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PDF versionBenedict in Britain: We get it, we've got it, let's share it
by John L Allen Jr on Sep. 17, 2010
Pope Benedict XVI is midway through his trip to the United Kingdom, and so far reaction has been all over the map, from wild enthusiasm among devotees, to overt hostility among determined protestors, to benign indifference in a broad swath of secular society. Of course, the pope always evokes a range of opinions, but they’re rarely on full public view as they are here.
Predictions of disaster in the run-up to the trip have largely failed to materialize, in part because Benedict XVI is simply a more gracious and kindly figure than his stern public image suggests, in part because Benedict has once again dialed up his “Affirmative Orthodoxy,” striking a deliberately positive tone. Within minutes of his arrival, he had told Queen Elizabeth II that Britain should be proud of its Christian and humanitarian traditions and praised the Northern Ireland peace agreement, and this German pope even thanked the British for standing up to the Nazis.
Yet dissent still dogs the visit, which was clear this evening outside Westminster Abbey. A large throng of pilgrims lustily sang hymns in an attempt to drown out an assortment of protestors, including advocates for victims of priestly sexual abuse, radical Evangelicals who regard the pope as the anti-Christ, and secularists who have a truckload of objections to the pope’s position on issues such as abortion and gay marriage. Tomorrow, a major anti-papal march is scheduled in downtown London.
(For the record, some protestors along the way have shown a lively sense of humor. My personal favorite was the guy in Scotland holding a sign that read, “Down with this sort of thing!” Second place goes to the three members of a gay rights group that stood outside a papal meeting with Catholic schools this morning, clad only in tight shorts and golden wings.)
If Benedict doesn’t seem to be winning over his most determined critics, there is some evidence that the PR tide may be turning in his favor. Today, Labor MP Kate Hoey, a liberal who disagrees with the Catholic church on a wide variety of issues, announced that she was fed up with “carping about the trip from atheists with an axe to grind and a book to plug,” and would therefore join a welcoming party for the pope when he visits a center run by the Little Sisters of the Poor in her south London district.
Beyond giving a shot in the arm to the Catholic minority in the U.K., Benedict is trying to reach out this week to three constituencies: all those inside and outside the church scandalized by the sexual abuse crisis; secular society, whose attitudes towards religion range from benign indifference to outright hostility; and the Anglican Communion, whose members often look upon popes generally, and this pope in particular, with deep skepticism.
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In a sound-bite, Benedict’s message to each group could be summed up as follows: We get it; we’ve got it; let’s share it.
We Get It
Though the Catholic church in the U.K. has been largely spared the massive sex abuse scandals that have rocked the United States, Ireland, Germany, now Belgium, and other nations, the British press has been relentless in covering the story, and public attitudes show it. A poll commissioned by CNN on the eve of Benedict's trip show that 77 percent of British adults, and 56 percent of British Catholics, believe the pope has not done enough to punish priests guilty of sexual abuse. Only 4 percent of the general British public said he has done enough; the rest said they didn't know.
One expression of that climate of opinion came from a Welshman named Bryan Junor, who came down to London today to hold a banner reading "Abstinence makes the church grow fondlers."
As he has during several past papal trips, Benedict didn't wait to touch down in the U.K. to tackle the sexual abuse crisis. Instead, he chose to take a question on the subject during a brief session with reporters aboard the papal plane.
The pope confessed to "sadness that the authorities of the Church were not sufficiently vigilant and not sufficiently quick and decisive in taking the necessary measures" to combat the crisis. He called the church's commitment to victims its "first priority," promising "material, psychological and spiritual help." He also said that priests who have abused must never again be allowed access to young people, because they suffer from an ilness that cannot be cured with "willpower."
Benedict also expressed personal incomprehension that a priest, who has promised to devote "his entire existence so that the Good Shepherd who loves, helps and guides us to the truth will be present in the world," could then fall into what the pope described as "this perversion of the priestly ministry."
