Popemobile for Sale? (Reuters)

A second hand car once said to be registered in the name of Joseph Kardinal Ratzinger — the new Pope Benedict – is up for sale on eBay and the sky seems to be the limit when it comes to bidding. The vehicle, a metallic gray 1999 Volkswagen Golf, went up for auction on the German site (www.ebay.de) at a minimum price of 9,900 euros ($12,790) Wednesday and, just over 24 hours and more than 300 bids later, the price had temporarily hit one million euros ($1.3 million). German Web Site n-tv.de identified the seller as Benjamin Halbe, 21, from the town of Olpe in Germany’s Sauerland region, who said he bought the car from a local dealer in January. “It drives like heaven,” the site quoted Halbe as saying.

The Web Site of the German newspaper Bild quoted an eBay spokeswoman in Germany as saying the online auctioneer had checked with the vehicle licensing office which had confirmed the name of the original owner was genuine.

Ratzinger, who is from Bavaria in southern Germany, has been at the Vatican for more than two decades and is not known to drive. The Vatican was not available for comment on the auction, which closes on May 5 at 7.30 p.m. (1730 GMT). The auction site describes the vehicle as a two liter petrol-powered manual, with 75,000 km (47,000 miles) on the clock since it was first registered in March 1999.

“Does black smoke or white smoke come out of the exhaust pipe?” one posting on the site asked – a reference to the signal used at the Vatican to show whether a new pope has been elected by the secret conclave of cardinals.

Heh.

Despite a clear rejection by the majority of the closely-watched “media punditry” population, newly elected Pope Benedict XVI has managed to squeak out 82% support (73% say they are “enthusiastic”) in the less well understood “American Catholic” demographic.

Benedict Says He Prayed Not to Be Elected (AP)

Pope Benedict XVI said Monday he had viewed the idea of being elected pope as a “guillotine,” and he prayed to God during the recent conclave to be spared selection but “evidently this time He didn’t listen to me.” For the first time since his election, Benedict shed light on his feelings inside the conclave during an audience with fellow Germans. Speaking in his native tongue, Benedict told the audience that at one point during the conclave, when it became clear he was garnering many votes, a fellow cardinal slipped him a note reminding him what he had preached before the conclave about Christ calling Peter to follow him even where he did not want to go.

Benedict, 78, said he had hoped to spend his last years living quietly and peacefully. “As the trend in the ballots slowly made me realize that — in a manner of speaking the guillotine would fall on me — I started to feel quite dizzy,” a smiling Benedict said, clearly joking. “I thought that I had done my life’s work and could now hope to live out my days in peace. I told the Lord with deep conviction, ‘Don’t do this to me.’”

He recalled saying to God in his prayers: “You have younger, better, more enthusiastic and energetic candidates.” “Evidently, this time He didn’t listen to me,” Benedict said.

As far as signs and portents go, that can’t be a good one. Technically, I suppose, Ratzinger didn’t become the Vicar of Christ until the ballots were in.

American Catholics Approve of Pope Benedict XVI (WaPo)

An overwhelming majority of American Catholics approves of the selection of Pope Benedict XVI and predicts that he will defend the traditional policies and beliefs of a church that many members say is out of touch with their views, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The survey found that more than eight in 10 Catholics broadly supported the selection of former German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to replace Pope John Paul II.

Nearly as many, 73 percent, said they were “enthusiastic” about the new pontiff, though only one in four said they were strongly enthusiastic about the choice.

On the issues, however, a sizable proportion departs from him. That’s unsurprising, given the pre-conclave polls suggesting as much.

We could be seeing Pope Benedict XVI’s American honeymoon. In other words, while American Catholics may have substantive disagreements with him, they may nonetheless give their approval in the aftermath of the euphoric installment. Perhaps it’ll diminish with time. Alternatively, they may just be unfamiliar with the extent to which their views run contrary to the Holy Father. If so, a few months of major proclamations from the Vatican will correct that information gap. In general, though, we should note that it’s become rather common for American Catholics to have high regard for the pontiff despite rejecting church teachings.

Relatedly, Matt Drudge has the scoop on a special issue of Time Magazine, which details the election of Cardinal Ratzinger:

MAG: RATZINGER WON FINAL BALLOTING WITH 95 OF 115 VOTES

In the days before the conclave, almost every Cardinal who deigned to speak to the press declared that he was praying to the Holy Spirit for guidance in choosing the successor to John Paul II. The Holy Spirit’s efforts in this particular case began 18 months ago, with a stealth campaign that in the end transfigured an unpalatable candidate into the inevitable Pontiff, turning Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger of Germany into Pope Benedict XVI, TIME Rome Bureau Chief Jeff Israely reports in this week’s cover package on Pope Benedict XVI. The momentum, orchestrated by key Curia Cardinals, was such that a last-ditch attempt by liberals to derail it petered out after the first round of voting. “They didn’t realize how strong Ratzinger was,” says an aide to a Cardinal who almost certainly did not vote for the German. “The reformers have been out of touch with this growing tide around Ratzinger,” TIME reports.

[...]

Monday’s Conclave – Cardinal Martini’s Countermovement: Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini of Milan had tried to organize a countermovement, and as the electors entered the conclave on Monday afternoon, the consensus was that two camps that would be pitted against each other: the conservatives around Ratzinger and a group behind Martini. But Martini, who is suffering from Parkinson’s disease, was hoping only to blunt Ratzinger’s momentum in order to give other less conservative Cardinals a chance to gather support, TIME reports.

First Round of Balloting – Some Votes Left Blank: The biblical scholar managed a good showing in the first round of balloting, but Ratzinger was already solidly ahead. The rest of the votes were spread among several Italians, and according to one voting Cardinal, several ballots were left blank. By that evening, however, it was clear that no one was going to be able to step in for Martini, TIME reports.

Final Tally – Ratzinger with 95 of 115 Votes: By Tuesday, Martini, who does not dislike Ratzinger personally, withdrew his candidacy and might have even thrown his support to him. Liberals who could not stomach that option reportedly swung over to Buenos Aires’ conservative Jorge Cardinal Bergoglio in an anyone-but-Ratzinger move though several sources said the Argentine was himself aligned with the German. But the second balloting saw Ratzinger reach 60 votes. By the third, he was just shy of the 77 required to gain the papacy. By the fourth, he had won 95 out of 115. Liberal stalwarts left Rome grumbling. “A good conclave is one where there are at least two candidates deadlocked,” says a liberal supporter disappointed by the process. “A bad conclave is where there’s one dominant figure. That was the case this time.”

Coincidentally, this 83% vote mirrors the pope’s approval rating among American Catholics. (And they say the Vatican is undemocratic?!)

“God’s Rottweiler” arises from the white smoke:

Thousands Cheer in St. Peter’s Square as New Leader Emerges (NYT | RSS)

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope today, taking the name Benedict XVI, then telling a wildly cheering crowd from a balcony on St. Peter’s Basilica, “I entrust myself to your prayers.”

The 265th leader of the Roman Catholic Church, smiling broadly, was introduced by Cardinal Medina Estevez of Chile, who emerged from behind huge velvet drapes to announce, “We have a new pope!”

His selection came in the evening of the second day of the conclave of cardinals in the Sistine Chapel. Bells rang out over St. Peter’s Square and white smoke drifted from a Sistine Chapel chimney signaling that the ballot had been decided.

The new pope, who was born in Marktl am Inn, Germany, and turned 78 on Saturday, was one of the closest collaborators of John Paul II. As the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith he has been the Church’s doctrinal watchdog since 1981.

