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MARCH 11, 2008
CATHOLICISM
Covering Pope Benedict’s visit to America
Pope Benedict XVI will make his first visit to America as
pope April 15-20, with stops in Washington, D.C., and New York. U.S. Catholics —
and all Americans — will get their first look at a man who is one of the
world’s most prominent leaders. The visit comes in the midst of a tumultuous
presidential campaign in which the controversial issues of personal morality
and social justice that Benedict will address are also flashpoints for the
candidates and voters. This edition of ReligionLink provides interview sources,
Web resources and background to help journalists cover Benedict XVI’s visit and
frame their coverage of the trip and the Catholic Church in the United States.
Why it matters
With nearly 65 million baptized members, Roman Catholics are
the largest single denomination in the United States, and there are 1.1 billion
Catholics around the globe. That makes the Catholic Church one of the most
prominent and influential religious traditions in the country and the world.
The pope is also a statesman, and he will meet with President Bush and address
the General Assembly of the United Nations during his U.S. visit. Benedict is
expected to highlight critical issues of the church’s relations with other
denominations, with the Jewish community, and with Muslims and other faiths.
Key issues
Benedict – who marks three years as pope on April 19 and his
81st birthday April 16, both during his American tour – is making
his mark on the papacy through a number of issues and efforts:
Emerging profile
From 1981 until his election as pope on April 19, 2005, after
the death of John Paul II, Joseph Ratzinger served as head of the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith
for John Paul. The head of the CDF is responsible for safeguarding doctrine and
disciplining theologians and others who are seen as straying from orthodoxy.
That makes the office one of the most powerful in the Vatican and in the
church, and one of the most controversial. While Ratzinger earned a reputation
as a hardliner while at the CDF, his largely unexpected election as pope did
two things, observers say: One, it has allowed him to leave the controversial
disciplinary action to others while allowing his pastoral side to emerge. And
two, it has caused Catholics and church observers to take a fresh look at Ratzinger
as pope, apart from his former role as a cardinal in the Roman Curia. Benedict
XVI is the first German elected to the papacy in more than 1,000 years, and he
followed a Polish pope who was the first non-Italian elected pope in more than
450 years.
Encyclicals and books
A pope’s writings are always cornerstones of his papacy and
often form the core of his legacy to the church. As an esteemed intellectual,
theologian and author, Pope Benedict is particularly focused on leaving an
important body of work in addition to the many volumes he wrote as a cardinal.
Of his writings so far, several are considered most
important. Two are encyclicals, the most authoritative statements a pope can
issue: Deus caritas est, or “God Is Love,”
signed by the pope on Dec. 25, 2005, and Spe salvi, or “Saved by Hope,”
signed on Nov. 30, 2007. Another encyclical on social themes is expected, but not before the summer of 2008.
Among the books the pope has written, two stand out in
importance and popularity. Jesus of Nazareth, issued in spring 2006, was
the first of a projected two-volume work on the life of Jesus Christ. Benedict
is working on Volume II, which will cover Christ’s Passion, death and
resurrection. A second book, Jesus, the Apostles and the Early Church, is
a collection of Benedict’s reflections at his weekly general audience.
Here is a list of Benedict’s major writings since he became pope. The Vatican Web site has a complete list of all the pope’s writings, homilies and speeches.
The environment
Benedict has attracted media attention for his regular
references to the need to protect and nurture the environment. Read a Jan. 7,
2008, Catholic News Service story. See also ReligionLink’s source guide on religion and the environment.
Homosexuals and the priesthood
An effort to keep homosexuals out of the priesthood had been
debated for years in the Vatican, at the initiative of then-Cardinal Ratzinger.
But the policy was never implemented until Ratzinger became Pope Benedict. In
November 2005 the Vatican issued a document under Benedict’s signature, titled
“Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with Regard to
Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in View of Their Admission to the Seminary
and to Holy Orders.” The document aimed to bar gay men from the priesthood, and it caused wide
debate. At the same time, the Vatican began an inspection of U.S. seminaries in
an effort to tighten up on the preparation of future priests in the wake of the
clergy sex abuse scandals, including their ability to deal with celibacy. That
initiative also sparked some controversy. For background on both issues, see a
November 2005 ReligionLink edition, “Homosexuals and the Catholic priesthood.”
World Youth Day
Benedict’s first trip outside Italy was to World Youth Day
in Cologne, Germany, in August 2005. The trip was seen as a success, though it
also signaled how Benedict would differ in style from the charismatic John
Paul. The visit also was important because Benedict met with leaders of other
Christian churches, the Jewish community and the Muslim community. His speeches
at each event gave indications as to his approach to ecumenical and interfaith
dialogue. The Vatican Web site
has a list of all the World Youth Day talks. Benedict is set to attend the next
World Youth Day, in Sydney, Australia in July 2008.
