Since his death, many have been active in drawing the portrait of this retired pope. He would have been of great generosity and great humanity. Yet, throughout his reign, his conservatism and dogmatism had puzzled many. What is it really ? Does he currently share heaven with Saint Peter?
To get a fair picture of the man who was to become Benedict XVI, we have to go back in time and talk about the two Joseph Ratzingers: the first, the liberal, was special adviser to Cardinal Frings during the Second Vatican Council, from 1962 to 1965. He advocated an opening of the Catholic Church to the world and a complete reform of the Holy Office, which he considered too sectarian.
Then came the second Ratzinger, that of May 1968, who, fiercely opposing the Marxist ideas in vogue in German and French universities, radically changed his allegiance and became ultra-conservative. Because if we can say that the future Benedict XVI was first, at the very beginning of his career, the defender of a liberal approach, he quickly became a fierce opponent of it.
Turnaround
To understand this unexpected reversal, it is necessary to know that in 1968, Ratzinger, then professor of theology at the University of Tübingen, had hardly appreciated being challenged by his students, especially since they defended socialist and communist ideas which he considered incompatible with the teaching of Christ. In this, he joined the approach of Pope John Paul II, who, as a seminarian during the post-war period, had suffered greatly from the horrors of communism in his native Poland.
For them, as indeed for the whole Catholic Church since Pius XII, Soviet Marxism, with the atheism it defended, represented the worst of calamities. It will be remembered on this subject that already before and during the Second World War, the Catholic Church had taken a position that was surprising to say the least: rather than denouncing loud and clear the criminal regime of Adolf Hitler, she supported him tacitly by recognizing in him a major anti-Jewish and anti-communist ally.
However, it should be noted that after 1968, Ratzinger’s rise within the ecclesiastical hierarchy was meteoric. Appointed cardinal in 1977 by Paul VI, he was then appointed president of the Pontifical Biblical Commission as well as president of the International Theological Commission. In 1981, John Paul II appointed him Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Note that this congregation is the oldest of the nine congregations of the Roman curia. It dates back to the Middle Ages, was then called the Congregation of the Holy Inquisition and had the particular task of sending heretics to the stake.
“Panzer Cardinal”
It was therefore above all as a policeman of the faith that Cardinal Ratzinger worked closely with John Paul II. Even within the Church, he was feared by his peers. Hence its nickname “Panzerkardinal”, a reference to the German tanks which, during the war, shamelessly smashed through enemy lines.
It was he who personally ensured the silence of dissident theologians and who, on occasion, cleaned up the clergy whom he considered to be too open to the ideas of his time. Remember that he muzzled more than a hundred theologians, including some very famous, such as Eugen Drewermann or the famous Hans Küng.
In the same way, the soon to be Benedict XVI systematically opposed all the members of the Catholic clergy who, in the countries of South America, fought for more justice with regard to the poor.
It will be remembered that in many of these countries subject to dictators, a half-religious, half-political movement had been formed over the years, led by priests and bishops fighting against the oppression of the people. It was then called liberation theology. Now, it is this movement that Cardinal Ratzinger hastened to crush with all his weight, claiming that, by virtue of his socialist ideas, he in no way corresponded to the teaching of Christ.
This is how he muzzled the Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff by dismissing him. Moreover, under his direct influence, John Paul II replaced Archbishop Camara with none other than José Cardoso, a far-right conservative. And it was at the express request of Ratzinger that the former bishop of Chiapas Samuel Ruiz García bowed, and that, despite himself, to a teaching, let’s say… more in conformity with the Church of Rome.
closed mind
Although Ratzinger is generally recognized as a brilliant theologian, to completely close the door to dialogue with other brilliant theologians like him was, in my opinion, a matter of pride and closed-mindedness that are incompatible with the word of Christ.
Because according to Benedict XVI, the doctrine of the faith can only depend on the official orientations chosen in Rome, that is to say largely… by him! And if, he said, the Catholic Church has something to be forgiven, it is not so much the faults of past centuries as the faults of the Church which, almost everywhere in the world, has, according to him, sinned by too large an opening. In an interview, he even said: the more a religion assimilates into the world, the more superfluous it becomes.
It is also on her advice that John Paul II kept a hard line with regard to the priesthood of women, homosexual marriage or even on questions concerning euthanasia or birth control.
Note also how, during the American presidential elections in 2004, Ratzinger had publicly supported the candidate George W. Bush, despite being a Protestant, while he rejected out of hand the candidacy of the very Catholic John Kerry, the latter being in favor of free choice. regarding abortion.
We should also mention that he was, with John-Paul II, the co-author of the encyclical Dominus Jesus, which asserted the absolute primacy of the Catholic Church over all other religions. He notably opposed the entry of Turkey (a Muslim state) into the European Union. He considered the abandonment of Latin a serious breach in the tradition of the Church. According to him, simple practitioners did not necessarily have to understand everything…
Be that as it may, his radicalism emptied much of what remained of the faithful in our churches and created a vast anti-Catholic feeling throughout the world. Even the priests did not find an attentive ear in this pope (his attitude towards the marriage of priests was without appeal).
As the visionary Quebec theologian Patrick Snyder pointed out the day after the election of Benedict XVI as pope: “In my humble opinion, this institution which claims to be an expert in humanity has just appointed a representative who has atrophied the Gospel message to several respects. »