He has been described as a conservative, intellectual clone of the late pontiff, and, as the Dean of the College of Cardinals, he was widely respected for his uncompromising – if ultraconservative – principles and his ability to be critical.

As cardinal, he had shut the door on any discussion on several issues, including the ordination of women, celibacy of priests and homosexuality, defending his positions by invoking theological truth. In the name of orthodoxy, he is in favor of a smaller Church, but one that is more ideologically pure.

That last paragraph, which suggests that Ratzinger is authoritarian, requires context. Though he is indeed doctrinally conservative, he doesn’t necessarily have a predisposition to stamping out dissenting voices. Thomas Williams explains:

Particularly striking is Ratzinger’s description of his youth, especially during the years of National Socialism. Having grown up in a Germany dominated by Nazi propaganda and the suppression of heterodox opinions, he grew notably inimical to authoritarianism and ideologies that attempt to stamp out uncomfortable truths, especially the truth about God and the human person. Once we have suppressed the truth, Ratzinger says, we are left only with our personal choice, which is necessarily arbitrary. “When decisions are left solely to the domain of the will, whether particular or collective, man is debased.” Like Pope John Paul, Ratzinger believes that the proclamation of the truth is the greatest guarantee of human freedom. This conviction is enshrined in his episcopal motto, Cooperatores Veritatis, which he adopted when ordained archbishop of Munich-Freising in 1977.

In addition, Ratzinger’s preference for “a smaller Church” isn’t simply “[i]n the name of orthodoxy.” He believes that large bureaucracies can lose track of their central missions and end up doing a disservice to people. Reports John Allen:

Because Ratzinger is the prime theoretician of papal authority, it is often assumed that under him the Vatican would take on even more massive proportions. In fact, like most conservatives, Ratzinger feels an instinctive aversion to big government. He believes that bureaucracies become self-perpetuating and take on their own agendas, rarely reflecting the best interests of the people they are intended to serve.

“The power typical of political rule or technical management cannot be and must not be the style of the church’s power,” Ratzinger wrote in 1988’s A New Song for the Lord. “In the past two decades an excessive amount of institutionalization has come about in the church, which is alarming. … Future reforms should therefore aim not at the creation of yet more institutions, but at their reduction.”

While Ratzinger would not hesitate to make decisions in Rome that others believe should be the province of the local church – revoking imprimaturs, replacing translations, dismissing theologians – he would not erect a large new Vatican apparatus for this purpose. Ratzinger would encourage bishops’ conferences and dioceses to shed layers of bureaucracy where possible. The overall thrust would be for smaller size, less paperwork, and more focus on core concerns.

Update: Since the press is characterizing Ratzinger’s selection as a vote of continuity, I think it’s important to highlight some significant differences between Benedict XVI and John Paul II. Note:

Borrowing John Courtney Murray’s useful distinction between two valid Christian orientations, an incarnational humanism (which emphasizes Christianity’s immanence and the close link between grace and the nature it perfects), and an eschatological humanism (which focuses on Christianity’s otherworldliness and man’s pilgrim condition), Ratzinger clearly leans toward the latter–whereas John Paul II tends toward the former.

Concerning prospects for ecumenism, for example, Ratzinger is typically guarded: “I don’t dare to hope for a full communion of Christians within history.” This reserve hardly seems to square with John Paul’s vision of the third millennium as the millennium of Christian unity, as expressed in the encyclical Ut Unum Sint or in the Pope’s reference to Christians’ “confident quest for full communion.” Citing examples of ongoing fragmentation of the Christian communions and the formation of new splinter groups–including syncretistic sects with a mix of Christian and pagan elements–Ratzinger points to other objectives. “Much more important is that we accept each other with profound respect and love, that we recognize one another as Christians, and that we endeavor to offer the world a common witness in the essential things, both in favor of a just world order and in giving a response to the great questions about God and about man’s origin and destiny.” While this mutual acceptance and common witness are clearly of major importance, one hopes the Cardinal’s soft-pedalling of efforts toward full communion between the Christian churches won’t play at cross-purposes to John Paul’s ecumenical program.

The new evangelization receives the same reserved response. Where Pope John Paul confidently proclaims the third millennium a springtime of evangelization, Cardinal Ratzinger presents a scenario of a shrinking Church of minority status, more concerned with creating small pockets of authentic Christian living than influencing the course of society. It would seem that Ratzinger’s experience with this century’s disastrous attempts at Hegelian Utopianism–both of Marxist and Nietzschean stamp–may have left him with a permanent distaste for programs of large-scale social change.

More to follow….

A new pope has been chosen on just the second day of the conclave. His name has not yet been announced. If precedent is any indication, we should know within hours.

A New Pope Has Been Chosen (WaPo)

White smoke from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney and the pealing of bells Tuesday signaled that the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church have elected a new pope to succeed Pope John Paul II. Thousands watched in St. Peter’s Square and millions more waited around the world to hear the announcement of the new pontiff’s identity. The election of the new pope came on only the second day of voting by cardinals in a secret conclave. Under the rules, the 115 voting cardinals chose the 265th pope with a two-thirds majority, or at least 77 voting in favor. The balloting followed a day of stately ritual.

One potential candidate, the influential Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, delivered a hard-hitting sermon at a pre-conclave Mass attended by the cardinals. A close associate of John Paul and the dean of the College of Cardinals, Ratzinger launched a passionate defense of strict orthodoxy. “To have a clear faith according to the church’s creed is today often labeled fundamentalism,” he told the cardinals and the congregation packed into St. Peter’s Basilica. “While relativism, letting ourselves be carried away by any wind of doctrine, appears as the only appropriate attitude for the today’s times. A dictatorship of relativism is established that recognizes nothing definite and leaves only one’s own ego and one’s own desires as the final measure.”

New pope selected by cardinals (BBC)

White smoke has been seen from the Sistine Chapel chimney indicating that a new pope has been elected. The bells of St Peter’s Basilica rang out shortly after 1800 local time (1600 GMT) to confirm the news. There were jubilant scenes in St Peter’s Square where many thousands of pilgrims had gathered.

The new pontiff was chosen on the fourth ballot held by the 115 cardinals meeting to select a successor to Pope John Paul II. There is no word on the new pope’s identity or what name he will choose, which the Vatican has indicated will be announced 45 minutes after his election.

The new leader of 1.1 billion Roman Catholics worldwide will soon appear on the balcony of the Vatican palace to greet the public and give his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” blessing to the city of Rome and the world.

Interesting. One presumes this means that one of the early favorites, likely Ratzinger or Francis Arinze, has been chosen. It would be unlikely that a lesser-known candidate would achieve two-thirds consensus so quickly.

In 2002, Frei Betto, a renowned liberation theologian, declared that, if Cardinal Hummes were to reach the papacy, “he would be even more socially engaged than John Paul II.” It was a bold statement, but perhaps not ill-informed. After all, how many church leaders can claim to have opened diocesan facilities for labor and political meetings? How many have provided safe haven for striking metal workers — including a young Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva — during Brazil’s military dictatorship? How many have directly urged Catholics to “fight in the legislature for laws favoring the family and life from the moment of conception until natural death”? Yet it would be a mistake to brand Cardinal Hummes a revolutionary. Much to the chagrin of social activists, he has stuck to many traditional doctrines and even withheld support for liberation theology itself.

“Inserted in the World”

Cardinal Hummes believes that Catholics must be engaged. Specifically:

[T]he Church must dialogue today, more than ever, with post-modern, urban and pluralistic society and with all the sectors that make it up, such as culture, science, technology, economy, the market, the financial world, politics and the means of communication, especially through the laity.

