50 PART ONE: INTRODUCTION friends with him from the days of the Second Vatican Council and who was well acquainted with his personal journey with respect to the Catholic Church. In this sense, there was nothing secret or hidden in the attitude of the Catholic Church, neither at Taizé or in Rome. During the funeral of Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Ratzinger only repeated what had already been done before him in Saint Peter’s Basilica, at the time of the late Pope. There was nothing new or premeditated in the Cardinal’s act.124 What was unprecedented, though, was the spiritual path of Brother Roger that led to this level of communion with the Roman Catholic Church. His spirituality expressed an “inner reconciliation of the faith of his origins with the Mystery of the Catholic faith, without breaking fellowship with anyone,”125 as Cardinal Kasper paraphrases Brother Roger’s own words. On another occasion, Kasper comments: Such a personal journey cannot be copied. But, if I am not mistaken, a similar question arises today for many serious Christians. At this moment, the reconciliation between the Churches has reached a point where, with the grace of God, we must make a personal decision. Brother Roger showed us that we can do it without denying or renouncing anything and without breaking with anyone.126 He concludes: Brother Roger’s charism has radiated outward upon the community of Taizé brothers and, far beyond them, upon all Christendom. For this reason, it seems to me that Brother Roger’s personal journey, guided by the Holy Spirit, is a discreet indication by the Holy Spirit for the future ecumenical path.127 Concretely, Brother Roger’s charism also radiated upon the Bose community as Taizé’s spirituality and ecumenical commitment inspired Bose’s 124 L’Osservatore Romano, “Interview with Cardinal Kasper Three Years after the Death of Brother Roger: The Monk, Symbol of Spiritual Ecumenism,” L’Osservatore Romano (Weekly edition in English), August 27, 2008. Consulted at https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/ library/interview-with-cardinal-kasper-three-years-after-the-death-of-brother-roger-1336. Brother Richard of Taizé notes that Pope John Paul II invited all the brothers of Taizé to receive communion during the European Meetings in Rome in 1982-1983 and 1987-1988: Brother Richard, “Unter Einem Dach Am Selben Tisch: Eucharistischen Gastfreundschaft in Taizé,” Review of Ecumenical Studies 12, no. 2 (2020): 336, https://doi.org/0.2478/ress-2020-0021. 125 L’Osservatore Romano, “Interview with Cardinal Kasper” 126 Kasper, “Mercy and the Ecumenical Journey of Brother Roger,” 295. 127 Kasper, 294.
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