By Peter Smith
The Courier-Journal
April 16, 2008
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080416/NEWS01/804160922/1008
When Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope three years ago, many wondered if the longtime professor and Vatican bureaucrat could galvanize the masses like John Paul II, who'd filled the office for a dramatic quarter-century.
But as the man now known as Pope Benedict XVI begins his first papal visit to America, observers say he's showing a versatility and public persona hidden in his previous roles.
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| Brian and Cathy Schneider and their children, from left, Kelly, 13; Christopher, 8; and Kyle, 15. Photo by Michael Clevenger |
"I am looking for the United States to be on fire after his visit," said Cathy Schneider of Louisville, who will travel to New York, along with her husband and their three children, for a service that Benedict will celebrate at Yankee Stadium on Sunday.
They are part of a contingent of 650 from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville, which will be honored along with other archdioceses marking their bicentennials. Louisville Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz will participate in Sunday's Mass. Schneider said she believes Benedict "will really inspire people."
Citing the pope's writings on love, hope and the respect for human life, she added: "Maybe those who drifted away from the church for various reasons — the scandal that occurred or for whatever hurt they may have had in the church at some time — will (find in this visit) something to draw them back in." .
Prior reputation
Benedict began his papacy with a reputation less as a good shepherd inspiring the flock, and more as a German shepherd, snarling at heresies.
He still has critics — those who say he shares blame for the crisis of sexual abuse, that he has carelessly inflamed relations with Muslims and that he has squashed dissent over theology and the role of women and gays in the church.
But he also has developed a following.
Supporters, like Schneider, say he brings a pastoral approach and a way of presenting what Catholicism stands for — not just what it stands against.
And he's shown a knack for the public arena that few expected from his background as a professor and Vatican bureaucrat.
Kurtz, who watched Benedict conduct a World Youth Day in Germany in 2005, said the pope had an "electrifying" presence.
"I wondered how Pope Benedict would step into the shoes of John Paul II," Kurtz said. "He didn't step into anyone's shoes at all. He simply represented humbly the presence of Christ in our midst."
The Rev. Denis Robinson, incoming president of St. Meinrad School of Theology in Southern Indiana, said those who follow Benedict's career aren't surprised by his "extraordinarily pastoral pontificate," marked by humor and strong connections.
"But he is also someone who takes very, very seriously the tradition of the church," Robinson said, adding that Benedict seeks "to steer clear of the possibility that that theological tradition would fall into the hands of momentary cultural influences."
Christopher Rhodes, a seminarian at St. Meinrad who is preparing to be a priest in the Louisville archdiocese, had not yet converted to Catholicism the last time a pope, John Paul II, was in America in 1999.
He's part of the Louisville group going this weekend, and said he's looking forward to the chance to "sit at the feet (of the pope) and learn."
Not well known
Benedict, who turns 81 today, has fertile ground to create a first impression.
Nearly one-third of Americans don't know enough about Benedict to offer an opinion of him, according to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center.
That indicates that he can define himself for a large swath of the American public that never followed the extensive news reports about Cardinal Ratzinger.
As head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1981 to 2005, for example, he disciplined American professors who strayed from accepted theology, as well as Latin American clerics who supported "liberation theology," which proclaimed Jesus as liberator of the oppressed but which Ratzinger viewed as Marxism in disguise.
Yet, more than half of Americans who do have an opinion of Benedict have a positive one — as do nearly three-quarters of American Catholics, according to the Pew survey.
Pope's schedule
Today, the pope's 81st birthday: 10:30 a.m. Reception at the White House, private meeting with President Bush; 5:30 p.m. Visit with 300 U.S. bishops.
Tomorrow: 9:30 a.m. Mass at Washington Nationals Park; 5 p.m. Address Catholic educators at Catholic University of America; 6:30 p.m. Meeting with representatives of non-Christian religions at Pope John Paul II Cultural Center.
Friday: Fly to New York; 10:45 a.m. Address U.N. General Assembly; 5 p.m. Visit Park East Synagogue; 6 p.m. Meeting with leaders of other Christian faiths.
Saturday: 9:15 a.m. Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral followed by "Popemobile" tour on Fifth Avenue; 4:30 p.m. Visit and address at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers.
Sunday: 9:30 a.m. prayer at Ground Zero; 2:30 p.m. Mass at Yankee Stadium; 8 p.m. Depart for Rome.
— Gannett News Service
Today, the pope's 81st birthday: 10:30 a.m. Reception at the White House, private meeting with President Bush; 5:30 p.m. Visit with 300 U.S. bishops.
Tomorrow: 9:30 a.m. Mass at Washington Nationals Park; 5 p.m. Address Catholic educators at Catholic University of America; 6:30 p.m. Meeting with representatives of non-Christian religions at Pope John Paul II Cultural Center.
Friday: Fly to New York; 10:45 a.m. Address U.N. General Assembly; 5 p.m. Visit Park East Synagogue; 6 p.m. Meeting with leaders of other Christian faiths.
Saturday: 9:15 a.m. Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral followed by "Popemobile" tour on Fifth Avenue; 4:30 p.m. Visit and address at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers.
Sunday: 9:30 a.m. prayer at Ground Zero; 2:30 p.m. Mass at Yankee Stadium; 8 p.m. Depart for Rome.
— Gannett News Service
That support can be seen in Louisville.
The archdiocese had more requests than the 650 tickets it was allotted. The pilgrims will be traveling by 10 buses, a charter flight and on their own to the Yankee Stadium Mass.
Detractors speak out
But admiration for Benedict is far from universal.
Local Catholic Jeanne Tessier said she has "no interest whatsoever" in seeing the pope.
"I remember this man as Cardinal Ratzinger first of all," she said. "I struggle as a Catholic with the adulation that the pope receives, and that he comes to speak, but not to listen. I think there are so many things that he needs to listen to."
Others take issue with some moves by the church hierarchy under his reign. For example, it has:
Disavowed a Vietnamese-American priest's writings for appearing to downplay the importance of Jesus in saving followers of non-Christian religions.
Declared that men with "deep-seated homosexual tendencies" are unfit for the seminary.
Authorized a more widespread use of the traditional Latin Mass.
Declared that Christian denominations that don't share the Catholic view of sacraments cannot properly be called "church."
Advocates for victims of sexual abuse say Benedict should do more to reach out to victims and to punish the bishops who protected abusive priests.
"This whole scandal with the Catholic Church has made myself and a lot of other people more aware that the hierarchy are not what we always thought they were," said Shannon Whelan, of Voice of the Faithful, which advocates for greater lay involvement.
"My faith is something that is inside me," she added, "not a visit from the pope."
Reporter Peter Smith can be reached at (502) 582-4469.
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