This worldview leads him to take clear and concrete stances on urgent social issues. Consider, for instance, the depth with which he analyzes the problem of HIV/AIDS:

The urgent need for treatment for these young patients can be met by the advances in medical science. Unfortunately, the cost of medical treatment is high and often beyond the reach not only of the poor, but even of those in the middle income bracket. This economic problem is compounded by legal issues, such as contentious interpretations of the right to intellectual property. My delegation is heartened by the WTO [World Trade Organization] agreement reached last 30 August 2003, which will make it easier for poorer States to import cheaper generic pharmaceuticals made under compulsory licensing. This agreement should give these young patients greater access to medicines. We dare to hope that more concrete expressions of political will and moral courage like this would soon follow. But the HIV/AIDS sufferers do not only turn to pharmaceutical companies for help; their appeal for political will and moral courage is addressed above all to the whole international community. Indeed, while there are only few investors in the pharmaceutical firms which can provide the medicines these young patients direly need, all of us — as individuals and as community — must be investors in the noble cause of protecting the children and the young from HIV/AIDS infection and rescuing those who already carry the virus, because they are the future of the human race.

He identifies a specific leadership role for the Church:

The Holy See and the Catholic institutions have not shrunk from the global fight against HIV/AIDS. My delegation is pleased to note that 12% of care providers for HIV/AIDS patients are agencies of the Catholic Church and 13% of the global relief for those affected by the epidemic comes from Catholic non-governmental organizations. The Holy See, thanks to its institutions worldwide, provides 25% of the total care given to HIV/AIDS victims, placing itself among the leading advocates in the field, in particular among the most ubiquitous and best providers of care for the victims.

Underlying such positions is a preference for the poor. Cardinal Hummes pays special attention to global poverty, starting in his own Sao Paolo neighborhood:

The cardinal said he was profoundly saddened by “the tragic news of the massacre of our brethren, who are part of the neglected and suffering population of our beloved city.”

“Such violence and cruelty is unacceptable and should be vigorously repudiated. The Church has cried out many times regarding the need to come to the aid of those who are forced to live in our streets, without shelter. She does so out of a duty of humanity and because of her faith in Jesus Christ, who wishes to be identified in each person, especially in the poor and handicapped,” the Cardinal said.

Likewise, he questioned the value of projects to improve the city, “if a significant part of its population suffers from the worst of miseries, is defenseless and subject to all kinds of violence.”

More generally, he blames capitalism, privatization, and tariff reductions for bringing “misery and poverty affecting millions around the world.” Such remarks lead many analysts to categorize him among the anti-globalization movement. But, upon closer examination, he seems to position more along the lines of “a new alternative, a third way to guarantee economic growth without sacrificing the poor and causing unemployment.” Note:

Hummes said that on the global level, the powerbrokers in the G-8 today stand before a historic responsibility.

“They must search an alternate global economic program where all have the possibility to integrate themselves, and no one remains outside. There will be no future if things go on as they now stand,” he said.

Hummes added, however, that he believes progress will be made, if only because it is in the self-interest of the elites to do so.

“The leaders realize we can’t go on like this,” he said. “Also for them, it’s better to be attentive to the question of poverty, of exclusion.”

Therein lies a sense of pragmatism. It seeps into other topics, most notably the Vatican’s reaction to The Da Vinci Code. Rather than blasting author Dan Brown and shining an even brighter light on the subject, as some church leaders have done, Cardinal Hummes puts the controversy in its place:

“It isn’t a big problem,” Cardinal Claudio Hummes, a leading candidate to succeed Pope John Paul, told Folha de S.Paulo newspaper on Monday. “We know it’s a big farce and that it did well commercially. The more people talk about the book, the happier the author will be.”

“Cardinal [Tarcisio] Bertone thought it was correct, with relation to his archdiocese, to warn against the book. It’s a right he has. But the index of prohibited books does not exist anymore,” Hummes said.

“The Church doesn’t censor. It tries to guide its faithful through catechism.”

“In Closer Contact with Jesus Christ”

Though he emphasizes action and results, Cardinal Hummes does not neglect philosophy and teachings. Indeed, his activism is linked to a sophisticated understanding of the importance of work, as inspired by Laborem Exercens. While he values charity, for instance, he argues that the best way to serve the poor is through training:

From a face-off in the 1970s with Brazil’s military government over workers’ rights to the more recent creation of church-run job-training centers, the cardinal’s commitment to fighting poverty and promoting human dignity has focused on the importance of employment.

At a Christmas 2004 fund-raiser for one of the centers, the cardinal said, “Jesus was born poor among the poor to call our attention to the social injustice that makes a portion of humanity increasingly poor, suffering, humiliated and excluded from sufficient access to the goods of the earth.”

[...]

The cardinal said that, as Pope John Paul II wrote in his 1981 encyclical on human labor, “Laborem Exercens,” work not only creates goods for one’s family and society, it also is a way to express one’s personality, creativity and potential.

Training workers, creating jobs and guaranteeing decent working conditions, Cardinal Hummes said, are essential factors “in resolving injustice and its consequences, such as poverty and hunger.”

Charity is not enough, the cardinal said: “Jesus, who was born poor, teaches us to care for the poor with love, intelligence and efficiency.”

More broadly, public action is not meant to distract from spiritual development:

Hummes emphasized that passion for social justice does not have to come at the expense of Christian identity. Concern for development, he said, must not neglect efforts “to help people to encounter the full truth about human beings and their vocation in this world,” meaning “Jesus Christ, in whom this full truth is met.”

Indeed, spiritual development facilitates public action:

“The fundamental mission of the Church is to spread the Gospel and bring people in closer contact with Jesus Christ,” Hummes said. “And it is through this contact that we can start correcting social injustices.”

Related:

Papal Candidates: An Overview
Papal Candidates: Cardinal Francis Arinze, Nigeria
Papal Candidates: Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Argentina
Papal Candidates: Cardinal Dario Castrillón Hoyos, Colombia
Papal Candidates: Cardinal Godfried Danneels, Belgium

The Vatican has deployed countermeasures in an attempt to keep enterprising reporters from spying on the papal selection conclave.

Vatican mobilises anti-surveillance op (The Register)

If press reports are to be believed, then next Monday’s gathering of cardinals in the Sistine Chapel will represent the biggest counter-surveillance operation since the Posh/Becks royal wedding. Indeed, so busy will the Vatican be blocking laser microphone assault, checking vases of flowers for nanobugs and setting the Swiss Guard on suspicious men using 3G mobes to communicate with circling black helicopters that we very much doubt whether there will be enough time to elect a new Pope between the stripsearches and electromagnetic sweeps.

Of course, there is a certain amount of legitimacy to the idea that some will stop at nothing to eavesdrop on the cardinals’ deliberations. The Pope-vote conclave is legendarily secretive. Pope John Paul II tackled the burgeoning technological threat when he introduced rules protecting cardinals from “threats to their independence of judgment”, viz; mobile phones, electronic organizers, radios, newspapers and TVs.

However, according to Wired, the Vatican now faces a mutli-pronged techno-assault on the Sistine Chapel. New menaces include – according to Massachusetts security operative James Atkinson – the aforementioned vibration-detecting laser mics and, chillingly, the possibility that a mole might alert the outside world by “using colored smoke or by flushing dye down a toilet with a discharge pipe that could be monitored elsewhere”.

Not that they’re paranoid or anything.

John Tierney argues that speculators at Intrade may give us the best insights as to who will be the next Pope.

