in Savonarola [Roman Catholic Dominican, of which it is written, "... He was not a heretic in matters of faith ..." - http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13490a.htm ], which is now being considered for 'beatification' [The present-day Church has considered his beatification. [44] Innocenzo Venchi, O.P. "Initiative dell'Ordine Domenicano per promuovere la causa do beatificazione del Ven. fra Girolamo Savonarola O.P.," Studio Savonaroliani Verso il V centenario ed. Gian Carlo Garfagnini (Florence, 1996) pp. 93-97], for he [as referenced in Casta Meretrix [29]] stated:
"A few weeks before he died, he gave a lecture to priests and religious on the corruption's of the Church ... 'Rome', he exclaimed, 'is a second Babel, the seat and center of all vice ... Rome is more godless than all other cities and nations, more godless even than the Turks and the heathen; it is polluting the whole Church'" (J. Schnitzer, Savonarola II [1924], pp. 708f.)."
Further it was written by him, that,
1 Savonarola, in his poem on the corruption of the Church (1457), may have been directly inspired by Dante. He too mourns "the chaste maid" and "noble mother", who, through the pressure of imperial power, wealth, and secularization in Rome, has gradually been transformed into the whore of Babylon:
"Then I spoke up: "Lady, tell me, I pray.
Who wounded thee so deeply in this way?"
"The whore of Babylon", said she, "by shameless lies
Has trapped me, made me her chosen prize." ..." - Explorations in Theology, Vol. 2: Spouse of the Word by Hans Urs von Balthazar
Thus Hans Urs von Balthazar, as quoted from the link previously cited above:
"The figure of the prostitute [forma meretricis] is so appropriate for the Church ... that it ... defines the Church of the New Covenant in her most splendid mystery of salvation. The fact that the Synagogue left the Holy Land to go and be among the pagans was an infidelity of Jerusalem, the fact that 'she opened her legs in every road in the world.'
But this same movement, which brings her to all peoples, is the mission of the Church. She must unite and merge herself with every people, and this new apostolic form of union cannot be avoided.
(Hans Urs von Balthasar, Casta Metetrix, in Sponsa Verbi, Brescia: Morceliana, 1969, p. 267)."
Joseph Ratzinger said of Hans:
"... meeting Balthasar was for me the beginning of a lifelong friendship I can only be thankful for. Never again have I found anyone with such a comprehensive theological and humanistic education as Balthazar and de Lubac, and I cannot even begin to say how much I owe to my encounter with them." - A Resume of My Thought | Hans Urs von Balthasar | Ignatius Insight
As the Jesuit Jacques Servais notes,
""... These two essays [Casta Meretrix & Who Is The Church?; Balthazar] doubtless share a certain affinity of spirit with an important statement in lumen gentium ..."
"... the first explains the sense in which the Church can call herself at once "harlot" ..."" - http://www.communio-icr.com/files/05._servais40-4_v2.PDF
"There are good reasons for identifying Babylon in Rev 17-18 with Rome, but inconsistencies with the text arise if ancient imperial Rome is intended. In this study, an important argument for identifying Babylon with ancient Rome is presented and examined. Its weaknesses include neglect of Ezek 16 and 23 as a background for Rev 17, and failure to grasp the full biblical significance of the metaphor of prostitution. It is then shown that in the Old Testament this metaphor refers exclusively to idolatry and/or practices associated with idolatry. Furthermore, apart from very few exceptions, it is always applied to the idolatry and infidelity of God's people. The use of the metaphor in Rev 2 is consistent with this general rule. Moving on to Rev 17, Babylon's prostitution is interpreted in line with Old Testament usage, as an idolatrous love of worldly riches and wealth. Textual evidence from Rev 17-18 is then presented to verify that Babylon does indeed represent a community of God's own people. ..." - http://www.newtorah.org/Babylon of Rev 17.HTML
"... Of particular relevance in Ezekiel 16 is the emphasis on Jerusalem's pagan origins (Ezek 16,3), especially as an explanation for the infidelities for which she will be duly punished (Ezek 16,44-45). A similar pattern would explain how the Babylon of Rev 17-18 came to be described in terms of such diverse OT citiesvas Babylon, Tyre and Jerusalem. Interpreted in the light of Jerusalem in Ezekiel 16, this 'new' Babylon was originally a pagan city, which later converted to God. At one point, however, she became unfaithful by succumbing to the temptation of wealth and she is about to be judged by God for the corruption she spread throughout the world (14,8; 17,2; 19,2). Interpreted in this way, the Babylon of Rev 17-18 is not, cannot be, pagan Rome simpliciter, but Rome which converted to God in the past, but then, at some stage, reverted back to idolatrous habits ..." -
http://www.newtorah.org/Babylon of Rev 17.HTML
Yep, Roman Catholicism itself, under a subtly sly theology, identifies 'herself' as the "whore" of Revelation 17, the so-called Casta MERETRIX.