In a more spiritual key, the pope described the sexual abuse crisis as an invitation "to experience precisely a time of penance, a time of humility, and to renew, to learn again, absolute sincerity."
The pope obviously wanted to say all that at the outset, because the Vatican collects questions from reporters in advance and thus allows Benedict a chance to craft his replies.
In a speech to Catholic educators today, Benedict also made a more oblique reference to the crisis, talking about the importance of creating "a safe environment for children and young people."
"Our responsibility toward those entrusted to us for their Christian formation demands nothing less," the pope said.
In terms of persuading the pope's critics, it's not clear his comments will cut much ice. When Benedict came to the United States in April 2008, he hadn't really yet engaged the crisis in a public way, so his candor on that occasion – speaking about it on five occasions, and meeting with victims for the first time – won wide praise, and was largely responsible for making the trip a public relations triumph. A Gallup poll afterwards showed that Benedict got a ten-point bump in his favorability ratings in America, and 60 percent of Americans said the trip had given them a more positive impression of the church.
Now, however, papal expressions of contrition and determination have become more routine, so they don't have the same impact. Critics say we've heard it all before, and what we want is action: for example, accountability for bishops who have mismanaged the crisis, transparent cooperation with police and civil authorities, and a uniform global "zero tolerance" policy.
The Survivor's Network of Those Abused by Priests, the main victims' advocacy group in the States, issued a statement calling Benedict's words "disingenuous." The problem wasn't that the church failed to be fast, SNAP asserted; it moved very fast, they charged, in the wrong direction, covering up the problem rather than facing it.
Yet Benedict's comments at least provided a reasonably positive news day for the pope vis-à-vis the crisis – especially compared to the alternative, which was saying nothing and creating impressions that he was ducking the issue. Benedict's words on the plane also provided talking points to innumerable local Catholic commentators when faced with questions about the crisis.
Whatever one thinks of the pope's policy response, his comments may at least suggest to some skeptical onlookers that he "gets it" in terms of the magnitude of what's happened.
We've Got It
Perhaps the most keenly anticipated speech of Benedict's four-day trip came this afternoon in Westminster Hall, where the pope spoke to political, social and business leaders about the role of faith in politics. The setting was evocative; Westminster Hall is where St. Thomas More, the great English scholar and statesman, was tried and condemned in 1535 for refusing to acknowledge the King as also the head of the church.
Among the other VIPs in attendance were four former British Prime Ministers: Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
In principle, this could have been an explosive address, given the clear differences between the Catholic church and the U.K. on any number of hot-button social issues, from gay marriage to abortion to embryonic stem cell research. Instead, Benedict delivered an "Affirmative Orthodoxy" tour de force. He lauded Britain's legal and political tradition, with its emphasis on individual rights and the separation of powers, as "an inspiration to many across the globe," and said that it shares much common ground with Catholic social teaching.
The heart of the speech was a pitch for constructive dialogue between faith and reason, and therefore between church and state. Reason shorn of faith, he warned, becomes destructive ideology; faith without reason, shades off into a distorted "sectarianism and fundamentalism."
Praising Britain's democratic tradition, he argued that democracy needs an ethical foundation in order to function successfully.
"If the moral principles underpinning the democratic process are themselves determined by nothing more solid than social consensus, then the fragility of the process becomes all too evident," he said.
That, the pope argued, is where religion enters the picture, as a source of values that provide an orientation for public life. He pointed to Britain's role in abolishing the slave trade, a crusade he said was inspired by "ethical principles, rooted in the natural law."
Benedict laid out a laundry list of issues where church and state can work together: curbing the arms trade, spreading democracy, debt relief, fair trade and development, environmental protection, clean water, job creation, education, support to families, immigration, and healthcare.
Defense of the world's poor was a special emphasis, and Benedict used sharp language to drive home the point.
"The world has witnessed the vast resources that governments can draw upon to rescue financial institutions deemed 'too big to fail,'" the pope said. "Surely the integral human development of the world's peoples is no less important."
