Is the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI about to begin? Considering that Pope Benedict was elected nearly 17 months ago, that question, if taken literally, is absurd on its face.
Yet people who believe a crucial turning point for the pontificate is now at hand unquestionably have a point.
On September 15 Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, S.D.B., formally takes office as the Vatican Secretary of State, succeeding Angelo Cardinal Sodano, a carryover from Pope John Paul II. The change means Benedict XVI will have the essential pieces in place to begin pursuing his own program.
To understand that, bear in mind that in the Vatican context Secretary of State doesn't mean the same thing it means in the American government. The Vatican Secretary of State is responsible not only for foreign affairs but much else. He's something like a prime minister — the pope's right-hand man, who supervises and coordinates the central administrative machinery of the Holy See.
So, practically speaking, what does the arrival of Cardinal Bertone signify? Most recently Archbishop of Genoa, he served previously under Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger — now, Pope Benedict — when the latter headed the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The Holy Father knows him well and trusts him.
Shortly before taking office, the Cardinal dropped a large hint about his new role as he sees it. He summed up his view of the job by telling an interviewer from an Italian newspaper he'd be “Secretary 'of Church' more than 'of State.'”
That signals an intention to give more attention to the Church's pastoral mission than its political interests. And this emphasis, it's important to note, also is the emphasis given to the pontificate by his boss. It's not a repudiation of the policy of John Paul II, but it surely is a change.
In other ways, too, Pope Benedict has made it clear that he has no intention of being his admired predecessor's clone. John Paul was a charismatic man of action; Benedict is a reflective scholar. John Paul was a human whirlwind; Benedict moves at a careful, deliberate pace.
Still, move he does. Even before he chose Cardinal Bertone as his Secretary of State, he had put his mark on the Curia by placing new men in charge at the doctrinal congregation and the mission congregation (“Evangelization of Peoples”) and in key second-level posts in other dicasteries. He has consolidated several Vatican media operations under unified direction and placed the office responsible for relations with Muslims in new hands.
Pope Benedict has also been developing a distinctive message and tone. Surprising people who, judging by his Doctrine of the Faith years, supposed he would be a tough enforcer of orthodoxy, he has — so far at least — refrained from condemnations and rebukes in his public utterances. Better to begin by stressing the positive, he has explained.
The emphasis on the pastoral is manifest in other areas too. He's made it abundantly clear, for example, that he sees much that needs fixing with the liturgy. This fall may bring a papal document on the Eucharist spelling out what he wants to see changed. Catholic-Orthodox relations also are on the agenda in the next several months as he prepares to meet in Istanbul with the Ecumenical Patriarch at the end of November.
Benedict XVI prefers a quiet style, but he has a program in view. With his hand-picked Secretary of State on board, new initiatives could begin soon. Before 2007 rolls around, we may know much more about this pontificate than we do now.
Russell Shaw is a freelance writer from Washington, D.C. You can email him at RShaw10290@aol.com.
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