Provisional pontiff
Update: This post's fourth paragraph should have done a better job of explaining that my criticism was directed not at Ratzinger, who did everything he could to avoid association with the Nazis, but at the cardinals, who could have avoided the distraction by electing another man. I've clarified the remarks accordingly.
Pope John Paul II was a towering, charismatic figure, the public face of the Roman Catholic Church for 26 years, and perhaps the single most recognizable person on the planet at the time of his death. After his papacy, the Vatican was due for a breather.
That's what Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's tenure as Pope Benedict XVI will provide. Ratzinger is 78, which means his stay in office likely will be far shorter than that of his predecessor. For the cardinals, the election of "God's Rottweiler" is a way to prevent any drastic doctrinal changes in the next few years as they debate the church's long-term direction after John Paul II's lengthy reign.
Many observers' complaints about Benedict XVI -- he's too socially conservative, too intolerant of dissent, too hostile toward other religions -- will be neutralized by his comparatively short tenure. The next pope, not this one, will determine the church's long-term future.
Some bloggers today have blasted Ratzinger's membership in the Hitler Youth as a German teenager, and those criticisms are understandable. However, it's unfair to label Ratzinger a Nazi sympathizer, considering that he only joined the group reluctantly when required by law to do so and that he risked execution by deserting in 1944. With that being said, the cardinals made a public-relations blunder by electing a pope whose history contains even the appearance of support for the Nazis.
Benedict XVI's doctrines certainly won't help the church rebuild bridges in the United States, where many lay Catholics disagree with the church's positions on contraceptives, female priests, and other social issues. The new pope could take a big step toward solidifying Western Catholics' support with a categorical apology for the church having turned a blind eye toward the pedophile priests in American parishes, but such a mea culpa is highly unlikely from the same church leaders who allowed Bernard Law to remain a cardinal after his cover-ups of sex abuse in Boston.
I'm not Catholic, but I know several of my readers are or once were. I welcome your thoughts on today's events.
Pope John Paul II was a towering, charismatic figure, the public face of the Roman Catholic Church for 26 years, and perhaps the single most recognizable person on the planet at the time of his death. After his papacy, the Vatican was due for a breather.
That's what Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's tenure as Pope Benedict XVI will provide. Ratzinger is 78, which means his stay in office likely will be far shorter than that of his predecessor. For the cardinals, the election of "God's Rottweiler" is a way to prevent any drastic doctrinal changes in the next few years as they debate the church's long-term direction after John Paul II's lengthy reign.
Many observers' complaints about Benedict XVI -- he's too socially conservative, too intolerant of dissent, too hostile toward other religions -- will be neutralized by his comparatively short tenure. The next pope, not this one, will determine the church's long-term future.
Some bloggers today have blasted Ratzinger's membership in the Hitler Youth as a German teenager, and those criticisms are understandable. However, it's unfair to label Ratzinger a Nazi sympathizer, considering that he only joined the group reluctantly when required by law to do so and that he risked execution by deserting in 1944. With that being said, the cardinals made a public-relations blunder by electing a pope whose history contains even the appearance of support for the Nazis.
Benedict XVI's doctrines certainly won't help the church rebuild bridges in the United States, where many lay Catholics disagree with the church's positions on contraceptives, female priests, and other social issues. The new pope could take a big step toward solidifying Western Catholics' support with a categorical apology for the church having turned a blind eye toward the pedophile priests in American parishes, but such a mea culpa is highly unlikely from the same church leaders who allowed Bernard Law to remain a cardinal after his cover-ups of sex abuse in Boston.
I'm not Catholic, but I know several of my readers are or once were. I welcome your thoughts on today's events.
posted by Alabamian at 5:45 PM
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