Cardinal Martini is dead. After his death, his last words were revealed, saying that the Church is 200 years out of date. So rang the headlines throughout the world this past weekend.

You probably haven’t heard of him, but he was a revered biblical scholar and retired archbishop of Milan. From all accounts a very good man, the press greeted his demise with attention worthy of the passing of a pope. Perhaps for good reason. He was the liberal’s idea of the future of the Church and might have been pope had it not been for Parkinson’s disease which crippled him before the last conclave.

The deathbed interview, in which he criticized the Church, made the press long for those “what if” days if he had become pope. So was the cardinal fair? Were those words from beyond the grave that the Church is outmoded, outdated, irrelevant true? A lot of folks are saying “yes” but I humbly disagree and say “No!”

Think about it for a second. Was the Church supposed to spring up from Christ and the Apostles and conform itself to the times? Was the Gospel to be molded to the culture of the day? When a crisis appears between the world and the Church, should the Church capitulate in order to retain her members?

Cardinal Martini basically says “yes.” That’s a harsh assessment of a very good man, but when one reads the interview, one is struck by how reactive he wants the Church to be rather than proactive. His idea of evangelizing the world is watering down some very key areas of morality and other Church teaching. He does this out of love for the Church, but if his ideas were to be taken seriously, the foundations of the Church would surely shudder.

Yet, he can’t be dismissed. He was a brilliant man who loved his priesthood. So we have to pay him the attention he deserves. Besides, he raises questions that need to be answered.

Nonetheless, this great biblical scholar seems to have glossed over the passage of the Gospel where the rich young man asks Jesus what he must do to have eternal life. Jesus answers that he must give away all that he has and come and follow him. The young man cannot do this, and he walks away.

That tableau haunts me, for Jesus looked in sadness at the young man. He did not run after him saying, “Was my teaching too hard? I’ll change it.” Jesus did not shout out, “Okay, okay, what do you think you should do to have eternal life?” No. He let the young man walk away, a young man who the culture of his day saw as pious and successful. Not Jesus. Christ was a counter-cultural kind of Messiah.

Next time we will take these issues deeper, talking more about specifics. In the meantime, remember: Cardinal Martini is dead. The Church, however, is still very much alive.