Ecumenism
The Vatican stirred controversy in July 2007 when the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a statement, with Benedict’s approval,
titled “Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine
on the Church.”
The document, in the form of answers to various questions, sought to reaffirm
the Catholic Church as the one church established by Jesus Christ. That
restatement angered many non-Catholics, especially in the Protestant and
Orthodox churches.
Islam
Pope Benedict’s September 2006 lecture at the University of
Regensburg during a homecoming visit to Bavaria included statements on Islam
and the Prophet Muhammad that were highly inflammatory and led to the first
major crisis of Benedict’s papacy. His visit to Turkey more than a year later,
in November 2007, helped to ease tensions, and after an exchange of
communications between the Vatican and Muslim scholars, a Catholic-Muslim
Dialogue is set to begin in Rome in November 2008. See a Sept. 20, 2006, ReligionLink
edition, “Fallout: the pope and Islam,” as well as ReligionLink’s source guide on Islam.
The Latin Mass and Good Friday prayer
In July 2007 the pope fulfilled a long-expected goal of
restoring the pre-Vatican II Latin Rite Mass
to wider use in the church. The action was controversial inside the church.
Many bishops did not see the need for it, and many thought it was a way of
undoing the reforms of the conciliar era. The move upset many Jewish groups
because included in the restoration was a Good Friday prayer for the conversion
of Jews that had been superseded by the new theological insights of the Second
Vatican Council. The pope later had the prayer edited to allay fears, but
concerns remain.
Censuring dissent
Vatican concern remains strong when it comes to theologians
and Catholic leaders who Rome believes stray from orthodox teachings. Two
episodes drew headlines while underscoring this concern. The first was the
March 2007 notification from Rome that some of the works of a liberation
theologian in El Salvador, Jesuit Father Jon Sobrino, are “either erroneous or
dangerous.” The second was the news in November 2007 that the Vatican and the
U.S. bishops were investigating the works of a Vietnamese-born American
theologian at Georgetown University, the Rev. Peter Phan. In December 2007 the
U.S. bishops’ Committee on Doctrine said that Phan’s 2004 book on religious
pluralism contains “pervading ambiguities and equivocations that could easily
confuse or mislead the faithful.” The Vatican probe is believed to be ongoing.
Click
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National
sources
• John L. Allen Jr.
writes about church affairs with a focus on the Vatican for National
Catholic Reporter, a leading national Catholic weekly. He is the author of The
Rise of Benedict XVI: The Inside Story of How the Pope Was Elected and Where He
Will Take the Catholic Church (2005). Contact Jallen@natcath.org.
• The Rev. Joseph A. Komonchak holds the John and Gertrude Hubbard Chair in Religious Studies at Catholic
University of America in Washington, D.C. Komonchak has written frequently
about Ratzinger’s thought and theology, and his June 3, 2005, article “The
Church in Crisis: Pope Benedict’s Theological Vision”
in Commonweal magazine was recognized for its insight into the pope.
Contact 202-319-6888, komonchak@cua.edu.
• Sister Jeanine Gramick is a Maryland-based member of the
Sisters of Loretto religious order. She has been deeply involved in ministry to
homosexuals but in 1999 was ordered by then-Cardinal Ratzinger to cease her
activities because Ratzinger’s office said they did not conform to Catholic
teaching. She was subsequently silenced by her previous religious order, which
led to her becoming a Sister of Loretto, an order that has allowed her to
continue to speak out. Contact 301-864-3604, gramick@juno.com.
• The Rev. Richard John Neuhaus is a priest of the Archdiocese
of New York and founder and editor of First Things, a monthly journal
promoting orthodox religious thought. Neuhaus, a convert from the Lutheran
church, is a longtime acquaintance of Pope Benedict and a strong supporter of
the pope. Contact at 212-627-1985, ft@firstthings.com.
• The Rev. Thomas J. Reese is a Jesuit priest and a senior
fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University. Reese is
author of Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic
Church (1996) and a leading political scientist of the church. He was also
the longtime editor of America magazine, a national Jesuit weekly of opinion, but stepped down in the wake of Benedict’s
election, reportedly at the insistence of Benedict just before the conclave.
Reese has not commented on that episode but is widely quoted on other aspects
of the church and the papacy. Contact 202-687-3532, TR89@georgetown.edu.