If you listened to journalists during last year’s presidential campaign, you heard about a tight race with oscillating polls and shifting momentum. The weekend before the election, we painstakingly analyzed the battleground states and bravely proclaimed them too close to call. But if you watched the Intrade market throughout the campaign, you saw the traders serenely betting on a Bush victory. Most remarkably, the weekend before the election, the traders correctly called the winner in every one of the 50 states.

[...]

For now, the Intrade speculators are expecting the white smoke to signal an Italian pope. The futures contract that pays off in the event any Italian wins was trading at one point yesterday at 41.9, which means the traders gave Italy a 41.9 percent chance, followed by Nigeria at 13. The individual favorite was Dionigi Tettamanzi of Milan, at 23, followed by Francis Arinze of Nigeria, at 14.

Many of the traders probably know little about Vatican politics and are basically recreational gamblers, perhaps sentimentally betting on their local contender. But these amateurs serve a purpose in the ruthless ecosystem of the market. They are the sheep who attract the wolves. The amateurs’ money entices serious investors to spend time scouring cardinals’ past statements and other sources. The sheep’s money also offers a temptation for those with inside knowledge to cash in, even though that’s against the rules of Intrade – not to mention a 1591 papal bull forbidding Catholics from betting on a conclave.

[...]

But suppose a venal Vatican bureaucrat, or a secular friend of some official, hears a piece of useful gossip before or even during the conclave. Is he going to give it free of charge to a journalist, knowing this risks compromising himself as well as his source? Or is he is going to sit down, in the secure privacy of his home, and make a few profitable clicks on his computer?

My guess is neither. But I agree with Tierney that watching Intrade is at least as likely to give insights as listening to talking heads on television. Of course, reading Rob Tagorda’s background summaries on the papabile wouldn’t hurt, either.

Update: Dale Franks looks at Tradesports betting on the next pope.

According to a June 2002 Washington Monthly article by John Allen, even though Pope John Paul II appointed a vast majority of the cardinals, it’s no guarantee that his successor will be conservative. Cardinal Danneels is perhaps the strongest evidence for this argument. On modern culture, gender roles, church structure, and even papal retirement, he clearly departs from traditionalists. But his views on other controversial issues like Islam, condoms, and celibacy hardly make him a radical. While supporters tout such moderation and pragmatism, opponents have concerns about his role in a sexual abuse case.

“Immense Richness of Contemporary Culture”

Cardinal Danneels argues that, to advance Catholic teachings, church leaders must embrace modernity:

Something else which seems indispensable and not often talked about is the cultural background or training given to our seminarians. Are seminarians familiar with the arts? With literature? With films that they could discuss afterward? Are they conversant with the technological and scientific world in which they live? Do seminarians actually ever read anything? Sometimes it seems they don’t even read the newspapers! Seminarians need to be taught how to enter the world of culture, which is immense, beautiful and interesting. They are often immature, I know, but they could at least be introduced to those things.

This idea underlines his reformist tendencies, most notably on gender issues:

I think that women are more sensitive, more perceptive to non-material matters such as religion, art or love. In that sense, they have a thinner skin. They are more connected with or embedded in the cosmos, in nature and life, perhaps also because the woman carries the child. It has also captivated me that most revelations in the Bible are made to women, and that the Pythia of Delphi were also women. But who am I to talk about this subject? I’m not an expert in the psychology of women.

Although the women are more religious, the Church is a man’s world. The Church may be a man in composition, but in itself she is a woman. The Church is never called our father, but our mother. Today the actual power structure in the Church is male, but it shouldn’t have to be that way. It is just that government in the Church has long been closely linked with the priesthood. But I think that priest structure and power structure in principle don’t need to be one and the same. Both my vicars are women, and I see no reason why a woman should not head a Roman congregation.

His structural proposals go beyond the expanded role of women. Among other things, he supports collegial decision-making within the church:

The synod of bishops is certainly the privileged instrument of collegiality. But its functioning has to be perfected. As it now functions, it does not allow for real debate in the episcopal college around Peter. The first two weeks offer an interesting “geographical map” of the problem, as John Paul II phrased it one day. The third week—that of the small groups—is too short and poorly directed: it does not permit a true confrontation of ideas. The reports in plenary session that follow are, quite frankly, disappointing. As far as the fourth week is concerned, it is overtime work that painfully produces a few propositions. Fortunately, the Holy Father saves the day by writing the post-synodal exhortation.

It is necessary to foster a true culture of debate in the church.

He also supports limited papal terms — a position that sparked controversy a few months ago:

One of Europe’s most influential cardinals called Monday for a debate on limiting the term of the papacy but denied he was suggesting Pope John Paul II should resign.

Cardinal Godfried Danneels of Belgium is the highest-ranking churchman to go public with calls for a discussion on possible term limits for the papacy.

But Danneels insisted he never meant to suggest in a new book that John Paul should end his 22-year tenure as head of the Roman Catholic Church.

“If you see how much work…leaders do, I don’t see how, with a person 80, 90 or 100 years old, that person can maintain a tradition…that a pope never resigns,” Danneels said.

But, he added, “What I didn’t want to say is that this pope should resign, that he should leave or that I should want him to leave or that he isn’t doing a good job.”

In his book, “Frankly: Six Discussions with the Cardinal,” Danneels suggested John Paul might consider stepping aside next year, now that he has achieved his dream of leading the church into the new millennium.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the pope also retired after 2000. He absolutely wanted to reach the Jubilee year, but I believe he would retire afterward,” wrote Danneels, who has been mentioned as possible successor for John Paul.

Even more controversial was his stance on condoms:

“If a person infected with HIV has decided not to respect abstinence, then he has to protect his partner and he can do that – in this case – by using a condom.” To do otherwise, he said, would be “to break the Fifth Commandment”, that you shall not murder.

“That’s All There Is to Say”

But there are limits to Cardinal Danneels’ progressivism. For instance, he takes a firm stance on priestly celibacy:

I think we need to purify the motivation for celibacy within the priesthood. We are celibate not to be able to work more, to put in more hours of work. There are many doctors who work longer hours than priests and who are married. The only real motivation for celibacy is being faithful to the total imitation of Jesus Christ. All other arguments for celibacy fall before this one. And if you don’t want to do this, then don’t come to seminary. Celibacy is an issue of love, and love cannot be explained or reasoned. Why am I celibate? Young people ask me all the time why I don’t marry. The answer is, I don’t know. Does that mean I’m not free? Not at all. I say to those young people who question me, “If you fell in love with a certain person and I asked you why, you would probably not have an answer either.” Love is simply love. It cannot be explained. That’s all there is to say.

Indeed, he generally defends the traditional training of priests. Consider this statement on the intellectual formation of seminarians:

So many of our priests are afraid to talk with university professors. So they go out of their way to avoid discussion groups, public meetings, forums and seminars, which I think is a shame. I don’t think that helps us. It is important to have a good intellectual training and not to think that generosity and simplicity suffice. We need intelligent, generous and prayerful priests, but never should one quality exist to the exclusion of the other.

Intellectual people, as we know, are not always appreciated, although this attitude is changing, especially here. There was a trend in the church not many years ago when people questioned why seminarians should study two years of philosophy when they should be learning only about Christ. We fell into this trap of simplifying the intellectual formation of priests. I am absolutely convinced that philosophical background is essential — and I am talking about philosophy as a discipline in its own right.

Cardinal Danneels issues tough challenges on interfaith matters as well. Most notably, he urges Muslim leaders to undergo fundamental changes:

“I think, I hope that it is possible to create a European Islam which has gone through its own French Revolution. It can already be found here or there,” he said in the interview, published by the Express India newspaper.

