May 5, 2005

Area Catholics welcome papacy of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger

Defender of faith’s orthodox doctrine is mystery to devout Catholics

By Sheila Sanchez
Staff Writer

South Bay area Catholics joined millions around the world in welcoming the new papacy of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who became Pope Benedict XVI last month.

Pope Benedict XVI

“I offer our support to and prayers for the new Holy Father, the 264th successor to St. Peter,” said San Jose Roman Catholic Bishop Patrick J. McGrath in a written statement. “Through the work of the Holy Spirit the Catholic Church is blessed with a new leader who will shepherd the world’s more than one billion Catholics.”

The bishop called the 78-year-old Ratzinger a man of “considerable intellect and a great thinker.” He said he had found him to be “a most gracious man and a good listener.”

He added: “We now pray for the continued work of the Holy Spirit in the Church as we all humbly answer the call of Christ in our lives, in our Church and in the world.”

Roberta Ward, media relations director for the Diocese of San Jose, said Bishop McGrath held a press conference the day Ratzinger was elected Pope at the Diocesan offices in Santa Clara. The Bishop also celebrated Mass at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in downtown San Jose the following Sunday.

“In the short term, the appointment of this new Pope doesn’t mean a whole lot yet,” Ward said. “But in the long term we’ll have to see how this Pope creates his own cabinet.”

The German intellectual deemed by some church liberals too theologically rigid and divisive was elected April 19 by more than two-thirds of the conclave of 115 cardinals gathered at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

It took the cardinals only 27 hours to choose the next leader of the world’s 1.1 billion Catholics. He succeeds the late John Paul II who died April 2 after serving as pontiff for 26 years and in whose shadow Ratzinger worked for 20 years as an academic.

One of the big issues the new Pope will have to deal with is collegiality with other Bishops around the world, Ward said, noting that the issue of women’s ordination, for example, will have to be addressed during his papacy in the United States as women have advanced and are serving in pastoral positions in the church.

“I don’t expect any of this to happen overnight, but if this Pope has more of a collegial relationship with bishops, the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops might be able to make some church decisions on its own,” she said. “Issues that are more applicable to this country might be dealt with within the country. It’s a big issue that I would hope in this Pope’s administration would be clearer.”

With regard to the priestly celibacy issue, Ward said it’s another juridical issue the new Pope will also have to address.

“He was in service to the Pope that preceded him. He’s a major theologian. Some of things that I’ve read in Catholic News Service indicate to me that he’s very broadminded. I don’t think we’ve seen the whole person yet,” Ward added.

She said Bishop McGrath is excited about participating in the faith’s World Youth Day in August, which will be in Cologne, Germany, the country of Pope Benedict XVI’s birth.

The goal of the WYD pilgrimages is helping the church’s young generation discover the word of God.

On Sunday April 24, the Pope celebrated Holy Mass for the faithful in St. Peter’s Square as part of the beginning of his Petrine Ministry. During the liturgy, the Pontiff received two ancient symbols of his inauguration.

At that time, he said about his appointment: “How would we be able to discern his name? How could 115 bishops, from every culture and every country, discover the one on whom the Lord wished to confer the mission of binding and loosing? Once again, we knew that we were not alone. We knew that we were surrounded, led and guided by the friends of God. And now at this moment, weak servant of God that I am, I must assume this enormous task, which truly exceeds all human capacity. How can I do this? How will I be able to do it?”

Pope Benedict XVI has already appointed many of the same clergy Pope John Paul II worked with.

As the head of the church’s Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith—the oldest of the nine congregations of the Roman Curia overseeing church doctrine—Ratzinger became famous for disciplining priests who departed from orthodox Catholicism. He has opposed homosexuality, same-sex marriage, reproductive rights, advancing women in the church to the priesthood and other religious credos.

Father Brendan McGuire, pastor of Holy Spirit Church in Almaden, called the new Pope a “holy and humble man” and said as head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Doctrine of the Faith his role was to ensure orthodoxy of church teaching and he accomplished this role with great zeal.

“Now as pastoral leader of the worldwide Catholic Church his role is to shepherd and lead all members of the church in unity,” said Father McGuire. “We fully expect his success in this role.”