• Robert Mickens is an American journalist in Rome, where he
works as the Vatican correspondent for The Tablet, a highly respected
Catholic weekly published in London. Contact 011-39-329-748-7708, robinrome@libero.it.
• The Rev. Richard P. McBrien
is a noted author/editor (the Encyclopedia of Catholicism and other
works), commentator and professor of theology at Notre Dame. He is
knowledgeable, and often critical, about the politics and history of the church
and the papacy. Contact 574-631-5151, rmcbrien@nd.edu.
• The Rev. Robert P. Imbelli
is a theologian at Boston College and has written and commented widely on the
theology and policies of both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict. Contact 617-552-8298,
robert.imbelli@bc.edu.
• John-Peter Pham is director of the William R. Nelson
Institute for International and Public Affairs
at James Madison University in Virginia. He is a former Vatican diplomat who
worked under John Paul II and is author of Heirs of the Fisherman: Behind
the Scenes of Papal Death and Succession (Oxford University Press, 2004).
Pham is a frequent commentator on papal politics and processes. Contact
540-568-2281, phamjp@jmu.edu.
• George Weigel
is a conservative Catholic theologian and commentator and a senior fellow at
the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. He is the author of God’s
Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Catholic Church (2005). He
is also the author of Witness to Hope (1999), essentially the
authorized biography of Pope John Paul II. Weigel can be contacted through his
assistant, Carrie Gress, at 202-682-1200 ext. 218, cgress@eppc.org.
• Chester L. Gillis
is a professor of Catholic studies in the theology department at Georgetown
University in Washington. He is the editor of The Political Papacy: John
Paul II, Benedict XVI and Their Influence. Contact 202-687-4514, gillisc@georgetown.edu.
• The Rev. Joseph Fessio,
a Jesuit, is a former student of Cardinal Ratzinger and remains a confidante of
the pope. He is a widely quoted promoter and defender of Benedict and of
conservative Catholic views. Fessio founded Ignatius Press, which has published Joseph Ratzinger’s works in English, and he teaches
theology at Ave Maria University in Naples, Fla. Contact 239-280-2516, jdfsj@ignatius.com.
• Helen Alvaré is an associate professor of law at Catholic University of America Law School.
She has a master’s in theology and is a former spokeswoman for the U.S. bishops
on pro-life issues. Contact 202-319-5146, alvare@cua.edu.
• Christopher Ruddy is an assistant professor of theology at
the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. He wrote about the theology of
Pope Benedict in a June 3, 2005, Commonweal magazine article, “No Restorationist.”
Contact 651-962-5318, cjruddy@stthomas.edu.
• Sister Mary Johnson
is an associate professor of sociology and religious studies at Emmanuel
College in Boston who has given guest lectures in Australia, Europe and North
America on Catholicism. She is a co-author of Young Adult Catholics:
Religion in the Culture of Choice (2001) and is writing a book on Catholic
religious orders. Contact 617-735-9830, johnsmb@emmanuel.edu.
• The Rev. Andrew M. Greeley
is a sociology professor at the University of Arizona and a research associate
with the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. His current
research focuses on the sociology of religion. Contact agreel@aol.com.
• The Rev. John T. Ford is a professor at the School of Theology and Religious Studies at Catholic University
of America in Washington, D.C. He has often used Benedict’s books as texts in
his courses on Christianity. Contact 202-319-6501, ford@cua.edu.
• Greg Tobin is senior adviser for communications at Seton
Hall University in New Jersey and author of Holy Father: Pope Benedict XVI:
Pontiff for a New Era (2005). Contact 973-313-6075, tobinggr@shu.edu.
• Christopher Bellitto is an assistant professor of history at
Kean University in New Jersey who specializes in the history of the Catholic
Church and the papacy. His book 101 Questions & Answers on Popes and the
Papacy was published in March 2008. Contact 914-584-3961, cbellitt@kean.edu.
• The Rev. Thomas G. Guarino
is a professor of systematic theology at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.
He has written on the theological vision of Joseph Ratzinger. Contact
973-761-9640, guarinth@shu.edu.
