Why What the Pope Wears Matters

I can almost hear people that are not Catholic and even their more "progressive" Catholic allies go what does this have to do with the simple message of Jesus. It is does matter because where you fall on the matter of Priestly Garb is a deeply theological matter in many ways. If not then there would not be such a ruckus.

I thought Father Z has a excellent article with his great comments at Catholic Herald: Arco on the theological value of Benedict XVI’s vestment statements .

Here is a part or the original article.:
As the Australian theologian and philosopher Dr Tracey Rowland argues in her excellent new book Ratzinger's Faith; The Theology of Pope Benedict XVI, beauty plays an important role in Pope Benedict's faith, not as an optional pedagogical tool or a "question of taste" but as an integral part of his understanding of Christ. While Dr Rowland does not write about vestments, she outlines Pope Benedict's theology and how it informs his understanding of the liturgy. Beauty and God are inseparable and for Pope Benedict the liturgy is "a living network of tradition which had taken concrete form, which cannot be torn apart into little pieces, but has to be seen and experienced as a living whole".

Summing up Pope Benedict's attitudes both to some of the liturgical malpractices which came out of certain interpretations of Vatican II and the need for beauty in the liturgy, Dr Rowland writes: "Beauty is not an optional extra or something contrary to a preferential option for the poor. It is not a scandal to clothe silken words in silken garments. Catholics are not tone deaf philistines who will be intellectually challenged by the use of a liturgical language or put off by changeless ritual forms. However, banality can act as a repellent."

Some how Benedict that is urging us to get back to the roots, have a radical conversion to Christ, is a believer in Vatican II, and thinks the Church has a mission for the poor and oppressed sees no contradiction here. Take note!!!