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Foreign Correspondent INSIDE TRACK ON WORLD NEWS by international syndicated columnist & broadcaster Eric Margolis |
POPE BENEDICT XIV: THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE RIGHT JOBCopyright: Eric S. Margolis, 2005April 25, 2005 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict XVI last week, steps into the shoes of the greatest pontiff since the Middle Ages. The late John Paul II not only led the Catholic Church, his great heart and good works made him the most important spiritual leader on earth. This is the ultimate hard act to follow, a hugely daunting challenge for a retiring, 78-year old scholar. But Benedict XVI is the man to do it – provided his health holds up. The College of Cardinals wisely and swiftly chose precisely the right candidate to continue John Paul’s conservative policies and keep the Mother Church from being torn apart by doctrinal rebellions and geographical or cultural divisions. Ratzinger was John Paul’s closest friend, collaborator, and confidant. In effect, he was longtime CEO to John Paul’s Chairman. Who better to take the helm of the world’s oldest organization? Any other choice risked being seen by the many Catholics who venerated John Paul as a saint as repudiation or dilution of his policies. The outpouring of emotion and fidelity over John Paul’s death stunned even the Church and made any change of policy unacceptable. Pope Benedict underlined this point by appointing to senior positions prelates that were close to John Paul II. The choice of Ratzinger was wise for another reason. The Church’s growth areas are Latin America and Africa, where ardent Catholics abound. The church’s main problems on both continents is the faith being mutated by local cults and customs. In Europe, by contrast, Christianity is withering away. So the Church’s most urgent task was not to play to robust believers in the Americas or Africa by naming a pope from those regions, but dealing with the crisis of faith in increasingly apostate Europe, where church attendance has dropped to record lows and many Catholics are only observant at Christmas or baptisms. It’s no coincidence that Cardinal Ratzinger chose the name Benedict, the patron saint of Europe. Once again, the German-born, highly intellectual Ratzinger is the right man for the right place. He will try to prevent further erosion of Catholicism in Europe by revitalizing the faith among its remaining adherents and continuing John Paul’s remarkable dialogue with youth. To paraphrase Frederick the Great: he who believes in everything, believes in nothing. Better a smaller church of the truly faithful than one of Catholics in name only. Europe should also consider Ratzinger’s oft-derided strictures against birth control: the continent’s population is aging fast and, in many cases, actually declining. One day soon, Europe(and Japan) will not have enough young people and must somehow promote births or be forced to import further millions of African and Asian workers . Benedict is being warned by numerous anti-Muslim groups he must deal with the challenge of Islam. This is a red herring. The real challenges to the Church comes from within its own ranks: liberalism(make our own rules locally) and relativism (there is no absolute truth). Islam and Judaism face the same internal struggle. In many ways, conservative Catholics have more in common with Orthodox Jews and conservative Muslims than liberal Catholics in Europe or the US. Traditional Jews, Catholics and Muslims – Peoples of the Book, as Muslims say - favor large families led by strong fathers; reject women in the clergy; oppose homosexuality and birth control; and refuse to bend their faith to the social fashions of the time. An orthodox Jew should feel as much at home in a mosque as a conservative Muslim in a synagogue, and both easy in the company of conservative Catholics. As John Paul made clear, it is not Islam that challenges Catholicism, but lack of spirituality, the rampant consumerism that has replaced faith; hedonism; the cult of selfish, instant self-satisfaction; and the foolish leftist dogma that men and women are intellectually and emotionally the same. The real issue is not gay priests or Catholic voodoo rites. It is faith. If you want to be Catholic, act like one. Otherwise, join one of those generic, sunbelt drive-in religions where anything goes. Ratzinger’s age is a concern; so are his previous references to Catholicism as the only true religion. Now that he is pope, rather than Vatican Censor, Benedict’s views will likely soften. He vows to carry on John Paul’s ministry to all mankind. But given his 78-years, Benedict XVI’s reign will likely be short, an interregnum after John Paul the Great, and a gentle transition to altered policies brought in by a new, younger pope with less traditional ideas. For now, however, the Vatican’s message is steady as she goes.
To read previous columns by Mr. Margolis: Click here
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