Danneels argued though that Muslim communities in Europe should see the contradiction between following tenets of Islam and integration into western societies.

“I think Islam should do that. Christianity did it, especially under the influence of the French Revolution. Apart from its negative aspects, there were also good things, like the separation of church and state,” he said.

Danneels, the archbishop for the Brussels-Mechelen region, also called on Muslims to adopt what he termed a “moderate” Islam that does not cover all social and economic aspects of life.

“This is fundamental. It is very difficult to talk to a monolithic Islam, because that comes down to ‘take it or leave it’ and the accomplishments of European history, culture and social order are not really integrated in that,” he said.

He claimed that Islam should allow more flexible interpretation of its scriptures.

“That is fundamental, the willingness of Islam to interpret its texts, the Qur’an in particular,” Danneels said.

And, despite his enthusiasm for scientific advancement, he has grave concerns about the dangers of new technologies:

“Technology is not only unpredictably linked to side effects, but it may have reached a level of complexity beyond our imagination,” he said.

Fear of these new technologies emerged from an unwillingness to “disturb the symbolic order considered sacred,” Danneels said. He cited Frankenstein and Prometheus’ defiance of God as examples of how humans are frightened by these new technologies.

Danneels warned that the ability to do something afforded by a new technology did not mean that it should necessarily be done. “What we ought to do is not necessarily what we can do. We can poison lots of people and creatures, but that does not mean it is right to do so. The question is not if we can, but if we should.”

Danneels also discussed the relationship between ethics and technology, stating that ethics did not always have to conform to technology.

“It is nonsensical to believe that religion must adapt to science and that ethics must develop with technology,” he said. “Ethics is how we ought to live and act. Technology discusses new ways to do new things.”

Danneels encouraged the Catholic Church to continue to take a paternalistic position in order to decide what treatments and technology should be permissible and desirable for its members.

“We must have … a position that is analogous to what a parent would take to protect its children,” he said. “Their duty is to protect children against harm. Essentially, that is what the church is doing in this field.”

“We Cannot Do Otherwise”

Overall, Cardinal Danneels seems to aim for a sense of pragmatism — something that he knows often eludes priests:

That is also why the priest is so captivated by the poor and the small, by the sick and by children. In them he hears the stifled voice of the impoverished Christ. His heart will not rest until reaches out to them. Sometimes this sensitive heart also plays tricks on the priest. People say: “you priests don’t know the real world and you are naïve. You speak a strange language and your action produces nothing: it does not fit this world”. To this, priests cannot but answer: ‘we cannot do otherwise’. This passion for Christ is felt by the priest especially during the celebration of the Eucharist. Even though the service is sometimes poor, the singing awkward, and the assistance clumsy, it occurs without fail: without fail the priest instructs from the Scriptures that the Messiah had to suffer; and without fail he again recognises Jesus in the breaking of the bread (cf. Luke 24).

Indeed, pragmatism is reflected in his views on the liturgy:

“The question is, is it wise to celebrate today in Latin? For me, the answer is no. It’s not adapted to modern times, other than perhaps for intellectuals with a certain culture.”

Danneels said helping people grasp the mystery of the Eucharistic celebration is a much more pressing task.

As for controversial issues such as dance, Danneels rejected blanket policies.

“Dance is very different by culture,” he said. “There’s no eroticism in African dance, for example. What’s important is that it shouldn’t become the Nutcracker Ballet. The dance should make you think about God, not the performance.”

Even with his own proposals, he tries to be realistic. Consider this statement on marriage (emphasis added):

He stressed that the first principle in dealing with divorced and remarried Catholics must be compassion — pastors must not presume to judge the decisions these individuals have made, he said.

Danneels said access to the sacraments should remain an open question. He suggested that the Catholic church may need to learn from the Orthodox church, in which the sacraments are understood as “medicine for the soul” rather than as a privilege earned by correct application of church rules.

The Orthodox church permits a second and even a third marriage following divorce. The liturgy for the second and third marriages, however, is different from the first. It contains a penitential element, expressing regret for the collapse of the previous marriage.

In response to a question from the audience at the French church, Danneels cautioned that discussion of the issue may not lead to immediate change, since the power to admit remarried divorced persons to the sacraments is vested in the Vatican. That means existing practice is likely to continue — “for now.”

“It Is Good That There Be Maximum Transparency”

Cardinal Danneels comes across as bold and outspoken. While these traits have helped him become one of the most charismatic papal candidates, they have also occasionally put him in uncomfortable positions. The sexual abuse scandals provides a case in point:

He called clerical sex abuse a serious sin, especially because it involved the abuse of “religious power.” “It is good that there be maximum transparency [in handling abuse cases]. That will do much good for the church [because] it will be purified,” the cardinal said.

Cardinal Danneels said he was “struck by the number of cases in America,” but he blamed the media in the West for hunting for scandals, “especially those involving ministers of the church in the field of sexuality…. A certain feeling has spread in recent years that the church protects, for example, pedophile priests. It is true that the church has never made scandals public, but it is excessive to conclude that the church has hidden the reality,” he said. “Certainly this doesn’t mean that one should pretend nothing has happened. The problem exists and is extremely serious. It calls the church to its responsibilities,” he added.

Even if we grant that the press is inclined towards controversy, it’s hard not to see this argument as self-serving in light of this background:

In April of 1998, a Belgian court ruled that Cardinal Godfried Danneels and a local bishop were responsible for the abuse because they were the supervisors of the priest. The cardinal and bishop were ordered to pay damages totaling $14,000 to one of the victims.

To be fair, though, he is aware of the tricky position in which church leaders often find themselves. We can see that in his recent comment on papal succession:

The Church will look for a man who will continue, in a certain sense, all the good things that this Pope has begun and will also be very open and sensitive to all the new difficulties and new problems. … because the Church is in complete revolution and evolution, so he has to adapt.

Related:

Papal Candidates: An Overview
Papal Candidates: Cardinal Francis Arinze, Nigeria
Papal Candidates: Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Argentina
Papal Candidates: Cardinal Dario Castrillón Hoyos, Colombia

If his name sounds familiar, it’s probably because Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos has been a central figure in some of the most high-profile issues. His wide-ranging activities reflect a particular vision of religious life — something that he has crafted as Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy. Priests, he believes, “must be involved in all that concerns the spread of Christ’s Kingdom, and, consequently, the eternal salvation of souls.” Thus he has not only worked on such projects as the General Catechetical Directory, but he has also directly addressed peasants, communists, and even drug dealers, bringing “a new approach to the nature and mission of the ministerial priesthood.” Nonetheless, he has made some crucial errors along the way, most notoriously in his handling of the sexual abuse scandals. Despite all his talk about being “open to modern cultures,” detractors argue, he is often out of touch.

“Man of God, Man of the Church, and Man of His Times”

According to Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos, priests should have the courage to tackle the most daunting challenges:

In the priestly identification with Christ fear disappears. We must not forget that the dialogue of the Church has always been multi-cultural and that fear was overcome by martyrdom. Was it easy to confront the sexual liberties of Athens, Corinth or Rome? Was it easy to introduce the sanctity of marriage in the Eastern or Western pagan world? Was it easy to convert those who had the power and riches, to make room to many of them in the hagiography? Was it simple to pacify the violent ones? Did the priests and missionaries count of the means of communication we have today? Were the cultural schemes favorable to them?

