Seventy-eight year-old German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has been elected as the new pope. Henceforth, he will be called Benedict XVI. Although his supporters say his life under the Nazi regime strengthened his belief that the Church should stand up for truth and freedom, his opponents claim that he was a supporter of suppressing disputes within the Church. He was born into a middle class Bavarian family in 1927. His father was a police officer. When he was 14, he had to join the Nazi's youth organizations, as every boy had to do at that time; however, he was never a voluntary attendant. When the war erupted, he had to interrupt his theology education and he found himself in an anti-aircraft unit in Munich. Although he escaped from the army towards the end of the war,, the Allies imprisoned him as a war criminal for some time in 1945.
Claims of "He will divide the papacy!"
When he was a young priest, he was seen as being on the progressive side of theological debates. Those who believe in the traditional values of the Church, see the election of Ratzinger as a gift. He is believed to be a good shield against those whose agenda is for "change". Reformists, however, cannot be said to be so glad. As a matter of fact, there are those who see Ratzinger as John Paul's man and even those calling him "God's Rottweiler"! Ratzinger's conservative and traditionalist views were further strengthened during the liberal trends in the 1960s. Although he was appointed to the dogmatic theology chair at the University of Tubingen in 1966, the Marxist ideas spreading amongst his students were appalling to him. Even the interruption of a course because of a political demonstration had a deep impact on him. According to him, religion was superior to any political ideology, which he saw as "tyrannical, cruel and savage". Later, he would say regarding this issue that this experience has shown him once again that we will always be struggling with the degradation of religion. He was transferred to the University of Regensburg in his native Bavaria in 1969 and finally he became the dean and the vice-rector of the university. Pope Paul VI appointed him the Cardinal of Munich in 1977. On November 25, Ratzinger accepted Pope John Paul II's invitation to take over as Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and thereafter they became close friends. Wolfgang Cooper, one of Germany's prominent theologians, claims that Ratzinger might be a divisive figure within the papacy. For him, the new pope might cause the Church's leadership and the Catholic faith to diverge. Cooper says that Ratzinger has the character of a "scientist", who likes intellectual debates, and this is contrary to many Catholics' wish to see a pope who can "appeal to their hearts". The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is a continuation of the medieval Inquisition of the Roman Catholic Church, has questioned many Catholic theologians and clerics on their views. It was turned into a disciplinary institution that even including dismissal from the office during Ratzinger's 24-year Prefecture since 1981. One of its criticized behaviors was specifically against the theology of liberation that was used as an instrument for making the Church more active in issues of social activism and human rights. This theology became popular among Latin American priests. When some priests attempted to struggle against poverty through social activities, Cardinal Ratzinger interpreted these as Marxist influence…
When it comes to his anti-Turkey stance...
Ratzinger sees homosexuality as a tendency towards an "innate evil corruption". He has also called on Catholics to turn their back on politicians who did not oppose homosexuality and abortion during the US presidential elections. He is against euthanasia and female priests. He even claims that those committing euthanasia and abortion should be excommunicated. Although he is a Beethoven fan, he describes rock music as an " anti-religious instrument". While the new pope was a cardinal, referring to a historical perspective and with clear expressions he said in a speech in August 2004 that Turkey had no place in the European Union (EU). Moreover, he said that Turkey should seek its future in Islamic organizations. Reminding his audience that Turkey was always "different" from Europe with its Islamic past, Ratzinger had said that it would be a mistake to integrate Turkey into Europe. In this speech, he also recalled that Turkey had marched to the gates of Vienna, and Ratzinger noted that Turkey belonged to a different continent in terms of both religion and culture. He argued that trying to make the two continents become similar to each other would cause a loss of culture and richness for the sake of economic benefits. Despite his support for the separation of church and state, he claims that the EU leaders' distant relations with their Christian roots are bad policy. He is also a fundamental Europeanist who does not avoid saying that the issue should be discussed because he is afraid of the possibility that there is a European self-hatred and guilt about its own glorious history causing this opposition. The new pope also has interesting hypotheses about secularism in France. He believes that France showed an "aggressive secularism" by banning the headscarf in schools and in this way it further provokes Muslims. He warns that showing disrespect against the sacred and the "other" in the Western world triggers the self-defense instinct within the Arab and the Islamic world.
Ratzinger is the first German to lead the Roman Catholic Church in 950 years. The last German cardinal was elected pope on April 16th 1055. The 8th German pope in the Vatican, Ratzinger speaks 10 languages, four of which fluently. One of the indicators of policies that Ratzinger will probably pursue is the name he chose for himself. Cardinal Ratzinger might have named himself Pope John Paul III and therefore signalled that he would follow his predecessor's policies; however, he preferred "Benedict", which means "merciful" in ancient Latin. The last pope who used this name was in office in the Vatican during the First World War and has been recognized for his studies aiming to reconcile traditionalists and modernists. He also made efforts to strengthen relations with Orthodox Christians. The new Benedict; however, is will face many tests. Not only the gradually decreasing number of Church followers, but also the steadily decreasing number of priests in Europe will be one of the problems he will have to deal with. Another issue is relations with Islam. When John Paul was elected as pope, he focused on the development of East-West relations. He was appreciated for his contribution to the collapse of communism. What stand in front of Ratzinger; however, are the blocs of North and South, which have been further diverging due to their levels of economic development. In short, there is now a pope, who does not avoid elevating his voice when necessary and even could do this in a radical way.
New York Times
Since almost all of the cardinals who met to choose a new pope were appointees of John Paul II, it's probably not all that surprising that they chose someone as close as possible to the late pontiff. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the new Pope Benedict XVI, worked in close partnership with his predecessor and shared a belief in staunchly defending orthodox Catholic doctrine. There is no reason to expect any change, of course, in the church when it comes to matters like birth control, priestly celibacy or homosexuality. These are issues of faith, properly left to the faithful. On matters of public policy, however, all of us have reason to be concerned about the opinions of the leader of more than one billion Catholics. For instance, as a cardinal, the new pope inserted himself last year into the political debate over allowing Turkey into the European Union. He was quoted as saying that adding Turkey, a predominantly Muslim nation of 70 million people, would dilute the culture of what he considers a Christian continent and that Turkey should align itself instead with other Muslim nations. At a time when few things are more important than reconciling the Islamic world with the non-Islamic West, it would be extremely disturbing if the pope became an unnecessary wedge between them. It would also be contrary with the legacy of John Paul II - who, for all his doctrinal conservatism, was a man known for his outreach to people of other faiths.
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times wrote that German-born Ratzinger's quick election by the College of Cardinals of the Church is a large indicator of approval of the most conservative dogmas of the Church and the fact that the votes were in of continuity with John Paul's policy.
Daily Star
The Daily Star wrote that Pope Benedict XVI, who was elected as the 265th spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church after the shortest conclave of the century, celebrated his new office with a first public ceremony. The newspaper also indicated that the Church, which was damaged by the problems of the 21st century, clearly signaled its intention of becoming strongly traditional with the election of Benedict XVI. It noted that the new pope promised the world's Christians that they would fully be relying upon traditional methods.
The Traditional Face of the Catholic Church (Caroline Frost-BBC)
The new Pope has been chosen from what could be termed the traditional side of the Catholic Church. To some, he heralds intellectual salvation during a time of confusion and compromise. To others, his record as Pope John Paul II's prefect of doctrine showed the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to be an intimidating "Enforcer," punishing liberal thinkers, and keeping the Church in the middle Ages.
Ali Çimen, İstanbul
April 22, 2005
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