Gibson Sees Glum Pontificate Under Benedict
Pope Benedict XVI “is an
evangelical Christian trapped in the high Roman Catholic Church,” journalist
David Gibson told several large workshop sessions. Gibson is the author of “The
Rule of Benedict,” which presents a very sober, austere picture of the
pontiff. Benedict does not relish crowds, as did his predecessor and is quite
reluctant to get personal in public, said Gibson: he wants to retreat from the
scene, to become a “Pontifex Minimus” rather than a “Pontifex
Maximus” (the traditional term for the pope, “supreme bridge builder.”
For Benedict, said Gibson, “all sin is individual sin,” and the
solution is therefore “individual conversion.” His dim view of sinful
human nature prevents him, noted Gibson, from believing that Christians can
accomplish much by becoming co-builders of the kingdom of God or by working
for social justice through eliminating systemic, structural evils in society.
Rather, Benedict sees the church as “most present in individuals who love
Christ,” said Gibson: therefore, “if each of us would be a better
Catholic, the problems of the world would take care of themselves.”
In Gibson’s analysis,
Benedict is “a classical conservative thinker,” who privileges charity
over justice, thinks less is more, and believes John Paul’s new evangelism
is best done one-on-one, through freeing in others “the impulse of faith
within them from the encrustations” of the secular world.” Benedict,
he said, is wary of change because “if we even acknowledge the possibility
of change [in discipline or doctrine], everything can change.” Confronted
with moral or doctrinal changes, he said, Benedict’s inclination is “to
circle the wagons.”
Gibson himself was not upbeat about the outreach possibilities of this pontificate,
given the pope’s less than enthusiastic approach to peace and justice
initiatives and interfaith dialogue (though he may make adjustments on this
due to the Regensberg debacle). Under Benedict, he believes, the Vatican approach
will be to put more emphasis on orthodoxy in belief, stressing a contemplative,
pious and individualistic faith. On the other hand, Gibson said, the pope shows
signs of appointing more competent men as bishops throughout the world.