He took this teaching seriously. In Pereira, where he served as bishop, he confronted police corruption. He also reputedly dressed up as a milkman in his meeting with the dangerous kingpin Pablo Escobar, whom he ordered to stop the violence. Recalls John Allen:

When Escobar condescendingly asked who Castrillón Hoyos represented, he replied: “I represent He who one day will judge you.” Escobar backed down, and offered to negotiate with the government.

It’s no wonder Gabriel Garcia Marquez referred to his priesthood as “a militia of social justice.”

But this fearlessness was conspicuously absent two years ago. Tasked by the Vatican to deliver the pope’s customary Holy Thursday letter, which happened to mention the sexual abuse scandals, Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos seemed defensive before the press. Allen details his behavior:

When we were finished, Castrillón Hoyos refused to answer the questions he had so painstakingly collected.

“I don’t want to take more risks than are necessary,” he said, with a smile, and then produced a two-page prepared statement which he said would constitute the only response he could offer. It made two points: few priests are guilty of this sort of misconduct, and the Catholic church has long had strong policies against sexual abuse by clergy. He cited the 1917 Code of Canon Law as evidence.

To most of the journalists present, the performance came off as evasive and insulting. Why waste our time soliciting questions if you have no intention of telling us what we want to know?

Later, as Castrillon embarked on an unrelated topic, Bob Kaiser of Newsweek attempted to get things back on track: “Your Eminence,” he broke in, “could you please answer our questions?”

A peeved Castrillón Hoyos responded: “I listened to your questions, and I would hope you’ll listen when I’m speaking.”

Actually, Castrillón Hoyos did go beyond his prepared statement several times in the course of reading it aloud, adding small flourishes that only compounded the impression of being “out of touch.”

First, when Castrillón Hoyos started to speak, he observed that most of the questions had been put in English. “That in itself is an x-ray of the problem,” he said, seeming to suggest that the sex abuse crisis is largely an English-speaking phenomenon. One could already hear teeth grinding.

[...]

At the end, Castrillón Hoyos defended the church’s preference for “keeping things within the family,” which does not, he said, mean that the church refuses to cooperate with the state, except when it comes to its sacramental secret. He then expressed the pope’s solidarity with the priests and bishops of the United States, but not (in what I can only assume was an unintentional omission) with the victims.

Had I been asked for advice by Vatican spin doctors before the press conference, I would have made just one point, given the present atmosphere of hurt and shock in the American church: “Whatever you do, don’t seem defensive or unresponsive.”

Castrillón Hoyos managed to do both.

Contrast this incident with the standard description of his media savvy:

Unique among the cardinals and perhaps among all modern churchmen, he decided one day to look in on the press room and see the journalists who cover the Vatican at work. He said a few words to them. When he was finished, all the journalists stood up and cheered, an incident as inconsistent with the fundamental nature of the elements involved than the parting of the Red Sea.

“We Are in Peter’s Boat”

In sermons and in writings, Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos has likened the Church to the Apostles in the Lake of Gennesaret:

It is true that our time is difficult, it is true that the barque of the Church must sail through stormy waters, stirred up by winds of ideologies and cultures that are anti-human and for this very reason, anti-Christian.

Within this framework, he has presided over the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei,” which aims to “regularise the canonical situation of a certain number of religious communities of a traditionalist nature.” Specifically, he has worked to bring back into “full ecclesial communion” those who are connected with Marcel Lefebvre. It is therefore unsurprising to see him in such reports as this one from Catholic World News:

The Colombian prelate told he Italian daily Il Giornale that traditionalists should never be treated as second-class citizens in the Church. He admitted that the Church sometime shows more consideration in dealings with Protestant and Orthodox groups than with traditionalist Catholics. At the same time, Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos suggested that some traditionalists should avoid “types of exasperated criticism” of Church leaders.

[...]

To satisfy the legitimate concerns of traditionalist Catholics, “a greater understanding is necessary,” the cardinal said. He observed that Pope John Paul has “recognized the validity of their liturgical sensibilities.” While other Catholics may not share those sensibilities, he insisted that traditionalists “are not second-class Catholics and must not be treated as such.”

Along the same lines, note the following summary of his interview with The Latin Mass, a traditionalist magazine:

Cardinal [Castrillón] Hoyos then confirms the great affection which John Paul II has for the traditionalist faithful and that Rome has noticed that traditionalists constitute a ‘vast group of faithful’ – growing rapidly with many young families and children. Cardinal [Castrillón] Hoyos states that traditionalists ‘should be protected in their right to be able to express their faith and piety…’ He then points to the success of the special arrangements in Campos, Brazil, where the traditionalist Bishop Rifan ministers to over 30,000 traditional faithful in collaboration with the local episcopates.

Cardinal [Castrillón] Hoyos finishes by saying that because diocesan bishops are still reluctant to implement the Pope’s request for generous permissions for the traditional rite, Rome is preparing a new ‘juridical guarantee’ of the rights of the traditionalist faithful.

Most famously, Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos has praised The Passion of the Christ and its traditionalist director Mel Gibson. When asked whether it would impact his work, he replied:

This film is a triumph of art and faith. It will be a tool for explaining the person and message of Christ. I am confident that it will change for the better everyone who sees it, both Christians and non-Christians alike. It will bring people closer to God, and closer to one another.

Related:

Papal Candidates: An Overview
Papal Candidates: Cardinal Francis Arinze, Nigeria
Papal Candidates: Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Argentina

It’s hard to question Cardinal Bergoglio’s concern for the poor when he does many things to display humility. For instance, upon receiving his appointment, he instructed supporters to donate the money that they had raised for Vatican festivities. He refused to live in the Buenos Aires archbishop’s palace, choosing instead a small apartment where he prepared his own dinners. He traded in a chauffeured limousine for public transportation. But, beyond his austerity, he’s taken public stances on numerous political and socioeconomic issues that have plagued his native Argentina, which is still recovering from financial turmoil. In this light, perhaps it’s fitting that he once presented a report on behalf of the Synod of Bishops — a position that he described as “keeping watch” for the people.

“Servant of the Gospel of Jesus Christ”

Though he started out as a chemist, Cardinal Bergoglio developed into an accomplished theologian and a strong religious leader. This is particularly evident in his writings on the theological identity of bishops. Note:

The requirement of holiness for bishops has to be over and above the universal call to holiness of all members of the Church as taught in chapter 5 of the Constitution on the Church. The sacramentality of the episcopate is the place where one must go to find the chief reason for the pursuit of holiness. In virtue of this sacramentality, episcopal ordination is not just a juridical act, by which greater jurisdiction is conferred on a priest, but it is an act of Christ who, by giving the Spirit of the supreme priesthood, sanctifies the person ordained and grants the helping graces, which he needs for the realization of his mission and his duties. As a result, each Bishop reaches sanctity mainly in his ministry and by the exercise of his ministry.

Invoking Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Bergoglio places special emphasis on the ministry’s connection to the poor:

One of the characteristics mentioned often by the Synodal Fathers in relationship with the holiness of the bishop is his poverty. The bishop, a man who is poor in spirit, is the image of the poor Christ, imitating the poor Christ, trying to view things with the vision of Gospel poverty. His simplicity and austerity of life confer total freedom in the Lord. The Holy Father invited us to examine “our attitude towards earthly goods and their use … to verify to what point in the Church the personal and community conversion has achieved effective evangelical poverty . . . to be poor at the service of the Gospel” (John Paul II, Homily for the opening Mass of the 10th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, 30 September 2001, nn. 3-4). With these words, John Paul II challenges us to follow the radicalism of the Gospel which calls blessed those who become poor for the Kingdom, accompanying Jesus in his poverty, living in communion with his brothers according to the apostolic form of life which we read about in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 4,32: “The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul; no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, as everything they owned was held in common”).

