Habemus Papam

When the soon-to-be-convened voting conclave of the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church burn their ballots in white instead of black, this pronouncement will soon follow--habemus papam.

We have a Pope.

For Christians of my generation, we have only witnessed this ritual once, upon the passing of Pope John Paul II in 2005.  I can still remember where I was when I learned that he had died--on the campus of Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, in between rounds of the American Forensics Association's national championship.

We're about to see it all in action again, though.

You likely know by now that Pope Benedict XVI has tendered his resignation as the archbishop of Rome, so I'll skip over his announcement for the moment (besides which, speculating further on why would border on intrusive and poor taste to me--the man has the right to step down).

But I do want to jot down at least a couple of thoughts about the legacy I feel (as an outsider) Benedict XVI is leaving behind, and what I hope from his successor, whoever that may be.

I've written an awful lot about the Roman Catholic Church in the past year, usually in regards to one of two subjects--the sex abuse scandals, or the hackneyed partisan activism of the American bishops in our political process.

Upon further reflection, I wonder if both aren't more closely tied to a particular characteristic, namely, that Benedict XVI (and, by extension, the hierarchy he has appointed during his time as pope)  in the words of Swiss Catholic theologian Hans Kung, does not see the entire world, but rather sees and lives only in the Vatican world.

Benedict XVI had--has--a reputation for a tin ear, which is well-earned.  Barely a year into his reign as Pope, he somehow felt the need to quote a medieval Byzantine emperor to refer to Islam as "inhuman and evil."  And in 2010, he juxtaposed secular humanists with Nazism.

(Side note--here's a rule of thumb I've found useful: If you're comparing someone or something that has never committed genocide to the Nazis, you're doing it wrong.)

In any case, it is no stretch to conclude that Benedict XVI has defined his papacy by a concern for truth that is willing to override all other concerns, to the point of having blinders.

After all, a freshman communications major in college can tell you it is probably a bad idea to say Islam is inhuman, or that atheists are like Nazis, or at least to say that sort of stuff publicly.

And if Benedict was--or is--blind to the consequences that words like that have, then I can see how his handpicked bishops in the States would be blind to the consequences of their ham-fisted approach to American politics over the past year or so, as they became increasingly hysterical in their criticism of President Obama (including...wait for it...comparing Obama to Hitler.  Again, if the person you're comparing to Hitler is NOT a genocidal maniac, you're doing it wrong).

And I can see how the hierarchy continues to be blind to the totality of the consequences of the sex-abuse scandal that has rocked the entire Roman Catholic Church for 11 years now.  If all you see is the Vatican world, the instinct is to protect the pedophile priests before protecting their victims.  And, as we all know, that is exactly what happened for years, even when, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and head of the Congregration for the Doctrine of the Faith, Benedict XVI was deputized by John Paul II to be in charge of cleaning the church out of its pedophiles.

And so as a result, you still have, for instance, the reality that Cardinal Richard Mahony of Los Angeles is still an eligible elector in the upcoming conclave to elect a new Pope, despite his disgrace and recent removal by his successor from any and all ecclesiastical duties as a result of his (Mahony's) complicity in the sex abuse scandal.

In truth, we may never know the full consequences of the sex-abuse scandal.

And as such, it is difficult to give Benedict XVI a pass on this on his way out the door.

May his successor, whoever he is, be strengthened and empowered by God Himself to address the work of making the Roman Catholic Church a place that is safe for all peoples of all ages, genders, races, and sexual orientations.

Because that is not just my hope...it is the hope of many, many Americans, including a mighty number of lapsed Catholics who still cling to love for their mother church.  Theirs are stories I recognize, because they are expressions of that same struggle I have, of continuing to love an institution that does not always care for my more progressive or liberal tendencies.

And so they, and me, and likely millions more, eagerly await with anticipation and hopefulness those words that gave me gooseflesh the first time, even though I am not Catholic...

Habemus Papam.

We have a Pope!

Yours in Christ,
Eric