From Age to Age

Friday April 11, 2008

As I type this ‘message,’ my mind wanders back to April of 2005 and the election of Joseph Ratzinger to succeed Pope John Paul II as Benedict XVI. Many of my colleagues and friends were surprised by my enthusiastic response to his election to the papacy. In fact I was neither surprised nor disappointed by his succession to the See of Rome. Though Cardinal Ratzinger ‘protested’ that he was not seeking the chair of Peter, it was clear to those whose understanding of Vatican politics is much more astute than mine that Cardinal Ratzinger’s protests were much too strong to convince them that he did not indeed believe that he was in fact ‘papabile,’ i.e., a strong candidate. Indeed, I believe that he was sincere in his conviction that although he ought not seek this honor, he may have been equally convinced that the Holy Spirit ‘may have’ destined him not to fill the shoes of John Paul II but to put on his own shoes and shepherd the Church into a new era. His allocutions to Cardinals prior to the election as well as his low public profile between the death of John Paul II and the papal conclave gave evidence of a man pondering the impossible. His homily at the funeral liturgy was an eloquent testimony of one who is aware of the importance of transitions from one leader to another.

I was not disappointed because I truly believed that despite his rigidity as Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under John Paul II and despite the dominance of the somewhat pessimistic theology of St. Augustine, I believed the depth and breadth of his understanding of the dynamics of Church history would enable him to see beyond the limitations of time and space, that the Church can take on many forms and structures notwithstanding certain core truths that remain at the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Cf. my reflections posted at the time of the election of Benedict XVI A New Era. It’s a rather long article but provides an interesting lens through which to view Benedict’s tenure to date.

During the Second Vatican Council, Joseph Ratzinger, professor of theology at Tuebingen, Germany, teamed up with Karl Rahner, professor of theology at the Canisianum in Innsbruck, Austria in the publication of a series entitled “Theological Investigations.” Suffice it to state that the thinking of both men was strongly influential on the direction of the Council and set a new direction for the Church the full impact of which remains to be experienced. Ratizinger’s notion of collaboration vis-à-vis collegiality won the favor of the vast majority of bishops at the Council. Collegiality was watered down somewhat at the conclusion of the Council by a theological ‘note’ (reservation/restriction) introduced by Paul VI under the influence by a few ‘prophets of doom’ in the Roman Curia.

Over the past few weeks, I have deliberately avoided reading or viewing the expectations of pundits from the left and from the right for the Pope’s visit. The few that I have reviewed were predictable. By comparison, my expectations are quite modest and therefore a bit more realistic.

I think Benedict will set a tone of hope for humanity. He has already stated this in his preview message to the people of the United States: Holy Father’s Address.

I hope that he will be able to catch the rhythm of the Catholic Church in America—that we are a diverse but mature community of believers. Yes, we have our share of extremists to the left and to the right but in the vast middle there is a church willing to deal with the tension between the past and the future. We believe this tension can be transformed into creative energy for good.

”’The meaning of Vatican II,’ Benard Lonergan once remarked, ‘was the acknowledgment of history.’ Sometimes I think it was just this acknowledgment of history that so soon afterward provoked a screeching of the brakes in the church and a determined effort to go backward. For acknowledging history can be painful and confusing. It teaches us about the fictions of memory, the prevalence of legend, and the truth about diversity, conflict, change, and discontinuity. We have to learn how to live with the whole truth about our history, to face it and accept responsibility for it. Even making changes is not enough if we’re still unable to acknowledge failing and experience repentance.” [‘Why Not?’, Scripture, History & Women’s Ordination, by Robert J. Egan,SJ, Commonweal Magazine.

I hope that our Holy Father will understand that in America we hold one another accountable and this includes our elected officials in government as well as our pastors and the Pope himself. Was this not one of the tragic lessons of the cover-up of sexual abuse by our bishops? Speaking of which, what would it be like if the Pope were to wash the feet of twelve victims of sexual abuse in the sanctuary of St. Patrick’s Cathedral where the clergy will gather for a solemn celebration of the Eucharist with him. Very little would need to be said beyond that action so prominent at the Lord’s Supper. “Jesus said, ‘do you understand what I have just done for you? I your teacher and master and rightly so, I am. If I therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” [John 13:12-16]

There is no doubt in my mind that Benedict is a prayerful man who is committed to the teachings of Jesus Christ as manifested in the long tradition of the Church. I remain hopeful that he will recognize that there are also prayerful people in the pew who view that same tradition through different lenses and who in good faith believe that ultimately God speaks the loudest to the believer in the human heart. They apply the discipline of Catholicism with an accent on conscience and personal responsibility rather than on the authority of church exclusivly. It is not that they disregard Church discipline. Rather, in the absence of intelligent dialogue and credible witness by Church leadership, they look to Christ as the one true shepherd.

I hope the Pope understands that American Catholics are a resilient bunch and will go to any lengths with just a bit of affirmation.

I hope Catholics in the pew will not see the Pope as a threat to freedom in the Spirit and that they will continue to give testimony to this freedom by their persistent witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ as shepherd through the demands of their consciences.

I hope that Catholics, whatever their posture or grievance, and others of different persuasions will be respectful toward the Holy Father during his visit. Though we may have serious disagreements with him, the lesson of the traveling Olympic Torch is that violence—physical or verbal—is counterproductive and achieves no purpose. I am not a demonstrator, so you will not see me among those carrying placards of one kind or other.

Catholics need to understand that change does not take place from the top down but from the bottom up. The Pope is only infallible when he speaks in union with the whole Church throughout the world. Vatican II was a marvelous example of how the Church of the people can speak through its leaders and give voice to the Holy Spirit as she breathes new life into the Church in every age, from age to age.

Last Thursday at a local nursing home where I volunteer for weekly liturgy and visitation, I asked the residents gathered for liturgy, “Who is your shepherd?” They responded without hesitation, “Jesus Christ!” They got that right!

I’ll close with the repetition of the story about the woman who asked her pastor who could recite the Shepherd Psalm (Psalm 22 or 23) so eloquently, to recite it at the next worship service. He responded: “I would prefer that Mary seated in the back of the church recite because you see, I know the psalm by heart but she knows the Shepherd.” Amen.

____

I will be one among others interviewed on Sunday evening on a FOX Cable News Special entitled “Mission to America’ to be aired on FOX Cable News at 8:00 PM and again at 11:00 PM. I will be interviewed in the second half of the third segment.

Father Lasch

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