The soon-to-be retired leader of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, is seen either as a stout defender of traditional faith or as a block against critically-needed reform. Few would call him an enigma, yet there are contradictions in his legacy that suggest that word.
On paper, a compassionate traditionalist
Before he was pope, Benedict, then known as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, wrote a number of books on aspects of the Christian faith. They evidence deep knowledge and, perhaps surprisingly, show an acute awareness of the difficulties of sustaining faith in an increasingly secular age. Not content to repeat tired Christian pieties, now empty of meaning for many, he engages honestly the challenges of modern life. For an intelligent thoughtful seeker, willing to engage with serious ideas, one could do a lot worse than to read Benedict’s book, “Introduction to Christianity.”
Yet, little of this sophistication and open world view was seen during his pontificate. Indeed, he started his reign with a very clumsy speech (the Regensburg lecture) that offended many. He quoted without understanding an ancient attack on Islam, and made an elementary misrepresentation of a passage of the Qur’an. Throughout his entire reign as pope, his doctrinal positions seemed only to reinforce the traditional rules without the sensitivity displayed in his writings.
Clergy abuse
The Catholic Church in the United States and Europe has been rocked by a long series of revelations about sexual abuse by clergy. Cleaning up this mess, putting in place new procedures and handing the lawsuits has been a slow and uneven process. Numerous other Christian denominations have had to face up to this issue, and most have. None faced as widespread a problem nor engaged in as much stonewalling as did the Catholics. One organization claims there have been more than 3,000 lawsuits related to clergy misconduct filed against the Catholic Church.
Benedict had been given authority in 2001 to deal with this issue and has been roundly criticized for being part of the foot-dragging and the cover-up of abuse.
Others, however, have suggested that the problem was just too big for any one person. Benedict’s predecessor, the charismatic John Paul II, was a revered figure, but had a reputation as an indifferent administrator who simply let many issues fester while he played on the world media stage. Further, he’d seen Communists use false accusations of misconduct to besmirch the church and so was not inclined to believe accusations made by those outside the church’s central organization. Even the critical article cited above quotes those who praise Cardinal Ratzinger for making an effort to come to grips with the crisis.
Despite this positive evidence of his concern about clergy abuse, he hardly was a forceful leader as pope to clean up this issue.
Why resign?
The last pope who resigned did so in 1415. By resigning, Benedict, the traditionalist, does something very radical. Monarchs rule till death; executives retire. While this one act is unlikely to undo any substantial part of the monarchial nature of Catholic hierarchy, one of the very last bastions of divine-right leadership theory, it is a step towards seeing being pope as an office held rather than a supernatural presence.
In resigning, Benedict cited his poor health and his inability to travel. This is obvious enough, anyone who has seen a recent public appearance of the 86-year-old pope would note his frailty and lack of energy and awareness. Nonetheless, the conspiracy theories are in full flower.
Everyone from Nostradamus to German cartoons, to the Mayan calendar to even more obscure ambiguous ancient prophecies have been trotted out. More conspiratorially, there is speculation about more abuse scandals, more financial scandals at the Vatican, the machinations of the Vatican bureaucracy and other suggestions that he was forced from office.
It is in the nature of these accusations about secret motives that there is no evidence to support or refute them. The fact remains, his health was in serious decline.
What comes next?
Speculation about the choice of the next pope equals speculation about the next nominees for president in the U.S. Already names are being circulated. Thoughts are turning to radical possibilities: a pope from outside Europe, or perhaps a lack pope.
For centuries, popes have been Italian. Then the mold was broken and the most recent two were from Poland and Germany. Will the Italian tradition reassert itself or will a pope come from the new center of gravity of the church in Latin America, Africa or Asia?
A brief historical aside: the media speculation about the “first non-European” pope is in error, there have been popes from North Africa and the Middle East, just not for 1,500 years. Pope Victor I (189-199) was from modern day Libya, Pope Gelasius I (492-496) was a Berber from North Africa. Neither was particularly liberal. There may never have been a Black pope, however.
While there would be no denying the massive symbolic importance of a non-European or non-White pope, the assumption that this would lead to massive reform should be taken with a grain of salt.
The next pope will be selected by and from the College of Cardinals. Every single voting member of that group was selected either by Pope John Paul II or by Benedict himself. Neither pope was known for selecting radicals or even those simply advocating significant reform. The African cardinals can be quite conservative.
Just as Obama’s election was both crucial symbolically and ambiguous substantively, the cardinals selected by conservative popes are unlikely to anoint a radical, or push a pope to be radical. Pressure for change on the role of women, birth control and homosexuality among other key concerns, does not emanate from the upper reaches of the Catholic Church. The pope is powerful, but so is the worldwide Catholic bureaucracy.
People change as they age and circumstances also change people, but it seems less than probable that the next pope will be someone who thinks the time is right for Vatican II style reforms to “open the windows to let in some fresh air” as John XXIII said, or even for a pope like John Paul I, loved for his smiles and humble spirituality.
Pope Benedict will be remembered as a polarizing figure, and also one with enigmatic contradictions in his legacy.