Pope Benedict the 16th

What kind of Pope will Benedict the 16th be? Will he be a unifier who revolutionizes, modernizes, and reforms the problems of an aging Church? Will he be a do nothing transitional Pope, as some have claimed he will be because of his advanced age? Or will he be a divider, deepening the chasm between modernity and the Holy See, and further alienating ordinary Catholics from their Mother Church? I suppose that is a question that can only be answered by him, and the answer will of course depend on whether Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger sees the office of the Pope as fundamentally different from the office he previously held as the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. To get a sense of what he might be like as Pope, one can look to his in his previous incarnation as Cardinal Ratzinger. Here is the opinion of The Official Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club, which is of course favorable:

"From 1981 - 2005, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was appointed head of the Catholic Church's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, whose mission is to "to promote and safeguard the doctrine on the faith and morals throughout the Catholic world" (John Paul II).
As "Grand Inquisitor" for Mother Rome, Ratzinger kept himself busy in service to the Truth: correcting theological error, silencing dissenting theologians, and stomping down heresy wherever it may rear its ugly head -- and, consequently, had received somewhat of a notorious reputation among the liberal media and 'enlightened' intellegensia of pseudo-Catholic universities.
However, there are those among us who have delved beyond the polemics of his critics, who in familiarizing ourselves with his works have come to admire him both as brilliant Catholic theologian but also as a man whose faith, honesty, integrity, and unswerving devotion to the Truth is readily apparent. "

Below is a record of those who sufferd his devotion to the truth(From NCR online, The Vatican’s enforcer By JOHN L. ALLEN JR. NCR Staff)

"His record includes:
Theologians disciplined, such as Fr. Charles Curran, an American moral theologian who advocates a right to public dissent from official church teaching; Fr. Matthew Fox, an American known for his work on creation spirituality; Sr. Ivone Gebara, a Brazilian whose thinking blends liberation theology with environmental concerns; and Fr. Tissa Balasuriya, a Sri Lankan interested in how Christianity can be expressed through Eastern concepts;
Movements blocked, such as liberation theology and, more recently, religious pluralism (the drive to affirm other religions on their own terms);
Progressive bishops hobbled, including Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen of Seattle, reproached by Rome for his tolerance of ministry to homosexuals and his involvement in progressive political causes, and Bishop Dom Pedro Casaldáliga of Sao Félix, Brazil, criticized for his political engagement beyond the borders of his own diocese;
Episcopal conferences brought to heel on issues such as inclusive language and their own teaching authority;
The borders of infallibility expanded, to include such disparate points as the ban on women’s ordination and the invalidity of ordinations in the Anglican church.
Indeed, it would be difficult to find a Catholic controversy in the past 20 years that did not somehow involve Joseph Ratzinger. Part of that is the nature of the job, but no other 20th-century prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith -- perhaps none ever -- has enjoyed Ratzinger’s high profile or his centrality to the life of the church. He and John Paul are men who believe that ideas count, and Ratzinger has prosecuted what he considers dangerous ideas with vigor. Whether his tactics and ironclad sense of certainty are more dangerous than the ideas he has attempted to suppress is a question that cuts to the core of some of the deepest divisions in the church.
After extensive interviews with leading Catholics, both friends and foes of Ratzinger from the United States and abroad, and after digesting thousands of pages of his writings and writings about him, three key insights about Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger -- Ratzinger the Vatican official, if not the man -- seemed to surface repeatedly:
He sees his work as a defense of human freedom;
He is convinced that he and John Paul are the rightful heirs of Vatican II;
He believes time is on his side.
It’s important to try to understand Ratzinger on his own terms, not merely as a historical exercise, but because believers who see the church as he does -- “Ratzinger Catholics” -- are likely to be a force long after the cardinal himself is gone. "


If for 20 years Ratzinger was intimately involved in doctirnal controversy, and the silencing or scolding of theologians, then one would have to expect that his papacy will not be transitional and subdued. In addition, his papacy will likely not be a unifying one, unless of course one agrees with his positions on a host of non-infallible teachings. The only logical conclusion is that Ratzinger will continue to divide and intimidate in order to establish what he sees as the true Church, a Church dedicated to obedient submission to the Magisterium on all issues. For those of us still in shock about the abuse scandal, and uncertain about the future of the Catholic Church this can only be a sign that the Church we love is in real danger of not surviving.


Mission Statement

According again to the website the Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club, the following passage is his favorite scripture, and forms a sort of mission statement for Ratzinger's ministerial approach:

"Preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths. As for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. "
St. Paul, 2 Tim 4:2-5

Ratzinger is quoted as saying in his Book, Salt of the Earth,
"I don't want to overreach myself, but I would say that this expresses the essence of what I consider to be my standard at this time." (p. 114).

This is of course very revealing. One can get great insight into what motivates and drives Benedict, and what he sees as his essential mission. And that is to return people to the truth. But what truth? The truth that comes directly and only from Rome, on any issue, whether it be an infallible teaching (the resurrection) or non-infallible (women's ordination, birth control, homosexuality, married priests, etc.). Is this still his mission? The firing of Father Thomas Reese, and the immediate canonization of John Paul II before the 5 year waiting period reveal that he still is. The purge is beginning and I can hear the people leaving the Church already, never to return.