A problematic pontificate. The reflections of "We Are Church"

Today Benedict XVI concludes his pontificate. On this occasion, "We Are Church" wrote their own document.

It emphasizes the ecclesial and theological meaning of the renunciation and it is noted that all the problems of the Church, inherited from John Paul II, remained unresolved. The current difficulties of the Church are the lack of real reform, which is a consequence of the secretive and ambiguous acceptance of Vatican II by those who guide the Church in Rome. The Eurocentric Benedict XVI and his lack of geopolitic sensitivity have worsened the situation. The document lists other personal decisions of Pope Ratzinger, who are considered as liabilities in the pontificate, not effectively redeemed by his passionate reflection on God and the Gospel of Jesus

Collegiality in the management of the Church has remained a dead letter. At this time a new Synod structure is needed in Rome, with deliberative tasks and that is a true expression of the whole people of God

Rome, February 28, 2013

The problematic papacy of Benedict XVI. The reflections of "Noi Siamo Chiesa"

Rome, 28^th february 2013

               

On the 28^th of February  Benedict XVI ended his ministry as Bishop of Rome. The movement "Noi Siamo Chiesa" fully participate in this event, almost unprecedented in the history of Christianity, and underlines that it appreciates the ecclesial, theological and historical meaning of this decision and the personal boldness of the pope. It a step for the good of the Church, certainly frowned upon by a part of the establishment clergy, amazed by the evident “desacralization” of the papacy that it implies.

Our movement expresses concerns about the decision of the pope emeritus to establish his residence in the Vatican City - and not in a distant monastery; something that could influence his successor, beyond his declared intention to the contrary, making it more difficult for the new Pope to make choices that may contradict previous decisions.

Above all, "Noi Siamo Chiesa" cannot fail to point out that all the serious and urgent problems that Ratzinger had inherited from John Paul II remain unsolved, and, indeed, are exacerbated by the rapid changes taking place in the Church and in the world .

Of course, we know that only a certain historical detachment will allow a balanced judgment. Meanwhile, expressing a provisional  assessment, we see more shadows than lights. The main issues facing  the Church, and especially its leadership, depend on the fact that Pope Ratzinger missed to reform its structures and its pastoral approach: this was consequence of accepting only ambiguously and partially the Second Vatican Council. Benedict XVI has specific responsibilities for these delays, as we pointed out many times, trying to be active members of our Church, in all our limits.

The Eurocentric point of view, the insistence on "relativism" and on the relationship between faith and reason, have all proved inadequate or misleading.  In our opinion the Pope teaching should aim to be a general guidance for the people of God and for the different cultures it express around the world. Even his three encyclicals suffer from this orientation of his teaching, although they contain important meditations and exhortations on the ultimate questions of life and faith. His striking rapprochement with the USA, in the days of George Bush, and the lack of commitment against those wars that John Paul II condemned with strong and not ambiguous  words, are the expression of a lack of geopolitical sensitivity, that is dangerous for the Church, as it is centered on Western and European values and interests.

Under the pontificate of Benedict XVI ecumenism has stalled, as shown by his choice to call "ecclesial communities" the Churches of the Reformation and by the missed opportunities of dialogue  with Orthodoxy. The same can be said of interreligious dialogue, although it must be acknowledge that he went to Assisi to repeat the great encounter of religions in 1986.

In his visit to Auschwitz it was a serious mistake to define Nazism in Germany as due to a simple "band of criminals." He made errors in the choice of the people (in particular Cardinal Bertone), and this summed up to his  inability, or lack of real desire, for reforming the Curia. This resulted in the well-known scandals and a further boost to its elephantiasis was the establishment of the useless Council for New Evangelization.

Other decisions were direct expression of his personal conservative approach, such as the opening to the Lefebvrists and the resumption of the Latin liturgy of the Mass of St. Pius V. These decisions led to negative outcomes, despite all his efforts. The incident in Regensburg and its consequence on the relationships with Islam, and that of the Good Friday prayer on the "enlightenment" needed by the Jews, were recovered laboriously.

All matters relating to ecclesial ministries and to sexuality, which are increasingly of the agenda in the Church at all levels, were banned from discussion. Punitive interventions on theologians considered to be unorthodox, and  not only on those supporting  the theology of liberation, limited theologians’ contributions to the necessary reform of the Church.

The scandal of pedophilia in the clergy exploded because of outside accusations rather than from the recognition of the errors committed by the church hierarchy, which protected culprits as long as it could. Benedict XVI sent a few messages and signals in the right direction, but too many things are  still "covered". The Church still lacks an authentic, clear and general penitential rite about these sins. It is surprising that Benedict XVI did not react against the Guidelines to combat pedophilia in the clergy issued the Italian Bishops Conference, which do not include the duty of the bishops to refer the matter to the civil authorities.

Of course, the evaluation of Benedict XVI pontificate is a complex thing. It seems to us that Joseph Ratzinger, in spite of his limitations in the management of the Church, spoke in a convincing way of God, of his primacy, of the relativity of everything in front of the ineffable Mystery, in many of his speeches. In Caritas in Veritate (par. 78), to take one example among many, he wrote that "God's love calls us to move beyond our limitations, and gives us the courage to act and to continue to search the good for all. " But, it seems to us that those who affirm the primacy of God are expected  to have the courage of  not embracing worldly values, but rather poverty, justice, and questioning of power.

With regard to the opening to some form of collegiality, or even co-responsibility, Pope Ratzinger, was, if ever possible, worse than his predecessors. Under the pressure of a Curia oppressed and divided under the iron fist of Bertone, the Pope appointed bishops in a way that was essentially autocratic, denying space to the plurality of positions that exist in the Catholic world. In a similar way, the Synod of the Bishops, during his pontificate, were only moments of mutual understanding and discussion among the bishops, but continued to have no function, and no  power  in the management of the Church:  the role of the Roman papacy and of the Roman Curia has been further consolidated.

In this scenario, the choice of Benedict XVI to resign was, we believe, the most innovative act of his pontificate. An act  of desacralization of the ministry of Peter, and not of the man Joseph Ratzinger, as was suggested by the Curia and by the traditionalists, and how it seems to emerge even from the very words of the Pope. Being an act of freedom, there may be a heterogenesis of purpose, and his resignation could unleash – we hope - a demanding journey of renewal for our Church.

Therefore, we think - and we emphasize – that the Conclave should consider paramount to think of a new Church organization, giving to the Synod of bishops deliberative powers, and abandoning the current sterile Synod established by Pope Paul VI. It should open the debate on all the major open issues, decentralize functions and powers to local churches, clean up the central apparatus o and reduce its size. A structure of this type should be primarily an expression of the people of God, including men and women from outside the clerical system, and will really be able to give credibility to the Gospel message. The way forward is to build on what was expressed in his last interview by Cardinal Martini.