'Divisive" is an interesting word, up there with "judgmental" as one of the great modern thought crimes. Those who condemn others as judgmental seem oblivious to the irony that they are passing a rather weighty judgment of their own, writes Breda O'Brien.
Similarly, those who condemn others as being divisive rarely pause to consider that their own deeply held convictions might be considered equally divisive by those who do not agree with them.
For example, just picture the cardinals having a collective rush of blood to the head, and as is their right, appointing a priest as pope. Imagine the reaction when, clad in a neat grey suit and a tasteful tie with a little papal barque logo, Hans Küng, now Pope Mary Magdalene the First, steps on to the balcony. When he can make himself heard above the clamour, he proclaims that he will give his first blessing in the name of the parent, the child, and collegial wisdom, as a symbol of his determination to eliminate all divisive references to gender.
Starhawk, influential advocate of circle dancing and goddess worship, has already responded positively to his suggestion that she become secretary of state of the Vatican. Steps are under way to reform the college of electors for the next pope. The new college will be composed of equal numbers of disaffected nuns, theologians who have been censured at least three times, and lay people who are over 50 and lifetime subscribers to the Spirit of Vatican II magazine.
Finally, there will be a group of young people as electors, but only young people who can prove that they are incapable of recognising rosary beads and that they have never attended a World Youth Day. A historic rapprochement has just been made with the Church of England, but sadly, the patriarchs of the Orthodox churches are now all on life-support machines, suffering from strokes and heart failure.
Sure, it's an outrageous caricature, but if the words "Rottweiler", or "panzer" and "cardinal" have ever crossed your lips in the same sentence, cast not the first stone. Hans Küng is a man of passionate conviction, and as such, is a divisive figure.
He stands for something clearly identifiable, believes that it is the only way forward, and is not too worried that some people think his ideas will destroy the Catholic Church. Don't get me wrong. Strong convictions are not an automatic recommendation in either a pope or an eminent theologian. Strong convictions tempered by humility and much prayer, and a willingness to listen to the wisdom - not just of the present age but of the past 2,000 years - are somewhat different.
Unlike Pope Benedict, Hans Küng is a media darling, a reality not perhaps unconnected with the fact that his ideas would indeed signal the end of the Catholic Church as we know it. What some media commentators fail to grasp is that millions of people love the traditions and teachings of the Catholic Church. They would be cast into mourning if the church they cherish were to change beyond recognition.
There are also many, many people who love their church, and seek to reform it because of that love. It has been heartening in recent days to see many people who were no fans of Cardinal Ratzinger but say they are willing to give Pope Benedict a chance to prove that he is not the ogre painted by the media.
In fairness to Hans Küng, his initial reaction to the selection of his worst nightmare as pope has been gracious. He suggested that we must give Pope Benedict a chance, and that the tradition of giving American presidents a grace period of 100 days before passing judgment was a good precedent.
Given that every book on Pope Benedict sold out straight away, I raided the Central Catholic Library for everything I could find about him. My conclusion is that the first 100 days will yield surprises. Pope John Paul II will be remembered for his critique, first of communism, then of capitalism.
Pope Benedict may be remembered for his dialogue with culture. For all the alleged intellectual freedom of our age, there is an assimilating tendency in our era which tries to eliminate difference by insisting there are no absolutes, and that anyone who insists there are is a divisive figure to be resisted.
Again, there is an irony in not realising that the statement that there are no absolutes is itself an absolute. Pope Benedict believes there are absolutes, and one of them is the right to human dignity. However, it is clear from the book-long interview conducted by Peter Seeward, published as God and the World, that for Pope Benedict, religion is not about belief in absolutes but about a relationship of love.
He also displays a strong sense of humour. He retells the story of when Napoleon allegedly declared that he would destroy the church, whereupon one of the cardinals replied: "Not even we have managed that!" He also comments that the fact that the church has survived is not a tribute to the competence of popes, some of whom "have done everything possible to run the thing into the ground", but to the fact that there is another kind of power at work.
Some people have worried about Pope Benedict's words about the "creative minority", his belief that the church may well become smaller but more committed. In God and the World, he expands on this idea. However, he has no desire to see the church as some kind of exclusive club for the totally committed. He says: "This consciousness of not being a closed club, but of always being open to everyone and everything, is an inseparable part of the church."
For example, he is receptive to the idea that some people will only visit a church at Christmas or special occasions, saying that it is another way "to belong to the blessing of the sacred, to the light".
An unexpectedly humane and humble man emerges from this book and from his own writings, and certainly not one who seeks division for its own sake. However, division will always arise when someone challenges conventional wisdom, and asks us hard questions about our lifestyles and priorities. After all, Christ was a divisive figure, too.
bobrien@irish-times.ie