Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, is certainly viewed with appreciation by many Roman Catholics and others. But notes of concern are also being sounded. Here's a selection of reports and comments.  [4-20-05]
 

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, a renowned theologian and hard-line enforcer of Catholic Church doctrine for the last two decades, was chosen Tuesday to succeed his friend and close ally Pope John Paul II. Ratzinger, 78, became Pope Benedict XVI, the 265th leader of the world's largest and most powerful Christian institution. The LA Times presents a good overview of the election of Pope Benedict, and varying reactions to his elevation to the papacy.

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The story begins: "Arch-conservative German cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope on Tuesday in a surprise choice that delighted traditionalist Roman Catholics but stunned moderates hoping for a more liberal papacy."

Read this on TruthOut.org, or in the Reuters posting.

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Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of the progressive Jewish magazine, TIKKUN, and rabbi of Beyt Tikkun Synagogue in San Francisco, took the unusual step of criticizing the choice of Cardinal Ratzinger as the new Primate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is concerned about the Pope’s early involvement in Nazism, however reluctant he may have been. He points to more immediate concerns as well: Ratzinger’s suppression of creative theologians such as Hans Kung and Leonardo Boff, and his opposition to policies that would aid the world’s poor and oppressed.

Read his statement >>

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The LA Times carries a report focusing on Joseph Ratzinger’s background in Germany, growing up under the Nazis and in post-war Germany. While he shows some rigidity in enforcing traditional doctrines and morals, he is seen doing that as a way of defending the Church against the dehumanizing dangers of modern culture.

Regarding accusations that Ratzinger supported Nazism, the story notes that "Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles agreed that Ratzinger's father was anti-Nazi and said Ratzinger's membership in the Hitler Youth should not be taken as an indication of Nazi sympathies because membership was mandatory. Hier said his group likes Ratzinger and expects him to continue John Paul II's outreach to Jews."

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Steadfast Beliefs in a Tumultuous World

The Washington Post suggests that "his searing experience as a World War II Nazi conscript left Pope Benedict XVI with a distrust of nationalism and socialism, and a passionate belief in holding firmly to enduring truths."

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Pope Benedict is seen by one analyst (in the LA Times) as likely to have an activist agenda, aiming to "to revitalize the Roman Catholic faith and identity where it is threatened by secularism, particularly in Europe."

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Agence France-Presse reminds us that it was Cardinal Ratzinger who "intervened in the 2004 US election campaign ordering bishops to deny communion to abortion rights supporters including presidential candidate John Kerry."

An example:

One of Cardinal Ratzinger’s statements on this subject was in a memorandum he sent to Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington last year on how the church should treat pro-choice politicians and their supporters.

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What’s in a (pope’s) name?

Gene TeSelle, Witherspoon Issues Analyst and church historian, sees reasons for hope and for concern in Cardinal Ratzinger’s choice of the name of Pope Benedict.

On April 19 Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope on the fourth ballot. Sylvia Poggioli on NPR had the courage to say that he had headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, once called the Inquisition. She'll probably catch plenty of flak for telling that truth. In any case, Ratzinger was the enforcer for the hard line positions taken by John Paul II.

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In the daily exercise of our pastoral ministry-and much to our sorrow-we must sometimes listen to those who, consumed with zeal, have scant judgment or balance. To such ones the modern world is nothing but betrayal and ruin. They claim that this age is far worse than previous ages, and they rant on as if they had learned nothing at all from history -- and yet, history is the great Teacher of Life...We feel bound to disagree with these prophets of doom who are forever forecasting calamity-as though the world's end were imminent. Today, rather, Providence is guiding us toward a new order of human relationships, which, thanks to human effort and yet far surpassing human hopes, will bring us to the realization of still higher and undreamed of expectations.

This is from Thomas Cahill's excellent little biography of John XXIII, Pope John XXIII: A Penguin Life. [We trust that "Penguin" refers to the publisher of the book, not its subject.  A thought from your WebWeaver.]

Thanks to David Oliver-Holder, Kettle Moraine United Presbyterian Church, Hartland, WI