Many fear for the future of the Church. But those who know the new Pope think otherwise, writes Vincent Twomey
Many did not greet the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger with elation. Some were disappointed that someone more "liberal" had not been elected. Most were influenced by his negative public image thanks to his position as the church's official "no-sayer". This often dismayed those who knew him, either personally or through his numerous publications.
Based on his negative image, many fear for the future of the church. But those who know him think otherwise.
I have known him since 1971, when I went to Regensburg in Bavaria for my doctoral studies under his supervision, and I studied his published books and articles most of my life as a professional academic, though I cannot say I have read all he published, which has been prodigious. I wish to offer some comments on the kind of future I think we can look forward to during the pontificate of the man I find hard to call Pope Benedict XVI.
His surprise choice of the name Benedict gives us an important clue as to what his priorities will be. His predecessor Benedict XV came to the office of Peter with an image similar to that of Cardinal Ratzinger before his election, but he turned out to be a reconciling pope, overcoming theological divisions with the church and reaching out to Eastern churches. As he hinted in his homily, Ratzinger will promote dialogue within the church to help heal the real divisions there, dialogue with fellow Christians separated from us, and dialogue with the non-Christian religions.
Secondly, in a world overshadowed by wars and terrorism he will work towards peace and reconciliation, as his predecessor worked for peace among nations during the first World War.
Benedict is the name of one of the great founders of western monasticism (c. 480 - c. 550), the profound influence of which during the following centuries earned him the title of Father of Western civilization.
In their deliberations leading up to the conclave, during which they discussed the state of the church in the world today, the cardinals must have argued somewhat as follows: the church in Latin America, Africa, and Asia are flourishing. They might need encouragement and material help. Europe needs renewal and spiritual help. It needs to recover its soul. Europe exports not only technology as it previously exported colonialism, but it also exports its ideas. Those ideas have fostered a radical questioning of every aspect of human tradition with an inner logic that in time undermines the wisdom of traditions of humanity.
These ideas have fostered doubt rather than trust as the first movement of the human mind. Exported to Asia and Africa, they undermine indigenous cultural and religious traditions and the way of life more than any technological or social change. They undermine human flourishing.
The cardinals also knew that, despite appearances, there is a springtime of faith in the European churches - and in the Irish church. The thousands of youths attending World Youth Days, mourning pope John Paul II, and greeting his newly elected successor demonstrate that. The conclave, it would seem, wanted to promote this new springtime by electing Joseph Ratzinger as Pope. And he will do so.
Ratzinger's whole life has been a preparation for his papacy. The breadth of subject covered in his writings and the depth of his thought on issues as diverse as bio-ethics, Christology, the non-Christian religions and ecumenism is astonishing.
He can, literally, talk on any subject off the cuff, and do so in a way, which is clear, concise, and beautifully crafted. He listen to others, as he always did as a professor or a conversationalist, discern wisely, and develop what others say to him.
And perhaps the name Benedict may also suggest that the reform of the liturgy will be a priority, because the Benedictine tradition is renowned for its liturgical excellence. Church music, church art and church texts are all indebted to the Benedictine tradition. Cardinal Ratzinger was concerned about the way the liturgy had been impoverished by well-meaning attempts to reform it.
He is a lover of music, in particular Mozart, and art. He was brought up in the Baroque tradition of rich liturgies. And he has written extensively on liturgy attempting to recover the true "spirit of the liturgy" focused on worship and the mystery of God's presence in human words, actions, bread and wine.
The faith of ordinary Catholics has been shattered by many developments in the church, not least in the way the liturgy is celebrated. Ratzinger knows that tradition is a living thing - we cannot go back to the past - but must create something new but also familiar, a liturgy where people feel at home and inspired. But it will also be a liturgy that echoes our own culture, one that will provide the hope we all need in the rough and tumble of everyday life.
Ratzinger wrote extensively on the theology of political life in modern Europe, a theology not uninfluenced by his own experience of totalitarianism and consumerism, both of which lead to the death of the spirit.
He is aware of the danger to a society where there is no moral consensus, or only a deficient one.
He will try to persuade European people, believers or not, that we can discover objective criteria for right and wrong, which will give law its foundation and provide democracy with the moral framework which is indispensable to its functioning as democracy. His writings in his area have so impressed French political thinkers that he was elected to the Academy of Politics and Moral Science of the Institute of France, where he replaced the nuclear physicist Andrei Sakharov.
Ratzinger calls for renewal of political life based on the principal of personal responsibility. Europe can look forward to an exciting future under Pope Benedict XVI.
Fr Vincent Twomey is professor of Moral Theology at St Patrick's College, Maynooth. He studied under the then Prof Joseph Ratzinger at the University of Regensburg in Germany from 1971 to 1978.
Prof Twomey's critique of the biography Cardinal Ratzinger: The Vatican's Enforcer of the Faith by John L. Allen, Jr can be viewed at http://www.catholicculture.org/docs/doc_view.cfm?recnum=3957