Pope earns rare praise from leading German leftist

[rug]

(Reuters) - Pope Benedict has reaped praise before his visit to his German homeland next month from one of the last people one would expect -- the sharp-tongued leader of the former communists from old East Germany.

Gregor Gysi, parliamentary leader for a small party in the German Bundestag called The Left, thanked the conservative pontiff Thursday for consistently preaching that a modern society must have moral norms in order to function properly.

"It won't work without the concept of the good," he wrote in the weekly Christ und Welt. "But modern science can't tell us what is good. Its concepts focus on empirical experience. Ideas such as morality play no role there."

Despite his reputation as a staunch conservative, Gysi wrote, Benedict turns out to be a modern theologian who says societies need both religious traditions and rational arguments to forge the moral consensus they need to operate.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/25/us-germany-pope-leftist-idUSTRE77O7JX20110825

[cleanhippie]

1. The pope preaches that society must have moral norms? Is child-rape a moral norm now?

I mean, considering the RCC and the pope's role in hiding and protecting child-raping priests for DECADES, I guess they consider it to be a moral norm. It would certainly explain alot.

[rug]

3. Hell, I had #6 in the pedophile pool.

I understimated you.

[cleanhippie]

5. So is child-rape a moral norm then? If the church hides and protects those that do...

what conclusions can we draw from that?

[rug]

8. Thanks, I won my money back now.

[cleanhippie]

9. Its really sad that instead of dealing with child-rape in your church, you bet on it.

Things become so much clearer every time you deflect away from this issue, rug.

[rug]

12. No, I'm betting on your predictability.

So far I'm in the black.

[cleanhippie]

16. While the rest of us deal with an issue you refuse to. How expected.

[darkstar3]

2. Another man who believes that religious tradition is necessary for morality.

Sometimes I think people who are studying salesmanship should stand back and look in awe at religion.

[rug]

4. You should google Gregor Gysi.

[darkstar3]

6. I think everything I need to know about his view of morality is contained in the letter he wrote.

If you feel like using teh google today, though, try researching just how easy it has been for people throughout history to be moral without religion.

[rug]

7. that's fine with me but iy makes your characterization of him foolish.

[darkstar3]

15. It's not a characterization at all. He flat out writes it in his own words in the letter you posted.

And that isn't the tenth time that this moronic idea has made its way onto this board. I think people would do well to recognize the salesmanship of the religious and recognize that morality doesn't require any form of faith.

[LeftishBrit]

10. Well, Gysi and the Pope have things in common

They both represent ideologies - Christianity and Communism - which have many noble aspects, but have often been corrupted when incorporated into hierachical organizations.

[edhopper]

11. Science

can't tell us what is good?

Religion doesn't have a great track record either.

[rug]

13. Actually, I don't think science has an opinion on good.

[edhopper]

14. True

but the logic of " we must then turn to religion" seems flawed.
A sort of God of the gaps for morality.