Pope Benedict XVI: beyond the stereotypes and sound bites

I gave this presentation at the Annual Claremont Independence Day Oratory Program in 2005.

Just a few months ago, for weeks on end worldwide media attention was riveted on Rome, first for the events surrounding the death and funeral of one of the longest reigning and most widely known popes in history – and history’s first Polish pope at that – and then for the conclave that elected one of his right-hand men, the German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, as his successor, taking the new name of Benedict XVI.  This is an era when religion in general and the Catholic Church in particular are the subjects of controversy, conflict and disbelief, when the Catholic Church and its teachings as well as its discipline is becoming more and more relegated to the sidelines of irrelevance and even contempt in the view of people who consider themselves in touch with the modern world.  This is true even on both sides of the so-called liberal-conservative spectrum.  It’s perhaps surprising and certainly significant that, in such a time, the figure of Pope John Paul II attracted so much attention, both in life and in death, and his successor has raised so many questions about the direction his papacy will take.  The secular world was fascinated by John Paul, even if often uncomfortable with him.  That’s why I thought, as we celebrate our own greatest national holiday, it might be quite appropriate to take a look at our new Pope Benedict, and see if we can get a hint what his significance might be for our world and for our country.

To begin, we have to disabuse ourselves of any notion that there will be any radical change in Catholic doctrine or discipline.  Catholic teaching, including the well known “hot-button” issues, will not change . . . and would remain the same no matter who was elected pope.
 
Cardinal Ratzinger was the long-time prefect of the Holy See’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, often serving as the so-called “watchdog” against doctrinal deviancy in the Catholic Church.  During this time, nearly 24 years, he gained a reputation as a rigid conservative.  Some are very apprehensive and even discouraged by his election as pope, fearing that reform efforts in the Church will be irretrievably suppressed.  Others are overjoyed, confident that dissenting voices will finally be effectively silenced.

My own opinion is that there will be very little short-term change, but that there are signs of hope for significant positive long-term change.  Here are three signs in what Pope Benedict has said and done that I find very hopeful for the future.  They may not seem terribly earthshaking on the surface, but I think they can in the long run be pivotal toward bringing about significant change in the Church and its relationship with the world.

First, and I believe most important, is that the very circumstances surrounding his election were the result of unprecedented communication among the Cardinals representing local Catholic churches throughout the world.  Never before have they had the opportunity to get to know each other in such a close and intensive way.  It’s clear that they left the new Pope Benedict with a mandate to continue and develop this kind of collegial communication, and to extend it beyond Cardinals.  While I think it’s unlikely that he will call an ecumenical council as Pope John XXIII did (for one thing, in this day and age, a meeting on that scale would be tremendously expensive), I think that he will encourage and make use of wide-ranging consultation in the governance of the Church, including significant internet conferencing – something that no pope has ever been able to do before.

Second, and related to this, is his choice of an American archbishop, William Levada of San Francisco, to be his successor as head of the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation.  I know Bill Levada personally.  In fact, he’s originally from Los Angeles, and went to St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo a few years ahead of me. He was also a very good friend of Monsignor Bill Barry, my predecessor here at OLA, who was something of a mentor to Levada in the early days of his priesthood.  He’s now the number two person in the Vatican!  He brings to that job not only the competence of a professional theologian and pastor, but his American identity, and lifelong experience and understanding of the American church as well as American culture that has never before been seen at the Vatican.  He is fairly conservative as would be expected, but not rigidly so.  In fact, one ultra-conservative Catholic website labeled him as a heretic because of his openness to ministry with homosexual Catholics, and urged its readers to write to the Pope and demand that he rescind the appointment!  Fortunately, that’s quite unlikely – this pope does his homework before acting; nor does he yield to pressure from any side.

Third, what about the international scene?  Pope Benedict will not be the great traveler and international superstar that so endeared the world to John Paul II.  I doubt that he will have the same flair for diplomacy and international relations.  John Paul’s role in the fall of communism and the dissolution of the Soviet empire was unique, and could not be repeated.  I think Benedict’s main contribution on the international scene will be in ecumenism, specifically in advancing the work towards bringing the ancient traditions of eastern and western Christianity together, Catholic and Orthodox.  And it is precisely here that he realizes that changes will be needed not in doctrine but in the papacy itself, changes that John Paul II alluded to in his own writings and speeches on ecumenism, but could not bring about.  Before becoming Pope, Cardinal Ratzinger outlined a plan for continued dialogue with the Orthodox churches, in which the primacy of the pope would be seen less in authoritarian terms and more in a fraternal relationship with the ancient traditional patriarchs, the church leaders of the east.  I believe that Benedict, particularly given his background as a professional theologian – the first pope with such credentials in modern history – may be able to begin to change the understanding of the papacy in ways that may make eventual union with the Orthodox churches more palatable to them.

Closer union, and eventually hoped-for full communion, between Catholic and Orthodox Churches will have significant international impact because so much of the east-west tensions in our world today have their roots in the conflicts and eventual split going back more than a millennium.  It will also give a firmer foundation to relations with Islam because the first cultural and theological battleground between Islam and Christianity took place in the east on Byzantine turf, and today’s conflicts still embody the same resentments, misunderstandings and grudges that were born 1,200 years ago.

Finally, three days before he was elected pope, Joseph Ratzinger turned 78.  He’s only seven years younger than John Paul.  This will not be a lengthy pontificate, but it can have the same significance as a tiny change on the rudder of a great ship which may not be easily noticed but in the long run significantly alters the direction of its course.