"Here is an enterprise," he said, "worthy of the world's attention, that is truly 'too big to fail.'"
In order for that cooperation to succeed, the pope argued, political leaders need to see religion not "as a problem for legislators to solve, but a vital contributor to the national conversation." In that context, he warned against "the increasing marginalization of religion, particularly of Christianity," insisting that public expressions of faith such as Christmas festivals should not be discouraged and that Christians in public roles should not be compelled to act against their conscience.
In a phrase, the pope's case for religious faith in a pluralistic culture boiled down to "we've got it" – with the "it" referring to the spiritual and moral instincts which a democratic society needs in order to thrive.
It's hard to know what the long-term effect of that argument may be, but for an afternoon, Benedict at least made Catholicism look rational, constructive, and committed to partnership in pursuit of the common good. In the secular milieu of contemporary Britain, where the historical tradition of anti-Catholicism has drawn new life from the sex abuse mess, that alone is no mean feat.
Let's Share It
So many obituaries have been written of Anglican/Catholic relations in recent years that people could be forgiven for thinking it's already dead. God knows headaches abound, from long-standing differences over women's ordination and homosexuality, to the more recent contretemps created by Benedict's decision to create new structures, called "ordinariates," to welcome Anglicans who decide to jump ship.
Benedict, however, put a largely positive spin on things in his meeting this afternoon with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, at Lambeth Palace. Benedict and Williams are both accomplished theologians, both somewhat shy and cerebral, and thus share a strong personal rapport.
At the outset, Benedict said he did not come to dwell on "the difficulties that the ecumenical path has encountered and continues to encounter," but rather on "the deep friendship that has grown between us" and the "remarkable progress" in Anglican/Catholic ties in the last forty years.
Benedict has long stressed that different Christian churches and different religions, despite theological disagreements, share core values that can foster partnerships in social, cultural and political affairs. That's the "let's share it" component of the pope's pitch.
He returned to the theme today, calling on Anglicans and Catholics to promote "peace and harmony in a world that so often seems at risk of fragmentation."
The pope didn't entirely pull his punches, insisting that Christians "must never hesitate" to proclaim the uniqueness of the salvation won by Christ, and that while the church is called to be inclusive, that must never come "at the expense of Christian truth." Some Anglicans no doubt heard a gentle rebuke in those words, especially because inclusion has long been the mantra of progressive Anglicans in favor of women priests and bishops and blessing gay marriages.
Yet Benedict's tone remained largely upbeat, offering Cardinal John Henry Newman, an Anglican convert to Catholicism whom the pope will beatify on Sunday, as a model of handling differences "in a truly eirenical spirit" and a "deep longing for unity in faith."
While no new breakthrough in Anglican/Catholic ties seems imminent, today's events at least confirmed that the dialogue will go on.
John Allen will be filing reports throughout the Papal visit to the U.K. Sept. 16-19. Stay tuned to NCR Today for updates.
We are not amused. Nor
We are not amused. Nor impressed. This is way too little, too late. Until the sources of the problems in the church are addressed: intolerance of homosexuals, denial of the equality of women, clerical arrogance, and so on, there will not be healing. The church will continue to descend into irrelevance. Jesus should be consulted on this. Take another look at the scriptures.
>>>Praising Benedict's
>>>Praising Benedict's democratic tradition, he argued that democracy needs an ethical foundation in order to function successfully.<<<
Editor! Editor!
If I could find a scintilla of evidence of B16's democratic tradition, I'd praise it, too. (Being elected absolute monarch by 120 unelected old men hardly counts.)
especially when that august
especially when that august electorate was hand picked and stuffed to greatly over inflated new numbers by his immediate predecessor
"Yet Benedict's comments at
"Yet Benedict's comments at least provided a reasonably positive news day for the pope vis-à-vis the crisis – especially compared to the alternative, which was saying nothing and creating impressions that he was ducking the issue. Benedict's words on the plane also provided talking points to innumerable local Catholic commentators when faced with questions about the crisis."
