Edward Schillebeeckx

Father Schillebeeckx, a (Roman Catholic) Dominican monk, is one Christian theologian who has influenced me a lot. Having survived three enquiries into his 'unorthodoxy' by the Vatican, Schillebeeckx was asked why he continues to stay within the Catholic Church. To this, his reply went as : 'It is true that there are people in the Church today whose views I do not agree with it. However, if I move away from the congregration, it would imply that I want it to be perfect, here and now on earth. But no human institution can attain that perfection through itself, and to wish to reject it merely because it is imperfect is itself another heresy.'

Once he was asked what he does when he sees human beings suffering around him, and to this he responded : 'Oh, sometimes I just swear. Swear at God, I mean. Once when I heard that some of our Jesuit brothers had been gunned down in El Salvador I swore loudly. The next morning I told myself, 'Hey, I am a priest. I am not supposed to swear', but a voice within me replied, 'Don't worry. Swearing too is a form of praying. Just make sure, however, that you do something more than swearing.''