‘The Enforcer’ takes up the pastoral staff

Local clergy and laity react to Benedict XVI

By TOM KANE

Three out of four American Catholics are “enthusiastic” about the elevation of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger to the papacy, according to a Washington Post/ABC poll taken April 21 to 24. The same poll showed that U.S. Catholics are split down the middle with regard to the issue of change, with half wanting the church to keep to tradition and half hoping that it will adapt to modern ways. Unless the new pope proves to be an exceptionally gifted mediator, it looks like the initial enthusiasm of 25 percent of American Catholics may be headed for a letdown.

As head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith (known in earlier times as the Office of the Inquisition), Cardinal Ratzinger was nicknamed “The Enforcer” and regarded as the personification of strict adherence to orthodox teachings. If Benedict XVI continues along these lines, it is the progressives who are likely to be disappointed and the traditionalists who are likely to be satisfied. As Rev. Gordon Weightman, pastor of the United Methodist Church of Beach Lake, noted when interviewed by The River Reporter as part of a survey on reactions to the pope: “Liberal Catholics are not at all crazy about his appointment. On the other hand, conservative Catholics are ecstatic. It’s similar to the reaction people had when President Bush was elected.”

Joseph Meyer, congregant of St. Francis Xavier Church in Narrowsburg, is one of those who embrace Benedict XVI’s strict adherence to traditional forms with enthusiasm. “The church has to hold on to its traditional doctrine and this pope will do that,” he said. As for the decline in church attendance in America, Meyer said, “Laxity in doctrine in the American church is the reason for the loss. There have been variances in doctrine in the American church. This pope will end that. We need discipline in the church today.”

Some of those interviewed were hopeful that Ratzinger, now that he is pope, would show a humane and ecumenical side not apparent in his role as enforcer of doctrine. “If this pope could transfer his theological brilliance to a pastoral brilliance, his reign will be a very positive one,” said Rev. Martin Boylan, pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church in Honesdale, PA. “His appointment will be an opportunity to show his pastoral side. His job as defender of the faith didn’t give him a chance to show this side. I think this will come out very clearly and very soon.”

As for the reaction of non-Catholic groups to Benedict’s reign, Boylan thinks he will follow John Paul’s openness towards non-Catholic churches and Jewish people. “I think he will show that division is a negative factor,” Boylan said. “Since the world is getting smaller, we can not abide more division.”

Father Ignatius Smith, pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Callicoon, NY rejected the whole idea of viewing Benedict XVI through a liberal/conservative lens. “I think the new pope was selected because of his sanctity and his commitment to truth. I don’t think it’s right to call him liberal or conservative. I abhor labels. As to whether or not he can solve the problem of the shortage of priests that is occurring in America and Europe, I am not a prophet. The church is experiencing a few bumps in the road in this regard. I only know that he will be guided by the Holy Spirit.”

Permanent Deacon John Riley of St. Peter’s Church in Liberty took a more pragmatic view of Ratzinger’s election. “Cardinal Ratzinger was chosen because he was the right-hand man to a very popular pope,” he told us. Riley expects Benedict to follow the same norms that John Paul followed. As for the shortage of priests and the decline in church attendance in America and Europe, Riley thinks the church can take heart because it is growing at a rapid rate in Africa and Latin America. Even in America, the church is attracting Hispanics and Asians in large numbers, he said. “A segment of the American church may not be happy with the new pope but their numbers may seem high because they are so vocal,” Riley said.

Some were simply cautious in their expectations. “I think this pope will be an interim pope due to his age,” said Betty deMaye Caruth, congregant of St. John the Baptist Church in Honesdale, PA. “We don’t know what the future will bring.”

Others were downright angry.

“I think this was a terrible choice,” said Malachy McCourt who summers in Milanville, PA. “The pope should be a pastor. This man has never been a pastor. He’s an intellectual who seems to be above it all.”

McCourt thinks the church needs new blood. “It’s a drifting institution that is losing its people,” he said. As for the ordination of women, McCourt thinks that, if Mary was good enough to bear Jesus, she would have been good enough to administer the sacraments. “I say bring the mothers of the world into the inner workings of the church.”

Perhaps not surprisingly, the attitudes among the non-Catholics we interviewed tended towards the cautious end of the spectrum, though most of those seemed hopeful that a constructive dialogue could be maintained between Benedict XVI and members of other faiths.

“I was surprised at this appointment,” said Cantor Michael Sturm of Temple Sholom Synagogue in Monticello. “I thought the church was looking for someone with a new vision. I think it is too early to say what this papacy will be like. John Paul was sympathetic to Jews and I hope this man will be also.”

“We Episcopalians want to have cordial relations with Rome,” said Mother Joan LaLiberte, pastor of St. James Episcopal Church in Callicoon, NY.

“Relationships in the past were better than now. I feel that we have to wait and see what attitude Benedict will have.”

As for the American Catholic Church, LaLiberte said, “So many Catholics I know follow their consciences first, then look to the church for particulars,” she said. “The American church is not exactly disobedient but surely not obedient.”

LaLiberte’s perceptions in this respect are supported by a Gallup poll, taken on the day of Benedict’s election, showing that 74 percent of American Catholics follow their own consciences, rather than the pope, when making difficult moral decisions.

LaLiberte pointed to an action by the pope when he was in his job as the defender of the faith and condemned a group of South American priests who followed an approach called liberation theology. “They lived hard lives with the people, sharing their poverty and championing their cause,” she said. “They lived like the priest workers of the past. Ratzinger condemned them outright. If he is a godly man, he will be open to change.”

Rev. Gordon Weightman thinks the Catholic Church must re-examine itself. “It needs reform like all institutions do,” he said. “The church is making a huge mistake in refusing to ordain women. My bishop is a woman as is my district supervisor. We’ve experienced no harm at all to the church. In facts we are thriving because of it.”

“I just came from a conference at Drew Theological Seminary and the feeling was that they hoped the new pope would continue the good work of John Paul in his warmth towards other faiths,” said Pastor Peg VanSiclen of the United Methodist Church of Callicoon and Narrowsburg. “I hope he will not be dictatorial but gentle with all and be a pastor. John Paul broke down walls between churches and shared Christ with other congregations.

“It’s all the same Christ,” she said.