Rite & Reason: The election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope has prompted despair on the part of many Catholics, writes Fr Steve Gilhooley.
It was September 1996. Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey was requested by Pope John Paul to accompany him to the statue of St Augustine in St Peter's Basilica in order to pray to the saint for closer ecumenical ties between the churches. St Augustine was the first archbishop of Canterbury.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger heatedly attempted to dissuade the pope from making such a gesture.
When the pope set out with the archbishop towards the statue, Cardinal Ratzinger walked in the opposite direction. He was said to be"apoplectic with rage".
This was only one of the many occasions where Cardinal Ratzinger showed nothing but contempt for other churches. Any ecumenical progress over the last two decades was achieved in spite of him.
For him to choose the name Benedict XVI would be laughable were it not so hypocritical. Benedict XV genuinely attempted to foster ecumenical ties. Thus far, Cardinal Ratzinger has attempted to break them, the underlying philosophy being that the church must become smaller to "purify" itself.
Homosexual priests are not the only ones who have something to fear from this man. He attempted to bring in legislation barring alcoholics (reformed alcoholics) from the priesthood. One waits with trepidation to find out who is next on the hit list.
As a student for the priesthood I was inspired by the work of theologians such as Karl Rahner, who wrote: "I envisage a new worldwide theology; a theology which does not simply flick through the pages of our familiar friend Denzinger (Canon Law). It would be a theology which hears the cries for freedom in Latin America, which listens to the wisdom of the East and hears the sounds of African drums beating."
Rahner, along with Boff, Küng, Fr Tissa Ballatisuria, was condemned. The fruit of a multitude of theologians' labour was cast into the incinerator by this "humble servant in the Lord's vineyard". Humble indeed.
There are, of course, those who cannot contain their delirium following last month's disastrous conclave. Opus Dei members can now drop the secrecy bit and openly flagellate themselves.
Members of the Pius XII sect can brush up on their Latin, and all the spurious, self-appointed defenders of the faith can continue to report priests and bishops to Rome in the full knowledge that now they have their man at the top. Those who are fixated with a hatred of sexuality can now indulge in an orgy of abstinence.
I, for one, know only too well what it's like to be at the receiving end of Cardinal Ratzinger's wrath. In junior seminary I was sexually abused by a priest. Years later, when I was ordained, I discovered that the abuser was still alive and active. I went public - at great personal cost to myself - and reported him to the police. He was given a jail sentence.
Led by Cardinal Ratzinger, Rome's response was to deliver a threat to my archbishop that if he didn't silence me, they'd discipline him. I was treated as the perpetrator rather than the victim. You can imagine how prayerful I found Cardinal Law's Mass on the eve of the conclave!
In 2003 my archbishop, Keith O'Brien, was made cardinal. In interviews he was asked about the role of women, contraception and homosexuals. He said he wished to see a church which was open to discussion. Cardinal Ratzinger was reported to be "incandescent". He summoned the papal pro-nuncio of Britain in order to stop the archbishop becoming cardinal. By Canon Law this could not be done. He forced Cardinal-elect O'Brien to make a humiliating retraction/profession of faith. Hardly the actions of a "humble servant".
It was reported in The Irish Times the day following the papal election, that, on the announcement of Cardinal Ratzinger's name, a man in St Peter's Square fell to his knees and wept. He was not the only one.
The truly shocking thing is not simply that this man is now Pope. It is that at least 77 (the required two-thirds majority) supposedly sane, compassionate men voted for him. Shame on them. Moderates hope that the leopard might indeed change his spots. But how can you vote for someone "in the hope" that he will change?
I am in Ireland on a year's sabbatical to decide whether I want to return to Scotland as a priest. My return ticket is now in the bin, and an appointment has been made at the local Fás office.
Fr Steve Gilhooley is a priest of the archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh