U.S. Cardinals Speak With One Voice

Seven U.S. cardinals here Wednesday sought in unison to put a kinder, gentler face on Pope Benedict XVI, whose election as the successor of Pope John Paul II has drawn mixed reactions from American Catholics.

Their comments about the new pope followed a common theme, urging that a full picture of the man be presented while assuring Roman Catholics of Benedict’s human and pastoral qualities.

Until his election as pontiff Tuesday, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany was widely known as the Vatican’s keeper of Catholic orthodoxy. Some critics called him the “panzer cardinal.” As prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he reined in dissident theologians, and did not countenance proposals for ordaining married men, admitting women to the priesthood, or diluting the church’s teaching against homosexual acts.

But the U.S. cardinals, apparently mindful of the controversy that has long swirled around Ratzinger, said there was far more to his story.

“In covering events and people, in order to create something clear, certain aspects of someone’s personality are singled out and chosen. And while true, it is isolated into a caricature,” Cardinal Francis George of Chicago told reporters.

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington said, “I think that the vision that some have of the Holy Father as someone who is not a person of dialogue is a skewed vision.”

The seven Americans, who were among the 115 cardinals allowed to vote in the papal election, were clearly concerned that Benedict’s public image could get his pontificate off to the wrong start, said David Gibson, author of “The Coming Catholic Church.”

“I think there is a legitimate concern that he comes with a track record -- some would say baggage -- 24 years of the worst job in Christendom,” said Gibson, referring to Ratzinger’s role as the Vatican’s chief doctrinal watchdog during the papacy of John Paul. “They’re obviously worried that he will start out hamstrung.”

One veteran Vatican observer, journalist and author John L. Allen Jr. of the National Catholic Reporter, agreed.

“There’s no question he has a task of turning the imaging around,” Allen said. “Ratzinger is that rare Vatican official who is a media star, and lots of people, Catholic and non-Catholic, have perceptions of him and they’re not usually positive perceptions.”

The new pope didn’t help himself with church moderates and liberals when, the day before his election, he preached a homily in St. Peter’s Basilica in which he squarely opposed what he called a “dictatorship of relativism.” But Wednesday, Benedict was already striking a different chord in a message he delivered to cardinals during a Mass in the Sistine Chapel.

He declared his intention to consult with cardinals, listen to bishops, minister to youths, and take up John Paul’s quest for unity and dialogue with other Christian faiths. And he spoke of John Paul: “It seems I can feel his strong hand squeezing mine; I seem to see his smiling eyes and listen to his words, addressed to me especially at this moment: ‘Do not be afraid!’ ”

George, the Chicago cardinal, said those who know the new pope understand. He said a layman in France called Ratzinger a “humble genius.” A cleaning woman called him a “true Christian.”

“Let’s see those two dimensions, seen by ordinary people, as part of the picture of who this man is,” George said.

Cardinal Adam Maida of Detroit said he believed that the office of pope would in some ways change Benedict.

“When God calls us to do his work he provides us with the grace and direction and inspiration,” Maida said. “So it isn’t just the man we’re talking about. It’s how God uses each one of us. I think you’ll find in Cardinal Ratzinger a very humble man, a holy man, a man of God in his time and place in history.”

Cardinal Edward M. Egan of New York spoke of the pope’s kindnesses to him in the past. Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles cited Benedict’s commitment to attending World Youth Day in August in Cologne, Germany, picking up the torch from John Paul, who energized youth worldwide and who was in turn energized by them.

McCarrick said the new pope was committed to listening to cardinals and talking with bishops and had expressed a desire to be “collegial,” a code word usually taken to mean that bishops should have more say in the affairs of the church and running their own dioceses.

Cardinal William Keeler of Baltimore spoke of Benedict’s commitment to good relations with Israel and with Jews. The seventh cardinal was Justin Rigali of Philadelphia.

The cardinals’ positive words have left liberals waiting for proof.

“I have no doubt that he is a very kind man, a good man, a gentle man,” said Sister Christine Schenk, executive director of FutureChurch, based in Cleveland. “But, the fact of the matter is his public statements on a variety of issues over the last 20 years have polarized and alienated major segments of the church, and not just the Catholic Church,” she said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

For women, gays and lesbians, non-Catholic Christians, and sexual abuse victims, she asked for proof. “We need some outreach from him that says we need to talk about the issues. We need an olive branch,” said Schenk, whose group is made up of reform-minded Catholics.

Schenk added that she had some hope. She noted that after first dismissing the sexual abuse scandal as overblown by an anti-Catholic media, Ratzinger became more supportive of sexual abuse victims.

George said Wednesday that, based on conversations he had with the new pope before and after his election, he was convinced that Benedict would keep in place church laws, known as norms, that punish and weed out priests and deacons who sexually abuse minors. The norms expired March 1.

“I have reason to believe he will extend them,” George said.