Yes he made a statement but he made the wrong statement. The correct statement would have been, "We had a policy that was wrong. It put our reputation first and the safety of children a very distant second. It will never happen again."
Wow, would I love to hear that instead of the "pleading guilty to a lesser offense" of not acting fast enough.
Don't keep trying to gild this lily. The paint keeps falling off.
"Benedict XVI is simply a
"Benedict XVI is simply a more gracious and kindly figure than his stern public image suggests..."
Benedict is as much as ACTOR as his predecessor was. Don't trust him for a minute!
While B16 portrays his 'saintly, gracious' image, archbishops all over the world are attempting to please him by turning once lively Christian Communities into religious museums. ("Oh, we wouldn't want to make families at funerals feel consoled or at home. Oh no, we must give them a liturgy that they not only do not understand, but they are now fifty feet further away from the God they once felt close to. For some reason, people do not cozy up to stringent rules and regulations.)
"We get it; we’ve got it; let’s share it."
As hopeful as John Allen is, "we" may have "got it" but "we" will continue to ram outmoded, outdated policies, rules and regulations down the throats of the faithful. Don't doubt it for even a moment! There is no "we." There is only "my," as in 'it's MY show!'
Keep it up, Ben! Soon you will rid every church in the nation of large amounts of good and holy people.
So the Pope gets an A for his
So the Pope gets an A for his diplomatic skills. Everybody was on their best behavior and said all the right things. He made some valid points in his talk at Westminster Hall but uttering the following "that while the church is called to be inclusive, that must never come 'at the expense of Christian truth'" was not one of them. Since that can only be a reference to the issue of women's ordination, then he still doesn't "get it". I'm sure there are quite a few people who can make a strong case that the inclusion of women is not about "Christian truth" but about power and control. Most women fortunately do "get it".
It is interesting that
It is interesting that religious communities of women in the USA, which promote ordination of women are dying, the average age of a sister in the community is upper seventies. Those congregations that adhere to the magisterium of the Church and wear traditional habits are thriving. The Dominican sisters of St Cecilia welcomed twenty seven new postulants. The Sisters of Loretto of which Maureen Fiedler is a member is a commumity near extinction.
In case you are not aware,
In case you are not aware, the sign saying "down with this sort of thing" comes from an episode of Fr. Fed in which Ted and Dougal are asked by the bishop to protest outside a local cinema!
Thanks Mr. Allen. The
Thanks Mr. Allen. The headline is a great summary for an article covering things from many aspects. In addition to applying it to Benedict's messages I'd also apply it to your analyses. It was a trick I'm sure to tie things together but it came off very well. Congratulations on a job well done.
Unfortunately due to an
Unfortunately due to an untimely hiccup in my cable service I was forced into watching the EWTN broadcast of the address and the Abbey evening prayer service rather than a UK network such as BBC. Thank you Mr. Allen for a truthful and full analysis of the Pope's remarks. Arroyo on EWTN appeared to have a pre-written (and all too predictable) rant about a Papal "broadside" against "Dem old debils", secularism and relativism and nary a mention of the fullness of the Papal comments as documented by Allen.
Even more offensive for an Anglican/Episcopalian like me was the commentary of an unidentified Englishman assisting Arroyo who could barely restrain himself from the worst aspects of Catholic grievance/victim hood and contempt for all things Anglican. At the vespers in the Abbey, Arroyo did everything but demand its immediate return to Rome and patronizingly said of Anglican (and other denomination's female clergy in attendance) that while the Pope had nothing against them, female clergy are a contradiction in terms and we Catholics know best. I kept wondering what college-educated RC women with a deep love of the faith and a calling to serve were thinking. But then I doubt they watch EWTN. There was only a grudging sense of ecumenism laced with pervasive triumphalism in the entire coverage which I suppose is red meat for the EWTN crowd. Thank heavens most Catholics I know are better than Arroyo and company. Thanks again Mr. Allen for a fairer coverage of events.
