The Surprising Pontificate of the Man Who Was Ratzinger
BY EDWARD PENTIN
REGISTER CORRESPONDENT
April 15-21, 2007 Issue |
Posted 4/10/07 at 7:00 AM
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI
turns 80 April 16, just three days before he completes the second year of his pontificate.
Having become Pope at such a mature age, some believed he would accomplish
little and would be merely a “caretaker pope.”
But that’s not how this pontificate
is turning out: The Holy Father has already made his mark, powerfully reminding
the world in his first encyclical that Christianity is primarily about God’s
love, reaching out to a spiritually stricken Europe and Islam, and taking
careful but firm steps toward Christian unity.
He has also been striving for better
relations with China and, in his upcoming visit to Brazil in May, focusing on
Latin America.
“I think he has a great mission,”
says Benedictine Father Notker Wolf, abbot primate of the Benedictine Order.
“We have seen it now; he puts his fingers on very important matters.”
Abbot Wolf says that Benedict’s
pastoral approach is decidedly Benedictine. “It’s about the basics, holy
Scripture and our good, solid Tradition,” he said.
Benedict’s quiet style is, of
course, a striking contrast to Pope John Paul II. But it’s just right for the
times, says Robert Royal, director of the Washington D.C.-based Faith and
Reason Institute.
“After John Paul II, the great
charismatic leader and the man who helped to beat communism and brought us into
a new world, Benedict is exactly the right person for the kind of conversation
that we need to help us understand ourselves in the future in the 21st
century,” Royal said.
Among the Pope’s most valuable
contributions are his ability to teach, and his expertise as one of the finest
theologians in the Church’s history. These qualities are particularly evident,
says theologian and diplomat Michael Novak, in his approach to militant Islam.
“When jihadist hotheads scream for
the imposition of the sharia (Islamic law based on
the Quran) of the 11th century, no one has the authority or the arguments to
ridicule them for their preposterous winding back of the clock,” says Novak.
“[But] Pope Benedict’s recent formulation is quite original and brilliant:
Dialogue between Islam and Christianity on the plane of religion is next to
impossible; but there can and must be dialogue between Islamic and Christian
cultures.”
The Holy Father’s approach to the
problems of the secularized West has also been an important element of his
pontificate.
The dangers of reason without faith,
and faith without reason, have been an emphasis of Benedict’s discourses. The
topic has been a central element of the Pope’s attention for years and
consequently is a matter he can eloquently bring into the public debate, as he
did in his controversial speech last September at the University of Regensburg
in his native Bavaria.
Positive Focus
But while his approach to Islam and
secularism was anticipated by his earlier focus as a priest, bishop and
cardinal, Benedict’s first encyclical Deus Caritas Est (God Is
Love) was a surprise to many.
Many Church observers, even those
who know him well, expected the Pope’s first major document — one that usually
suggests the future direction of a pontificate — to focus on European
relativism and faith and reason.
Instead, he concentrated on the
positive, explaining that God is simply love. And in so doing, he swept away
the harsh and inaccurate image derived from media interpretations of his
previous position as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
“He is very positive-minded,” said
Abbot Wolf, “and I think that is something which has astonished quite a lot of
people.” This is particularly true in his homeland of Germany, where negative
reactions to his supposedly stern reputation were replaced by respect and
curiosity.
Royal pointed to Deus
Caritas Est.
“I think he put his mark down with Deus
Caritas Est, thatthat is the central point
about our idea of God, whatever other people might think about God,”
said Royal. “It was a brilliant move on his part and I think it came
straight out of his heart; I don’t think it was calculated.”
The Pope has taken a positive
approach to many other issues, too; in his trip last July to the World Congress
of Families in Valencia, Spain, he stressed what makes a good family rather
than focusing on the forces ranged against it, and during his visit to Ephesus
in Turkey he praised the heroism of the slain priest Father Andrea Santoro but
didn’t blame his killers.
And his major interest in
inter-religious and ecumenical dialogue, heavily influenced by the Second
Vatican Council, is primarily concerned with how religions and Christian
denominations can unite on matters they hold in common.
Planting Seeds
Theologian Novak said Benedict is
posing hard questions about the meaning of life and doing so “by way of ideas,
deep and carefully put, and in the good humor of a skilled professor who loves
the classroom, his students and his subject matter.”
And while Benedict’s style is vastly
different to his predecessor’s, his contribution may be all the more
significant as a consequence.
“I wonder if Pope Benedict sometimes
imagines that it does the Church good to follow one human type with another,
and that it is essential that he just be himself, and that the virtual storm of
encyclicals and activities that gushed forth from the fertile soul of John Paul
II should be followed by a quieter, more reflective time,” Novak said. “Good
seeds recently planted need time to germinate.”
Edward Pentin
writes from Rome.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Make a Donation now!
Insightful. Informative. Uncompromisingly faithful. The National Catholic Register is more than a newspaper. It’s a cause. Your support for the Register funds important journalism that helps to build a Culture of Life in our nation, and throughout the world. Help us promote the Church’s New Evangelization by donating to the National Catholic Register right now.
.