Cardinal Bergoglio continues with a familial image:

The bishop’s fidelity to the Gospel and his love for the spirit of poverty lead him to a special option in favour of the poor who are at the central core of the Good News of Jesus. The bishop walks with them. The bishop cannot forget that on the day of his episcopal consecration, he was questioned on his intention to take care of the poor. With the passage of time, he should learn to see people as Jesus saw them. He is father and brother of the poor in his diocese. His “contemplative intuition” and his pastoral charity lead him to discover the new faces which “the widow, the orphan and the stranger” of the Scriptures have taken in modern life. The bishop knows that Jesus was God’s compassion for the poor and for this reason enters the life of the poor.

And, of course, poverty is central to the broader mission of social justice and peace:

In this area of missionary activity the Synod fathers pointed out the bishop as a prophet of justice. Nowadays the war of the powerful against the weak has created an abyss between the rich and the poor. The poor are legion. Before an unjust economic system with strong structural inequalities, the situation of the marginalized is worse. Today substantial groups of people suffer hunger. The poor, the young and the refugees are victims of this “new order”. Women in many places are looked down upon and are the object of a new hedonist culture. The Bishop must never tire of preaching the social doctrine which comes from the Gospel and which the Church has made explicit since the times of the early Fathers. Social doctrine is capable of sowing hope, because it gathers us brothers and sisters in divine sonship and makes us realise that there is no hope for the rich unless there is hope for the poor.

“Persevere in the Struggle for the Faith”

Interestingly, John Allen notes that Cardinal Bergoglio disappointed many of his Latin American Jesuit brethren when he pushed for a traditional and spiritual approach instead of “moving into the social apostolate.” Yet he’s lived up to his writings and engaged in public issues. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he took “conservative positions” during the military dictatorship. Since then, his association with Comunione e Liberazione, a Catholic lay movement, has done little to shed this characterization.

Two years ago, during a gay-pride parade, some demonstrators vandalized the Metropolitan Cathedral with “Church = dictatorship”, “Rapist priests,” and “Nazi priests.” Remarked Cardinal Bergoglio:

In a pluralistic society when minority groups express themselves, it would be logical that they do so respecting the religious sentiments of the majority.

We hope it is understood that when we express our doctrines around sexual conduct, we do so within the standard of truth we believe, but never without an attitude of respect and understanding toward individuals.

Late last year, in response to an art exhibit by a militant atheist, he urged followers to be resolute. According to Catholic World News:

“For some time public expressions of ridicule and insult of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Most Holy Virgin Mary, as well as numerous exhibits against the religious and moral values we profess, have been on display throughout the city,” the cardinal warned.

He lamented that the exhibiting of blasphemous art is taking place at a cultural center that is funded by taxpayer money.

“Jesus warned us that these things would take place, and with much tenderness he told us not to be afraid, that we are his small flock, that we should persevere in the struggle for the faith and in charity, placing our hope in him and praying with the true confidence of children of a Father who loves us,” he added.

But he isn’t always in the midst of controversy. Consider this hospice visit:

Cardinal Bergoglio arrived at the Francisco Muniz Hospital for Infectious Diseases where he washed and kissed the feet of 12 AIDS patient. The Mass that he celebrated there on Holy Thursday was attended by patients, nurses, doctors, volunteers, and relatives. “I come, following the footprints of our only master, Our Lord Jesus Christ, to express how close the Church is to those who must suffer the pain and discrimination,” the cardinal said. After the Mass, Cardinal Bergoglio and the hospital chaplain, Father Andres Tello Cornejo, brought the Eucharist to patients who were unable to attend the ceremony.

“Cardinal Bergoglio’s will to express his solidarity with AIDS victims in such an eloquent way is a courageous decision and a significant signal that brings hope to those who work on the behalf of AIDS victims,” said [Health Minister Hector] Lombardo.

Ultimately, though, it comes back to the poor. When hundreds of thousands of poor Argentinians began to make pilgrimages to San Cayetano, the patron saint of work, Cardinal Bergoglio repeated his familiar message:

“People ask why we spend our time touching a statue when we could be out looking for work,” he said.

“We do it because faith will see us through. We do it because faith endures. We do it because faith is all we have at a time like this.”

Related:

Papal Candidates: An Overview
Papal Candidates: Cardinal Francis Arinze, Nigeria

Because he hails from Africa, Cardinal Arinze has attracted considerable media attention and prompted questions about whether the world is ready for a black pope. But his background runs deeper than skin color. As a convert and a citizen of Nigeria, where approximately half the population is Muslim, he can speak with authority on interfaith and cross-cultural matters: in 1985, Pope John Paul II tapped him to lead the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue. But he’s equally comfortable in dealing with internal Catholic issues, having spearheaded the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Thus his 1973 quotation, noted by the Washington Post, is appropriate:

The Church has to be at home in every culture, while not being tied down or imprisoned by any.

“Proposed, Not Imposed”

Buddha is “a great teacher of humanity.” Muslims and Christians are “part of one human family.” Indeed, writes Cardinal Arinze, “Christians must remember that God has also manifested himself in some way to the followers of other religious traditions.”

So how does Catholicism distinguish itself? Cardinal Arinze highlights “God’s salvific will” and emphasizes the Church’s role as “the universal sacrament of salvation.” He then adds:

But there are people who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church. They also are included in God’s plan of salvation. There are, however, conditions. They must be sincere in their seeking of God. They must be open to the secret but real action of the Holy Spirit in them. They should follow their conscience in all matters of right and wrong. Because Christ has taken on human nature and somehow united himself with every man and woman, God can in ways known to him put people in link with the saving mysteries of Christ (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 22). He can give them the grace needed for salvation.

But to say that the followers of other religions can attain salvation under some conditions does not mean to ignore the fact that in these religions there are limits, errors and shadows. As St Paul says: “Very often, deceived by the Evil One, men have become vain in their reasonings, and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and served the creature rather than the Creator. Or else, living and dying in this world without God, they are exposed to ultimate despair” (Rom 1:21,25). This explains why the Catholic Church “painstakingly fosters her missionary work” (Lumen Gentium, 16) so that, becoming full members of the Church, people may have access to the fullness of the means of salvation, a fullness to be found only in the Church which is the ordinary means to salvation.

In stressing respect for human dignity and recognizing religious freedom, Cardinal Arinze not only reveals his conversion story but also aligns himself with Pope John Paul II’s message:

This stand is in perfect line with the Catholic doctrine that the human response to God in faith should be free. “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who does not believe shall be condemned” (Mk 16:6). Religion is proposed, not imposed. “The truth cannot impose itself except by virtue of its own truth, as it makes its entrance into the mind at once quietly and with power” (Dignitatis Humanae, 1).

There have been periods in Church history when this principle has not been sufficiently respected in practice. Vatican II itself admits this: “In the life of the People of God as it has made its pilgrim way through the vicissitudes of human history, there have at times appeared ways of acting which were less in accord with the spirit of the Gospel and even opposed to it” (Dignitatis Humanae, 12). This happened, for example, when people accused of heresy were imprisoned or burnt. In the 12thMarch 2000 ceremony in St Peter’s Basilica, the Holy Father asked pardon of God for all such acts.

“Culture Is Broader Than Religion”

According to Cardinal Arinze, “religion can be said to represent the transcendent dimension of culture and in a certain way its soul.” But he also acknowledges the “alienating influence” that religion can sometimes have on politics and civilization. This realism is particularly evident in his views on Christian-Muslim relations.

