Elevation of Benedict XVI Isn't Universally Welcomed. - Political ramificatons?
This is a political blog. Why the post about the new pope? Because this appointment will have political ramifications in 2006 and 2008 as this conservative -- ultraconservative is probably more accurate -- pope seeks to keep various social issues front and center in public discussion.
_______________
In electing Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to serve as the 265th pope, the college of cardinals seems to have placed the fortification of doctrine over the appeal to straying or potential Catholics, opting to solidify unity within the church rather than address the world without.
The election of the white-haired, German-born theologian, in the fourth ballot of a conclave attended by 115 cardinal-electors from 52 countries in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel, was the fastest since the choice of Pius XII in 1939, the Financial Times notes. The unusually brief conclave seemed to suggest that the newly named Benedict XVI was a popular choice among the cardinals who elected the man who shared -- if at times went beyond -- John Paul II's conservative theology and seemed ready to take over the job after serving beside him for more than two decades, the New York Times notes. But his popularity beyond the Vatican isn't universal. The applause for the new pope in St. Peter's Square, "while genuine and sustained among many, tapered off decisively in large pockets, which some assembled there said reflected their reservations about his doctrinal rigidity and whether, under Benedict XVI, an already polarized church will now find less to bind it together," the Times reports.
Some of those who know the 78-year-old cleric tell the Times that Benedict knows he may have a short papacy and that he intends to move quickly to put his own stamp on the church and to reverse its decline in the secular West. He is already known for speaking out against what he has called "cafeteria Catholics," who disregard, for example, the ban on artificial birth control. But the choice of Benedict to lead the fight against secularism and "moral relativism" carries risks, The Wall Street Journal says: "While Pope John Paul II's personal warmth smoothed the edges of traditionalist messages -- no birth control, no marriage for priests, no ordaining of women -- the former Cardinal Ratzinger will be pushing the same philosophy without the same deep wellspring of charisma." On the same note, Newsweek contributing editor and practicing Catholic Melinda Henneberger says that while she was overcome with emotion and burst into tears the first time she saw John Paul, as Benedict stepped onto the loggia last night, "I only wanted to cry. The joke already making the rounds in Rome tonight was that while John Paul's first words at his installation were, 'Be not afraid,' the first from Benedict will be, 'Be afraid. Be very afraid.' "
Benedict's election drew mixed reactions across Latin America, Africa and the rest of the developing world, which have often been cited as the most important regions for expanding a church that has weakened in Europe. While political and church leaders offered congratulations, many people expressed disappointment that the new pontiff didn't come from the Third World, the Washington Post reports. The reaction of Europeans reflected generational and social divisions: "Some older and more traditional Catholics hailed the decision, while some younger and more progressive church members expressed concern that Benedict XVI would stall movement toward modernizing reforms in the church," the Post says. And the Paris-based Liberation notes that the "panzer cardinal" is best known for being more vigorous than John Paul in opposing homosexuality, a wider role for women in the church, and the entry of Turkey in the European Union – one of the touchiest East-West issues.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Benedict has already been a subject of dispute for decades among American Catholics, championed by traditionalists and decried by modernizers, the Post observes. But the Times says that despite his wartime membership in the Hitler Youth movement, Benedict "won strong praise from Jewish leaders yesterday for his role in helping Pope John Paul II mend fences between Catholics and Jews." And this morning, addressing the cardinals at the end of the first Mass he celebrated as pope, Benedict pledged to work to unify all Christians, reach out to other religions and continue implementing reforms from the Second Vatican Council.
(4-20-05, The Wall Street Journal online.)
_______________
In electing Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to serve as the 265th pope, the college of cardinals seems to have placed the fortification of doctrine over the appeal to straying or potential Catholics, opting to solidify unity within the church rather than address the world without.
The election of the white-haired, German-born theologian, in the fourth ballot of a conclave attended by 115 cardinal-electors from 52 countries in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel, was the fastest since the choice of Pius XII in 1939, the Financial Times notes. The unusually brief conclave seemed to suggest that the newly named Benedict XVI was a popular choice among the cardinals who elected the man who shared -- if at times went beyond -- John Paul II's conservative theology and seemed ready to take over the job after serving beside him for more than two decades, the New York Times notes. But his popularity beyond the Vatican isn't universal. The applause for the new pope in St. Peter's Square, "while genuine and sustained among many, tapered off decisively in large pockets, which some assembled there said reflected their reservations about his doctrinal rigidity and whether, under Benedict XVI, an already polarized church will now find less to bind it together," the Times reports.
Some of those who know the 78-year-old cleric tell the Times that Benedict knows he may have a short papacy and that he intends to move quickly to put his own stamp on the church and to reverse its decline in the secular West. He is already known for speaking out against what he has called "cafeteria Catholics," who disregard, for example, the ban on artificial birth control. But the choice of Benedict to lead the fight against secularism and "moral relativism" carries risks, The Wall Street Journal says: "While Pope John Paul II's personal warmth smoothed the edges of traditionalist messages -- no birth control, no marriage for priests, no ordaining of women -- the former Cardinal Ratzinger will be pushing the same philosophy without the same deep wellspring of charisma." On the same note, Newsweek contributing editor and practicing Catholic Melinda Henneberger says that while she was overcome with emotion and burst into tears the first time she saw John Paul, as Benedict stepped onto the loggia last night, "I only wanted to cry. The joke already making the rounds in Rome tonight was that while John Paul's first words at his installation were, 'Be not afraid,' the first from Benedict will be, 'Be afraid. Be very afraid.' "
Benedict's election drew mixed reactions across Latin America, Africa and the rest of the developing world, which have often been cited as the most important regions for expanding a church that has weakened in Europe. While political and church leaders offered congratulations, many people expressed disappointment that the new pontiff didn't come from the Third World, the Washington Post reports. The reaction of Europeans reflected generational and social divisions: "Some older and more traditional Catholics hailed the decision, while some younger and more progressive church members expressed concern that Benedict XVI would stall movement toward modernizing reforms in the church," the Post says. And the Paris-based Liberation notes that the "panzer cardinal" is best known for being more vigorous than John Paul in opposing homosexuality, a wider role for women in the church, and the entry of Turkey in the European Union – one of the touchiest East-West issues.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Benedict has already been a subject of dispute for decades among American Catholics, championed by traditionalists and decried by modernizers, the Post observes. But the Times says that despite his wartime membership in the Hitler Youth movement, Benedict "won strong praise from Jewish leaders yesterday for his role in helping Pope John Paul II mend fences between Catholics and Jews." And this morning, addressing the cardinals at the end of the first Mass he celebrated as pope, Benedict pledged to work to unify all Christians, reach out to other religions and continue implementing reforms from the Second Vatican Council.
(4-20-05, The Wall Street Journal online.)
posted by Sid Cottingham | 5:21 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home