Ratzinger’s road to the throne of St. Peter

When the name “Ratzinger” resounded from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to indicate who would be the next supreme pontiff of the 1.1 billion-strong Roman Catholic Church, elation burst out in many nations. Across Western Europe and in the U.S., though, particularly among progressive and liberal Catholics, a nearly audible groan could be heard. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who would take the name Benedict XVI, had had a contentious relationship with some in the West who perceived him, in his role as leader of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as an ultraconservative watchdog, more interested in enforcing the rule of law than appreciating its spirit. His election, for many, initially looked like a move back to the Dark Ages.

In his commendable and balanced book, “The Rise of Benedict XVI,” John L. Allen Jr. (the Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter and author of “Conclave”) gives readers -- conservative and liberal alike -- ample reason to withhold hasty judgment in order to consider in human, theological and faith-based terms the new pope.

To understand Benedict XVI and the role he’s stepping into, Allen first takes readers back a step to show the decline and eventual death of John Paul II and examines his legacy, particularly the way he inspired a sense of intimacy among followers, especially young people. In a way, Allen makes clear, John Paul II overhauled the papacy. Instead of the faithful having to travel to Rome, as was common with earlier pontiffs, John Paul II brought the papacy to where they lived. Though his stances alienated many, his charisma led vast numbers to embrace him, even those who disagreed with him. He would be a hard act to follow.

With crisp writing and an amazing attention to detail, Allen brings readers inside the papal jockeying, covering the days of mourning and the conclave, making it clear that Ratzinger, though best positioned to take over the leadership role, was not actively seeking election. “As slowly the balloting showed me that, so to speak, the guillotine would fall on me, I got quite dizzy,” Ratzinger later recounted to an audience of German pilgrims. This was undoubtedly the first time in church history that a new pope has compared his election to a death sentence, Allen suggests.

By choosing the contentious 78-year-old, the cardinal electors were sending a clear message, Allen contends. Faced with a slew of potential compromise candidates, they “opted instead for a clear, resounding choice ... a man whose resolute views on the challenges facing the Church and the broader culture could not be more unambiguous.” Contrary to what some media pundits have said, it’s foolish, Allen believes, to interpret the election as a vote for a “do-nothing, ‘transitional’ pontificate. To put the matter bluntly, there isn’t a transitional bone in Joseph Ratzinger’s body.”

Though Ratzinger has often been portrayed as “God’s Rottweiler” (and indeed he has lived up to that image in the 24 years he spent running the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith), Allen shows sides of the man and his theology of which we may be unaware. He takes readers through Ratzinger’s earlier years -- from his lower-middle-class childhood in Bavaria through early priesthood, exploring his genuine love of the church and its beliefs, as well as his razor-sharp intellect.

An eminent theologian, Ratzinger is also an accomplished pianist who tries, he said in a 1980s interview, to get at least 15 minutes a day at the keyboard playing Mozart and Beethoven. Brahms, Ratzinger said, is too difficult. Named Archbishop of Munich in 1977, he was elevated to cardinal just a short time later. When, in 1981, John Paul II asked him to take over the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Ratzinger became the first truly superlative theologian as the pope’s top doctrinal authority, in Allen’s opinion, since the 16th century.

Allen does not shy away from the many reasons liberal Catholics may have to be concerned about this election, witness the forced resignation of Father Thomas Reese from his position as editor of the respected Jesuit-run “America” magazine just two weeks after Benedict’s pontificate began. These concerns, Allen agrees, are not entirely exaggerated. “[T]he Pope has previously suggested that the Church may need to become smaller to remain true to itself, and no doubt some elements on the liberal wing of Catholicism are part of what he has in mind in terms of potential downsizing.”

Still, he urges readers to wait and see what will unfold. Outlining the probable direction he believes Benedict XVI will take, he concedes that it’s hard to predict what a pope’s leadership will actually look like.

Whatever the broader world may conclude about having this conservative German on the throne of St. Peter, Allen writes, “anyone who understands this man must intuit that there are days of great adventure, and potentially deep angst, ahead.”

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Bernadette Murphy is a regular contributor to Book Review and the author of “Zen and the Art of Knitting,” a work of narrative nonfiction.