THE CHURCH IS DEMOCRATIC,THE
THE CHURCH IS DEMOCRATIC,THE POPE IS AN NOT ABSOLUTE MONARCH: This how Pope Benedict's visit to Great Britain can best be described.
To paraphrase the eminent Vatican observer, Andrea Tornielli, I would say that -- in contrast to the "intelligensia" of the elitist ruling class lurking in some corners of the Catholic Church and secularist society (a la National Catholic Reporter, New York Times, Newsweek, CNN, NPR, and many Catholic Universities and theologates) -- the Bishop of Rome has the task of protecting the faith of the average Catholic, of those who do not write for the newspapers and go on TV. In this sense the magisterium has a "democratic" task.
One radical change that this Pope asks of everyone is that of being aware that the Church is not "made" by us, it cannot be thought of like we think of a company, everything cannot be reduced to claims about functions and ministries. The Church's life cannot be planned only by pastoral strategies.
If we were to learn from this constant appeal of Pope Benedict, then maybe many of the open and secret members of the opposition would understand that the Pope is not an absolute monarch, but that he too obeys Jesus Christ in transmitting the "depositum fidei."
God Bless Pope Benedict XVI
God Bless Pope Benedict XVI and the Catholic Church
"Praising Benedict's
"Praising Benedict's democratic tradition, he argued that democracy needs an ethical foundation in order to function successfully."
I believe this text is supposed to read, "Praising Britain's democratic tradition..."
but Britain has no democratic
but Britain has no democratic tradition
Could you enlighten your
Could you enlighten your readers why so many UK SNAP and anti-clerical sex abuse protestors seem stuck on the impression the Vatican/His Holiness has some large docket with all the juicy details inside? Seems like a lot of misinformation is responsible for a great deal of the ignorance that underpin their premise for protest. They don't seem to understand what a bishop is called to do to "protect the name of the Church" at their consecretion (however that can be interpreted) and how ecclesiastical hierarchy works (bureaucracy at its best and worst).
Pope Bendict states "We were
Pope Bendict states "We were not fast enough" relating to sexual abuse.
That is true. And nobody else was fast enough. Ian Paisley certainly was not fast enough. Public services and orgs were not fast enough. Police were not fast enough.
Watching alive the storical
Watching alive the storical Pope's speech at Westminster Hall and the warm reception to it, manifested in the improvised reply by the speaker of the House of Lords - I'm not sure If she left apart her prepared speech-,I can hardly understand that sex abuse scandal is still the first issue of the news for this trip on the mainstream media agenda -and yours by the way-. I think we may borrow the Labor MP Kate Hoey's words you quote in your article and aplying to the case: most people are fed up with “carping about the trip from" sex abused concerned journalists "with an axe to grind".
Interesting quote by Cardinal
Interesting quote by Cardinal Newman:
And now, had time admitted, I might have gone on to other distinct causes of the change which I have taken for my subject; but since this cannot be, I will content myself with referring to another kind of knowledge of Catholics, which has operated in their favour, a knowledge not to any great extent experimental and personal, but public, coming to the population at large from special witnesses, perhaps few, and only on special occasions, and by means of the periodical press and the trustworthy informants of whose testimony it is the vehicle. And, as an instance of what I mean, I will notice the great figure presented in this way to the whole world by the late Pope Pius IX. and its effect in favour of Catholics. This surely is a fair and striking instance of knowledge of Catholics, telling in their favour. If there is any representative of the Roman Church, from whom Protestants ought to shrink, it is her Head. In their theory, in their controversial publications, in their traditions, the Pope is all that is bad. You know the atrocious name they give him; he is the embodiment of evil, and the worst foe of the Gospel. Then, as to Pope Pius IX., no one could, both by his words and deeds, offend them more. He claimed, he exercised, larger powers than any other Pope ever did; he committed himself to ecclesiastical acts bolder than those of any other Pope; his secular policy was especially distasteful to Englishmen; he had some near him who put into print just that kind of gossip concerning him {243} which would put an Englishman's teeth on edge; lastly, he it was who, in the beginning of his reign, was the author of the very measure which raised such a commotion among us; yet his personal presence was of a kind which no one could withstand. I believe one special cause of the abatement of the animosity felt towards us by our countrymen was the series of tableaux, as I may call them, brought before them in the newspapers; of his receptions of visitors in the Vatican.
