The New Pope's greatest challenge is to bring Christ to a sceptical world
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By: Father Shay Cullen
The election and the installation of Pope Benedict XVI is the continuation of that long and significant pontificate Pope John Paul II. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is the first German elected pope in just over 500 years becomes the 256th. Since Saint Peter.
His is a kind gentle man who lived in a simple apartment near the Vatican at St. Ann’s Gate and patiently stopped and answered journalists questions from time to time as he crossed St. Peters Square after his day’s work. He is an eminent theologian and totally dedicated to preserving the dogmatic integrity of the church and opposing the erosion of traditional practice and belief by the inroads of shopping cart Christianity.
His homilies during the burial rites of Pope John Paul II and before the conclave made it clear that he would be continue in the steps of Pope John Paul. During the homely, he pointed to the window of the Vatican apartments and said that John Paul was there watching and praying that we will be faithful to his legacy.
Before his election, Cardinal Ratzinger now Benedict XVI, made it clear that he strongly opposed what he called Secular relativism - the tendency of some Catholics to choose the aspects of Catholicism that they liked and ignore the rest. Troubled by the large numbers falling away from the Church in Europe and the scepticism of modern society towards religion, Cardinal Ratzinger, a deeply spiritual man, blamed the selfishness of secular materialism. Shopping cart Christianity - the selective picking and choosing of beliefs and moral precepts that we find acceptable and rejecting what we don't like is totally unacceptable. It is all or nothing the new Pope teaches.
For many Catholics who long for the stability and strength that comes from certainty and continuity and fear change, the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as pope is most welcome. Others prayed that there would be a charismatic pope in the spirit of reform like Pope John XXIII who threw open the doors and windows of the church and convened the second Vatican council to renew and vitalize the People of God and embrace the world.
More progressive and liberal minded Catholics are dismayed with the choice of the College of Cardinals in choosing a European traditionalist and conservative to lead the one billion Catholics in the world. They were hoping for a leader from the developing world who could connect directly with the suffering of the poor masses and be a voice for the oppressed.
As a close confident and theological adviser to John Paul II he was the pontiff's ‘Prefect for Catholic Doctrines’. For over twenty years, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was the one towering figure beloved by conservatives in the church that strongly opposed progressive liberal trends. He was admired by many as the enforcer and guardian of orthodoxy and was described as “the gatekeeper and protector of the faith.” He will never compromise church morality to the fashions of modern social and cultural behavior.
In a world rocked by increasing attacks on the unborn and the dignity of the person, he sought to uphold the sacredness of life.
As guardian of catholic doctrine, he excommunicated a famous Indian theologian but reconsidered during a storm of international church protest. Yet he stood fast against criticism when he banned from teaching catholic university professors Fathers Charles Curran, Roger Haight and the famous German theologian Hans Kung and Latin American theologian Leo Boff for questioning church doctrine.
He is a committed bulwark against dissent. Wayward lay Catholics were warned that they would be excommunicated if they dissented on basic church beliefs. Some say as ‘papal prefect’, he was overly strict for a world that needs a compassionate father that can welcome back with love and understanding those alienated by a difference of opinion. But as Pope this brilliant theologian and Vatican administrator will change as he reaches out to a world that needs wisdom and love more than discipline and strictness.
But there will be little change on the issues of the ordination of women, a married clergy, contraception, homosexuality and the use of condoms even if they are the lesser of two evil and can save lives.
The new Pope is a tireless worker in defending traditional church doctrine. He imposed limits on the role and authority of bishop’s conferences and put the brakes on ecumenical rapprochement but has now announced that he will reach out to all religions.
As Pope, he is the spiritual father of a billion Catholics, two thirds of them in Africa, Latin America and the Philippines. The daunting challenges are primarily the unrelenting spread of AIDS in a world where one billion people of all races and religions are dying of hunger and want. He has to face corporations and superpowers hell bent on empire building that contributes to global suffering, fanatical violence and war.
He is a man of absolute integrity and conviction and his ecumenical gesture is a sign of great hope and inspiration that he can bring awareness on the need for spiritual awaking in the church and the world. (End)
