New style of Papacy

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, had barred the well-known American theologian, Fr Charles Curran, from teaching Catholic theology. Fr Curran, like many others, was disappointed when Cardinal Ratzinger became Pope Benedict. So his comments in The Tablet of April 15, on the first year of Pope Benedict's pontificate, must have surprised many.

"I have been pleasantly surprised by the first year of Pope Benedict's Papacy. He has recognised his role as a centre of unity and has not seen the Church primarily as a small remnant in opposition to the world. Church pundits have often pointed out that the most important document from a new Pope is his first encyclical. On January 25, Benedict released his first encyclical: Deus Caritas Est.

"My fears were that the first encyclical would be on truth: we the Church have the truth and we must struggle against the relativism and subjectivism in the world around us. Many of Cardinal Ratzinger's earlier statements and homilies before his election took this approach.

"But the first encyclical is a reflection on what Pope Benedict calls 'the heart of the Christian faith' - love. He is speaking here as the centre of unity in the Church, confirming his sisters and brothers in their faith in the power of love. There is nothing divisive about this encyclical."

Concluding his article, Fr Curran said: "I have been happily surprised that Pope Benedict XVI is very conscious of his role as the centre of unity in the Church, but this does not mean that he has changed or will change any existing teachings of the Church and his own basic theological positions. I would expect this same stance to guide him in the remaining years of his Papacy."

The positive comments of Fr Curran on Pope Benedict's first year were reflected by the comments of many others.

The quiet first year of Benedict's pontificate contrasts sharply with that of John Paul II. Within the first 12 months after his election in 1978, the Polish Pope had travelled to Central America, Poland, Ireland, and the US - where he had addressed the United Nations. He had published his first encyclical, Redemptor Hominis, named a new Secretary of State, and called his first consistory. Above all, he had established an entirely new style of "being Pope".

By comparison, Pope Benedict, a scholarly personality with a deep love of Church traditions, has made no effort to put his personal stamp on the Papacy. While he lacks the enormous charisma and dramatic stage presence of his predecessor, Pope Benedict has won over many observers with his reserved, almost shy demeanour, the soft voice and gentle smile that have belied his previous reputation as a doctrinal hard-liner. Although he is by no means a "superstar" Pontiff, he has drawn huge crowds to his audiences, and the chant of "Benedetto" has become as commonplace among Roman crowds as the earlier cries of "John Paul II, we love you!"

In some ways, it has taken a full year for the Papal transition - a year to absorb the legacy of Pope John Paul's long pontificate and a year for Pope Benedict's Papacy to come into focus. The new pope found himself presiding over many events scheduled under his predecessor, like the Synod of Bishops last October, several canonisations, the closing of the Eucharistic year, and numerous meetings and liturgies.

In March, the Pope made his first move to streamline Vatican offices. But for the last year his priorities have not been administrative. Instead, he has embarked on what might be described as a project to water the roots of the faith. He has urged Catholics to rediscover Christ as the focus of their personal lives and to resist the tendency to make the individual ego "the only criterion" for their choices.

As a teacher, he has turned to Scripture far more than doctrine, making connections between the early Christians of apostolic times and modern men and women struggling to live their faith.

Pope Benedict has tackled contemporary social and political issues by emphasising a few main principles: that human rights rest on human dignity, that people come before profits, that the right to life is an ancient measure of humanity and not just a Catholic teaching, and that efforts to exclude God from civil affairs are corroding modern society.

He returns often to a central theme - the relationship between God and man - in language that can be clear-cut and gripping.

"Human life is a relationship... and the basic relationship is with the Creator, otherwise all relationships are fragile. To choose God, that is the essential thing. A world emptied of God, a world that has forgotten God, loses life and falls into a culture of death," the Pope said in a talk in March.

As Roman Pontiff, Benedict XVI has confounded the expectations of friends and foes alike, who had expected the man dubbed Panzerkardinal to act as a stern disciplinarian cracking down on theological dissent and liturgical irregularity. Among the many surprises of his pontificate, one signal incident was his private dinner meeting in September with the theologian Hans Küng, one of his most persistent critics during his years as the Vatican's top theological watchdog.

As an actor in international affairs, Pope Benedict has generally followed the strategies set in place by his predecessor. He has carefully pursued dialogue with the Russian Orthodox Church, and encouraged patient negotiations with the political leaders of China.

He has signalled his determination to uphold religious freedom in Asia, with his elevation of prelates from Hong Kong and Seoul to the College of Cardinals. And he has repeatedly demanded that Europe must recognise its Christian heritage. He has zeroed in on what he has called Europe's spiritual fatigue, occasionally rattling the cages and rallying the forces on issues like gay marriage, cohabitation and abortion.

Last autumn, he embarked on a reconciliation effort with Lefebvrite traditionalists, meeting with excommunicated Bishop Bernard Fellay and convening top Vatican officials to discuss proposed solutions.

During the coming year Pope Benedict has planned several apostolic voyages, each with its own dominant theme. His May trip to Poland will be a sort of pilgrimage, to pay homage to John Paul II. In July he will visit Spain for a conference on the family, an opportunity to underline the importance of marriage and family life in a traditionally Catholic country where those institutions are now under attack.

In September he will travel to his native Bavaria, where he is expected to highlight the Christian origins of European society. Finally in November he will travel to Turkey for talks with the acknowledged leader of the Orthodox world, and while there he will confer with the political leaders of a predominantly Muslim country seeking entry into the European Union.