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Introducing her book
"I am my father's daughter"
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| Written by Maria Elena Salinas |
| Monday, April 25 2005 |
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| The type of lovefest that Pope John Paul II enjoyed with Catholics and non-Catholics alike is hard to come by. It was clearly his charm, not his doctrine, that made him the immensely popular figure that he was. It was Karol Wojtyla the man, not the Catholic Church as an institution that drew pilgrims by the hundreds of thousands to Rome upon his death.
That leaves the Vatican with the monumental task of addressing pivotal issues that have driven away the faithful in droves, and the new pope with big shoes to fill. The question is, Can Benedict XVI live up to the challenge?
The idea that the Catholic Church is stuck in the past has alienated millions of Catholics around the world who feel that it is out of touch with the realities of modern times. From allowing women to have a bigger role in the church, divorcees to receive communion and priests to marry, to the use of contraceptives for family planning or AIDS prevention, there are issues that have either driven Catholics to other denominations or have merely kept them from practicing their religion.
For the past quarter-century, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's job was to uphold the strictest of Catholic dogmas. Since 1981, he headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It was he who suggested that homosexuality was an "intrinsic moral evil." It was he who put a stop to Liberation Theology in Latin America, linking it to Marxism. It was the German cardinal who referred to rock music as a "vehicle for anti-religion." It was Cardinal Ratzinger who blamed the media in the U.S. for blowing up the scandal of pedophile priests. It is he who said that the only true faith is that of the Catholic Church, calling other religions "gravely deficient." And it was the new pope who, as a cardinal, suggested that priests in the United States should deny communion to political candidates who support abortion rights and euthanasia.
It is unlikely that as Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Ratzinger will deviate from his orthodox positions. As one of the leading theologians of the Catholic Church for the past four decades, Ratzinger fought to defend the church's creed. Monsignor Tomas Marin of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Miami said that Ratzinger "is actually a reformer who participated in the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s and has simply worked to implement and prevent the misinterpretations of those reforms."
In fact, the new pope's views do not differ much from those of his predecessor. John Paul II also preached the teachings of the church in its strictest of forms. But in his case, it was style, not substance, that made the difference. Monsignor Marin believes Benedict XVI will continue the mission of John Paul II: "He speaks seven languages, including Spanish," he said.
Vatican experts seem to think that, in what is expected to be a short papacy given his age, Benedict will focus on re-evangelizing the more liberal European countries, where Catholicism is declining. "From a human point of view, Latin America and Africa represent a bigger challenge to the Catholic Church," said Daniel Alvarez, a theologian from Florida International University. "Poverty, social justice, overpopulation, foreign debt, corruption and the spread of evangelical movements" are issues that cannot be ignored, he said.
As welcoming as they would like to be of a new pope, many in Latin America -- where almost one-half of the Catholics in the world reside -- couldn't hide their disappointment that one of their own was not elected to the throne of St. Peter. The Polish pope was like a rock star in the region, where he traveled extensively, and many felt he identified with their problems.
In losing John Paul II, the Catholic Church lost a great spokesman, a master of human and public relations. If it wants to prevent the continuous exodus of its faithful and recruit new and loyal followers, the church hierarchy should seriously consider moving into the 21st century. If not, Benedict XVI is going to have to put on his best smile, his strongest walking shoes, bring on the charm and reach out to all corners of the planet. |
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