His misfortunes indeed had something to do with his popularity. The whole world felt that he was shamefully used as regards his temporal possessions; no foreign power had any right to seize upon his palaces, churches, and other possessions; and the injustice shown him created a wide interest in him; but the main cause of his popularity was the magic of his presence, which was such as to dissipate and utterly destroy the fog out of which the image of a Pope looms to the ordinary Englishman; His uncompromising faith, his courage, the graceful intermingling in him of the human and the divine, the humour, the wit, the playfulness with which he tempered his severity, his naturalness, and then his true eloquence, and the resources he had at command for meeting with appropriate words the circumstances of the moment, overcame those who were least likely to be overcome. A friend of mine, a Protestant, a man of practised intellect and mature mind, told me to my surprise, that, at one of the Pope's receptions at the Vatican he was so touched by the discourse made by his Holiness to his visitors, that he burst into tears. And this was the experience of hundreds; how could they think ill of him or of his children when his very look and voice were so ethical, so eloquent, so persuasive? Yet, I believe, wonderful as was the mode and the effect with which Pius IX. preached our holy Religion, we have not lost by his being taken away. It is not decorous to praise the living; it is not modest to panegyrise those whom rather one should obey; but in the Successor of Pius IX. I recognise a depth of thought, a tenderness of heart, a winning simplicity, a power answering to his name, which keeps me from {244} lamenting that Pope Pius IX. is no longer here. But I must cut short what has been already too long, though I have not reached the end. I will only say in conclusion, that, though Englishmen are much more friendly to us as individuals, I see nothing to make me think that they are more friendly to our religion. They do not indeed believe, as they once believed, that the religion is so irrational that a man who professes it must be wanting either in honesty or in wit; but this is not much to grant, for the great question remains, to decide whether it is possible for a country to continue any long time in the unnatural position of thinking ill of a religion and thinking well of believers in it. One would expect that either dislike of the religion would create an unfriendly feeling towards its followers, or friendliness towards its followers would ensure goodwill towards the religion. How this problem will be solved is one of the secrets of the future.
http://www.newmanreader.org/works/addresses/file4.html#reunion
1. Has Benedict sent
1. Has Benedict sent Candinal Law off to an ashram to spend the rest of his life in repentance?
2. Has Benedict fired all of the bishops who enabled this abuse to continue for so many decades (centuries?)?
3. Has he declared that John Paul II, the great enabler of continued clerical abuse, and all popes should not be eligible to be considered for sainthhood until at least 100 years after his death?
4. Has he taken even the smallest step to understand why this abuse took place for so long?
5. Has he taken even the smallest step to ensure that such abuse doesn't continue to take place?
Since the answers to all five of these questions appear to be NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, why does ANYONE thing that he's "gotten" ANYTHING?
"VatiCAN'T!" And people
"VatiCAN'T!"
And people laughed at Sinead O'Connor in 1982.
http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2af62ecb329d3d7733492d9253...
Thank you Mr. Allen for an
Thank you Mr. Allen for an informative and entertaining article. You are the only reason I read NCR.
By addressing the serial
By addressing the serial Pedophilia early in his visit to GB, the pope was simply using a PR technique used by companies and politians who have done something evil, arogant, and stupid. It is often refered to as "stealing their thunder."
What he has said and 50 cents won't get you a can of pop. If he were serious he would use his power to change the culture of the church. He would add non-clergy at the highest levels of church management who were not rubber stamps, bring women into the prieshood, and institute tranparency.
The church will go on for a time without these changes, but it will never reach its potential.
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