Hat adorno Ratzinger Gelesen? Lazarus im "Jargon der Eigentlichkeit"

Abstract

Professor Ottmar Fuchs, a well known professor in several universities in Germany and abroad, former dean of the Catholic Faculty of Theology in the German University of Tubingen, has granted us permision to public this article. Prof. Fuchs analyzes here the interpretation given by Pope Benedict XVI of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, in his book “Jesus of Nazareth”. Of course, the Pope signed his book in his position as Joseph Ratzinger, the theologian, and not as a Pope and, by doing so, he clearly stated that his book was not an “act of the Magisterium”. Morever, Prof. Fuchs takes into account the limitations of the analysis of the whole book based only on a passage like Lk 16, 19-31. But he thinks it is possible, even in this case, to appreciate the way a person reads the text and, furthermore, based in this analysis, it is also possible to raise questions on the legitimacy of such interpretation. Actually, what does Ratzinger is to render here a reading normally unknown to us. It is not a reading focussed on a social level but on a spiritual emphasis concerning faith and incredulity. Having in mind Adorno´s work “The Jargon of Authenticity” where the German philosopher criticizes Heidegger and other German philosophers who denied the existence of objective truth, Fuchs wonders about the objective legitimacy of this interrpetation of the Gospel and
stresss on the meaning he considers to be the objective meaning of the biblical text.