He recognizes the commonalities between the two faiths:

Among the values shared between Christianity and Islam, peace deserves special mention. Both religions stress the pre-eminence of peace. “Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you” (Jn 14:27), said Jesus to his Apostles the night before he suffered and died. And after his Resurrection when he appeared to them he generally began with the greeting: “Peace be with you” (cf. Jn 20:19, 21, 26). St Paul calls Christ “our peace” (cf. Eph 2:14). For Muslims, Peace is one of the Beautiful Names of God. Does this fact not give added significance to the customary greeting among Muslims: al­salamu ‘alaykum? Peace is necessary for individuals, within the same religious community, between two or more religions, between peoples and between States. Christians and Muslims have a duty to promote this tranquillity of order. No right­thinking Christian or Muslim today should support crusades or holy wars. Nor should they allow their conduct to be tainted by racist considerations or give way to discrimination on the basis of race, colour, condition of life or religion.

But Cardinal Arinze is unafraid to point out differences — even those with serious political implications. Consider his thoughts on human rights:

Christians see human beings as having been created in God’s image and likeness. They are brothers and sisters of Christ, the Son of God made man. The Incarnation has ennobled the whole of humanity. This is the real foundation of human dignity. Moreover, Christ died on the cross to redeem all humanity. So we can say that love of God passes through love of neighbour. The Muslim vision is different. The human person is the servant of God, and remains so even when receiving God’s call to be caliph or God’s vice­regent, among created things. This vision finds expression in the names used. Many Muslim names begin with ‘Abd (servant) followed by one of the numerous names for God. Christians see man as created by God with certain inalienable rights. Prominent among these is the right to religious freedom. “This freedom means that all men are to be immune from coercion on the part of individuals or of social groups and of any human power, in such wise that in matters religious no one is to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his own beliefs. Nor is anyone to be restrained from acting in accordance with his own beliefs, whether privately or publicly, whether alone or in association with others, within due limits” (Dignitatis Humanae, n. 2).

Here’s the money quote:

[S]ome predominantly Muslim countries have their reservations regarding the United Nations 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights which they see as an expression of Western culture. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Islam, proclaimed in Paris in 1981, does contain an article on the right to religious freedom (art.13). It is however very short, merely stating: “Every person has freedom of belief and freedom of worship in conformity with his belief: ‘to you your religion, to me mine’ (Q. 109:6)”. The following article treats of the right to summons (da ‘wa) and to proclamation (balagh), but the content of the article remains vague. It is not clear whether or not people of religions other than Islam have the right to propagate their religion. There is certainly no mention of a right to change one’s religion. So the question of human dignity and the rights which flow from it is one on which Christians and Muslims who have learned to know and trust one another can exchange views in the hope of greater service to the human person and therefore to the world.

That’s a pretty firm criticism. It’s also highly relevant for a post-9/11 papacy. Whereas a different religious leader might struggle to make such strong statements, Cardinal Arinze seems to have genuine credibility. At the same time, it’s hard to confuse him for a bellicose neoconservative when he asserts:

Poverty, underdevelopment, justice and corruption are fertile grounds for the rise or growth of extremist religious tendencies. In such societies those who reject the present situation, or who oppose the government in power, may find it easy to get the support of the suffering poor who are the vast majority, by making appeal to extravagant religious claims. The temptation that the answer to these situations of suffering is a return to what is presented as an original or pure form of a certain religion – whether Christianity or Islam – is an easy one. The effective response is not a crackdown on religious fanatics. It is rather a joint commitment of Christians and Muslims, and other citizens, to justice, development, sound economic programmes, honesty in private and public life, and willingness on the part of the rich to show serious solidarity with the poor. Peace stands on the pillars of love, truth, development, justice and solidarity.

“Sometimes It Shows a Lack of Faith”

When it comes to liturgical issues, Cardinal Arinze frowns upon departures from approved rites:

The general approach is that the liturgy is the public worship of the Church. It is not an area where individuals do their own thing, feed the people with the latest production of their over-fertile imaginations. This would do damage to the faithful and the liturgy. Sometimes it shows a lack of faith.

Some abuses make the Mass invalid. For example – nobody did this – but suppose a priest says, “I don’t like wine at all. I am going to use Coca-Cola.” From the point of view of theology, it would not be Mass at all. If he didn’t use bread made from wheat but uses bread from cassava or wine from the palm tree and not from the vine.

These are abuses that affect the validity of the sacrament. But there can be abuses that do not make the sacrament invalid. Like if a priest begins Mass by saying, “Good morning. Did your favorite football team win?” That’s banalization. Everyone would recognize that.

Suppose in preaching it is no longer on the Gospel and our faith but on politics. Or suppose he says, “I do not like these vestments. I think I will use my overcoat.” Or if he says, “I do not like some of the words in the book, I am going to invent my own prayers. I composed these myself last night.”

On the other hand, he stresses the principle of subsidiarity, as this statement on liturgical dance makes clear:

In the last analysis, the bishops of each country must look into this matter. It is not cut and dried. There are many rites: Ethiopian, Byzantine, Greek, Armenian, Coptic, Chaldean, for example. The Latin rite has not traditionally known dance. If you say “dance” to anyone in Europe, I leave it to you to see what comes to their mind. They will say, “That has nothing to do with the liturgy. When we want to see a dance, we don’t go to Mass. We go somewhere else.” It is a cultural thing.

In the same vein, note his recommendation for addressing liturgical abuses:

Do your best to speak with those in the parish who can do something about it. If there is no success, if it still very important, you can approach your diocesan office. But the first thing to do is not to take paper and write to the Vatican. There must be a better solution than that, although as a last resort, people retain that right.

“Each One Will Have a Separate Story”

In the end, Cardinal Arinze seems strongly influenced by his conversion to the faith. Though he shuns the term — “in Nigeria, we would hardly call the person a convert” — he’s quick to invoke the “work of God’s grace.” “This is,” he says, “God’s own mystery.”

Related:

Papal Candidates: An Overview

John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter has perhaps the best summary of the papabili. Here’s his list, in alphabetical order:

Ennio Antonelli, Italian
Francis Arinze, Nigeria
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Argentina
Dario Castrillón Hoyos, Colombia
Godfried Danneels, Belgium
Julius Darmaatmadja, Indonesia
Ivan Dias, India
Claudio Hummes, Brazil
Lubomyr Husar, Ukraine
Walter Kasper, German
Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez, Dominican Republic
Wilfrid Fox Napier, South Africa
Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, Cuba
Marc Ouellet, Canada
Giovanni Battista Re, Italy
Norberto Rivera Carrera, Mexico
Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, Honduras
Angelo Scola, Italy
Christoph Schönborn, Austria
Dionigi Tettamanzi, Italy

But while Allen, like other journalists, provide many interesting biographical tidbits (for instance, novelist Gabriel García Márquez once described Hoyos as “this rustic man with the profile of an eagle”), we learn very little about their philosophies and theological positions. It’s natural, of course, for the press to stick with basic profiles. Still, the public in general and Catholics in particular deserve more information, especially since religious stances can easily be mischaracterized or oversimplified.

So, in the following days, I’ll be examining the leading candidates in greater detail. Because I have other obligations to fulfill, I’ll restrict my research to the six men in this Reuter’s list: Arinze, Bergoglio, Castrillón Hoyos, Danneels, Dias, and Hummes. If time permits, I’ll throw in an Italian or two. If there’s reader demand for certain figures, I’ll consider making other additions. But I’ll start here.

Stay tuned.

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