The Pope’s image problem

When Karol Josef Wojtyla was elected Pope back in October, 1978, the common query was "Karol who?"When Joseph Ratzinger was chosen Pope this week, no such question was asked. Everyone knew who Cardinal Ratzinger is and what he stands for. But it’s precisely that public identity that’s causing him a huge image problem.

His problem is not with his erstwhile fellow cardinals. His election was secured after only four ballots. Ratzinger reportedly got more than the 77 votes required. Arguably, he is now the Pope precisely because he was John Paul II’s doctrinal enforcer, God’s Rottweiler, the Vatican’s prefect of discipline, and all that.

The cardinals apparently saw him as the right man for the right job at the right time. The Third World cardinals, who had been pushing one of their own for the papacy, abandoned their quest and lined up behind Ratzinger.

That wasn’t really surprising. The Latin American, Asian and African cardinal-electors were all appointed by John Paul II. Most of them have stayed on the conservative, orthodox path so forcefully articulated and ruthlessly enforced by Ratzinger since his appointment as prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith in 1981.

Because of the dangers frequently cited by Ratzinger, especially a threatened "dictatorship of relativism,"the cardinals evidently saw the wisdom of staying the course.

Ratzinger had another important faction with him: the Italians, particularly those in the Roman Curia. The early front-runner among the Italian candidates was Milan archbishop Diogini Cardinal Tettamanzi, a "moderate"cardinal with reputedly indistinct doctrinal positions. This perception may have been the reason for the sudden drop in Tettamanzi’s prospects.

Just before the conclave began, media reported that Ratzinger had become the favorite. Apparently, a number of powerful Italian cardinals in the Roman Curia were busily building a coalition among conservative cardinals. Their purpose was to ensure the election of a theological soul-mate who would also fight what the Rome-based bureaucrats saw as a deliberate attempt by progressives to diminish the Curia’s power and increase that of local bishops.

Ratzinger, one of John Paul II’s most trusted allies and an undeniably popular figure among fellow cardinals, was a natural choice. The fact that he is German didn’t matter. Ratzinger had spent essentially all his controversial years in high ecclesiastical office at the Vatican. Fluent in Latin and Italian, among several languages, he is a favorite of influential Italian cardinals who admire his determination to whip even high-profile foreign clergy into doctrinal line.

Ratzinger, in other words, was the ideal surrogate for the Roman Curia and the Italian cardinals. Whether his papacy will be a long or a short one, there is absolutely no doubt he will be a rock in the defense of Church tradition and teaching.

However, his unbending conservatism and comfortable relationship with the Rome-based bureaucrats, both Italians and non-Italians, are also at the root of his image problems with the liberal and progressive faithful who look forward to a Church more open to new ideas and more willing to disperse power away from Rome and towards local bishops at the front-lines.

Third World Catholics are worried that Pope Benedict XVI will be unbending in his attitudes towards contraception and condoms, for example, and thus close off better understanding of problems brought about by rapid population growth and the AIDS epidemic. Progressives and liberals are convinced, with reason, that he will remain inflexible on priestly celibacy, ordination of women into the priesthood, gay marriages and the devolution of power away from Rome in favor of local bishops.

The Curia’s man, Italian surrogate, Europe’s designated batsman, doctrinal hardliner and ruthless enforcer: These are not images that sell in a diverse Catholic world searching for understanding and, more importantly, the concrete answers of their faith to dilemmas of poverty, oppression and changing circumstances that challenge values.

Spain, one of the bastions of Catholicism in Europe just the other day passed a law recognizing gay marriages. With the Netherlands and Denmark, Spain is now one of only three European countries which have legalized gay marriages.

The pressure from African Catholics to accept contraception and condoms as means of population and AIDS control is unceasing. In Latin America, local Churches are perplexed over mounting losses to Protestant evangelical churches. Among the reasons cited for the crisis are the alleged fossilization and rigidity of the Church.

The American Church has not forgiven Ratzinger for his uncharacteristically soft treatment of clergy, including resigned Boston archbishop Bernard Cardinal Law, who failed to take decisive action against clerical sexual abuse of women and minors.

Pope Benedict XVI says he recognizes his image problem. His call for a reaching out to other faiths has been cited as one sign he may be turning a new leaf. I seriously doubt it. Not only because you can’t teach an old Rottweiler new tricks, but because he is what he is. And what he is may be unattractive to some, but positively inspiring to others.

Although he will speak to the faithful who feel alienated by the Church, Benedict XVI, like John Paul II, has lived his life convinced that as an evangelizer, he has a far more urgent mission. The man who warned us against the dangers of "a dictatorship of relativism"is not likely to make compromises simply to preserve or expand the membership of the Church. He has already declared that, if necessary, he is prepared to see a smaller but much more committed Catholic Church.

You may not agree with him but you have to admire the man. Somehow, I know it’s the Holy Spirit working. I’m sure HE knows HIS job wasn’t over when Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger emerged from the Sistene Chapel as Pope Benedict XVI.