GERMANY
Spiegel
By Markus Grill
Hans Küng fought his whole life for the reforms being weighed by the Vatican today. In a SPIEGEL interview, the elderly Swiss theologian discusses Pope Francis’ chances to revolutionize the church, why John Paul II shouldn’t be canonized and what he hopes to learn in heaven.
Swiss theologian Hans Küng has been a voice for reform in the Catholic Church for decades on issues such as papal infallibility, the celibacy of priests and euthanasia. His advocacy cost him his license to teach Catholic theology and has led many to brand him a heretic. As the 85-year-old suffers from Parkinson’s disease and other ailments, he watches the church under Pope Francis contemplate many of the reforms he has long championed. He recently sat down with SPIEGEL for a wide-ranging conversation about his life and hopes for the future of the church.
SPIEGEL: Professor Küng, will you go to heaven?
Küng: I certainly hope so.
SPIEGEL: Some would say you’re going to hell because you are a heretic in the eyes of the church.
Küng: I’m not a heretic, but a critical reform theologian who, unlike many of his critics, uses the gospel instead of medieval theology, liturgy and church law as his benchmark.
SPIEGEL: Does hell even exist?
Küng: Alluding to hell is a warning that a person can completely neglect his purpose in life. I don’t believe in an eternal hell.
SPIEGEL: If hell means losing one’s purpose in life, it must be a pretty secularist notion.
Küng: Sartre says that hell is other people. People create their own hell — in wars like the one in Syria, for example, as well as with unbridled capitalism.
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