Expect Great Things From Benedict XVI
- MARY ANN GLENDON
Reactions to the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Benedict XVI have been mixed, but on the whole Catholics are happy with the new Pope, says Mary Ann Glendon.
In this interview with
Avvenire, the president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences comments
on her own reaction to the new Pope, and her expectations for his pontificate.
Glendon, a Harvard law professor, became the first female president of
the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences in 2004. She was also head of the Holy
See delegation to the 4th U.N. Women's Conference in 1995, and serves as a member
of the Pontifical Council for the Laity.
Q: What was your first reaction at the news
of the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the new Pontiff?
Glendon:
Even though the election was not unexpected, it was a thrilling moment
when Benedict XVI emerged onto the balcony above St. Peter's Square! Catholics
of my generation are fortunate to have lived in a time of extraordinary Popes,
and I believe we now stand at the beginning of yet another great pontificate.
Q: Was your first impression confirmed by
the homily pronounced today by the new Pope?
Glendon:
It was heartening to know that the new Pope, like his predecessor, has accorded
such a high priority to Christian unity. The message in the Sistine Chapel confirms
the links of mind and heart that will provide continuity in many ways with the
work of John Paul II.
Q: Were you totally satisfied with the choice,
or had you hoped for someone else? And why?
Glendon:
I was delighted with the choice. By choosing one of his closest collaborators,
the cardinals paid tribute to Pope John Paul II and indicated their hopes that
the Church will continue to be led along the course he charted toward a springtime
of evangelization. As president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences,
I take special pleasure in the fact that the new Pope is a brilliant scholar who
has long been a member of our sister academy, the Pontifical Academy of Science.
Q: The new Pope was very close to John Paul
II. He has though been welcomed with mixed reactions. Why do you think he is not
seen as his successor?
Glendon: Anyone
who was so united in thought to John Paul II will inevitably get "mixed reactions"
from the same people who had "mixed reactions" to John Paul II. For most
Catholics throughout the world, however, I believe the reactions are overwhelmingly
positive precisely because Benedict XVI is seen as a successor who will
build creatively on the major themes of John Paul II. He will, of course, bring
his own remarkable gifts to the papacy, the Church and the world.
Q: Cardinal Ratzinger has been known as "cardinal
no" for some of his positions on women in the clergy, homosexuality and contraception.
Do you think the Church should have chosen a more moderate Pope?
Glendon:
Cardinal Ratzinger's primary responsibility for many years has been
to protect and defend the precious deposit of the faith. Even though some of these
doctrines are hard to follow at times, few Catholics really want the Church to
"dumb down" her teachings to the level of a permissive society. A Boston radio
talk-show host well known for his irreverent attitudes has defended
the choice of Cardinal Ratzinger this way: "Look, I'm a bad Catholic and I know
it. But a Pope has to stand for something, and even I don't want a Pope saying
the things I believe in."
Q: Did you know Cardinal Ratzinger? If yes,
do you think he is being portrayed in an unfair way?
Glendon:
I have known Cardinal Ratzinger only through his writings and reputation,
but everything I know about him leads me to believe he has been unfairly caricatured.
I was very impressed that the respected Vatican journalist John Allen recently
apologized publicly for what he now concedes was an unbalanced portrayal in his
widely read book on Cardinal Ratzinger. The gap between caricature and reality
was evident when the world saw and heard the real Cardinal Ratzinger deliver his
remarkable homily at the funeral of his predecessor.
Q: Do you think his past in the Nazi youth
movement can damage him, or the relations between Catholics and Jews? Or damage
the Church itself?
Glendon: My husband,
who is Jewish, tells me that this is simply a non-issue for Jews, who are well
aware that Cardinal Ratzinger, like John Paul II, has worked hard to heal historical
memories and to improve relations between Catholics and their elder brothers in
faith. There are, of course, some dissident Catholics who will seize on any pretext
to vilify Church leaders who reject Reformation-style Church reforms. But with
respect to young Ratzinger, they will run into opposition, not only from the facts
about his life, but from Jews who are becoming indignant at the exploitation of
the tragedy of the Jewish people by Catholic dissenters.
Q: Do you think this choice sends a message
to the Catholics around the world?
Glendon:
The cardinals' choice, and the rapidity with which they reached consensus,
sends a reassuring message that Church renewal and the New Evangelization will
continue along the general lines laid down by the fathers of the Second Vatican
Council as carried forward by Popes Paul VI and John Paul II.
Q: What is your answer to the critics that
accuse the Church not to address issues relevant to our time, such as abortion
and gay marriage?
Glendon: The Church
does address these issues, proclaiming the truth about the human person in and
out of season. The truth is not always easy to hear, especially in a hedonistic
and materialistic society. But the Church as an "expert in humanity" knows that
we neither help people nor respect their dignity when we fail to tell them the
truth.
Q: Which type of Pope will Benedict XVI be?
How do you think Benedict XVI can be beneficial to the world?
Glendon:
The answer to those questions lie hidden in the future. But we can
confidently expect great things from a Pope who is such a brilliant scholar, gifted
linguist, experienced pastor and skilled administrator.
This is Meaghen Gonzalez, Editor of CERC. I hope you appreciated this piece. We curate these articles especially for believers like you.
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Acknowledgement
ZE05042429 Date: 2005-04-24
ZENIT is an International News Agency based in Rome whose mission is to provide objective and professional coverage of events, documents and issues emanating from or concerning the Catholic Church for a worldwide audience, especially the media.
Reprinted with permission from Zenit - News from Rome. All rights reserved.
The Author
Mary Ann Glendon was the United States Ambassador to the Holy See from 2004 until 2009 and is the Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. She teaches and writes on bioethics, comparative constitutional law, property, and human rights in international law. Glendon is currently the first female President of the Roman Catholic Church's official Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. She is the author of many books, including: Traditions in Turmoil, A World Made New: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, A Nation Under Lawyers: How the Crisis in the Legal Profession is Transforming American Society, Rights Talk: The Impoverishment of Political Discourse, and (edited with David Blankenhorn) Seedbeds of Virtue:Sources of Competence, Character, and Citizenship in American Society.
Mary Ann Glendon is winner of the Order of the Coif Prize, the legal academy's highest award for scholarship. She lives in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
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