Background
For more sources and background, see these previous ReligionLink
editions:
• Fallout: the pope and Islam
(2006)
• Assessing the first year of Pope Benedict XVI
(2006)
• Homosexuals and the Catholic priesthood
(2005)
• Liberation theology: a challenge to the church
(2005)
• The Catholic Church faces new steps in dealing with
scandal
(2005)
• The reign of Pope John Paul II
(2005)
• Kerry, Catholics and the White House
(2004)
• Resources for analyzing survey of Catholic clergy abuse
(2004)
• A handbook on Pope John Paul II and electoral politics in
the Vatican
(2003)
WEB SITES ABOUT THE PAPAL VISIT
• The Catholic Church’s official site
• A site
by Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where the pope will give
an address on Catholic education
• The Archdiocese of Washington’s site
• The Archdiocese of New York’s site
• Catholic News Service’s site
and blog
•A site
from Our Sunday Visitor, a popular Catholic weekly
•A blog
from the National Catholic Register, a conservative weekly
BIOGRAPHY
• Read a timeline of Joseph Ratzinger’s life on the official
site for his visit
and a shorter version on the U.S. bishops’ site
• The U.S. bishops have brief biographies of the pope on their
site and on the official site for the visit.
• The Vatican Web site lists all of Benedict’s activities, meetings and writings.
TRAVELS
Papal travel in the modern era did not begin until Paul VI
went to India and the Holy Land in 1964. Until then, popes were self-styled
“prisoners of the Vatican,” the 108-acre compound in Rome that is the site of
St. Peter’s Basilica.
Paul VI was known as “the Pilgrim Pope” because he made nine
trips outside of Italy, including the first papal visit to the United Sates, a
stopover in New York in 1965. But Pope John Paul II traveled constantly and
widely. Benedict is older and has not been as active in his foreign travel.
• See a list of all Benedict’s travels outside Italy.
Benedict has visited the United States five times, all while
he was a cardinal, according to a Catholic News Service story about his contacts in America. He lectured in Dallas in 1984, in New York in
1988 and in Washington, D.C., in 1990. In 1991 he spoke to bishops in Dallas
and in 1999 he visited San Francisco for a meeting of Vatican doctrinal
officials and doctrinal officials from bishops’ conferences in North America
and Oceania.
• See a list of John Paul’s visits to the United States.
• See a list of John Paul’s trips outside Italy.
• See a list of Paul VI’s travels outside Italy.
BOOKS ABOUT POPE BENEDICT XVI
• The Rise of Benedict XVI: The Inside Story of How the
Pope Was Elected and Where He Will Take the Catholic Church (2005) by John
L. Allen Jr.
• Pope Benedict XVI: A Biography of Joseph Ratzinger
is a reissue of a 2000 biography of Ratzinger by John Allen that was previously
subtitled The Vatican’s Enforcer of the Faith. Allen later said he
thought that book was too harsh on Ratzinger.
• God’s Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the
Catholic Church (2005) by George Weigel.
• The Making of the Pope 2005 by the Rev. Andrew M.
Greeley. The well-known priest and sociologist and novelist updated his 1978
classic for the last conclave.
• A Church in Search of Itself: Benedict XVI and the
Battle for the Future (2006) by Robert Blair Kaiser. Kaiser is a former
priest and author of several books on the Catholic Church.
• Holy Father: Pope Benedict XVI: Pontiff for a New Era
(2005) by Greg Tobin, an author and spokesman for the president of Seton Hall
University in New Jersey.
• Pope Benedict XVI: Successor to Peter (2005) by the
Rev. Michael Collins, an Irish priest teaching in Rome.
• We Have a Pope! Benedict XVI (2005) by Matthew E. Bunson,
an expert on the church and author of numerous books on Catholicism.
• Pope Benedict XVI: A Personal Portrait (2005) by
Heinz-Joachim Fischer. Fischer is the Rome correspondent for a leading German
newspaper and has known Ratzinger since 1976. He focuses on Benedict’s career
as a cardinal and head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
• The Thought of Pope Benedict XVI: An Introduction to
the Theology of Joseph Ratzinger (2005) by the Rev. Aidan Nichols. This is
an update of a book on Ratzinger’s theology written in the 1980s by Nichols, an
English Dominican.
• Pope Benedict XVI: His Life and Mission (2005) by
Stephen Mansfield. Mansfield is a Protestant and author of a spiritual
biography of President Bush.
• Benedict XVI: The Man Who Was Ratzinger (2005) by
Michael S. Rose, a trenchant conservative whose other books have excoriated
modern church architecture and the presence of homosexuals in the priesthood.
POLLS
The Pew Forum’s U.S. Religious Landscape Survey,
released in February 2008, provides a broad new snapshot of Catholicism in
America. A ReligionLink edition provides an extensive list of experts in all the topic areas covered by the
survey, as well as a list of story ideas. There have been some questions raised
about the survey’s methodology, particularly in regard to the framing of the
Catholic numbers. The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at
Georgetown, a leading clearinghouse for data on the Catholic Church, released
this critique
of the Pew numbers.
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