A year to make his mark

The new papacy began quietly in 2005. With an encyclical, travel and new red hats, 2006 could be when Benedict XVI stamps his authority on his office

When Advent arrived in Rome on a grey and rainy morning on the last day of November, there was heightened anticipation among seasoned Vati- can-watchers that the start of the new litur-gical year would also mark a decisive turning point in Pope Benedict XVI?s so far leisurely paced pontificate.

The 78-year-old Pope, at that point, had been at the helm of the worldwide Catholic Church for more than seven months, and yet he had so far done little to signify any great change from the pontificate of his long-reigning predecessor. The new pope had made astonishingly few major episcopal appointments and had effected only a couple of personnel changes in a Roman Curia that he himself had hinted was in need of reform. And even though he is renowned as one of the most deft and prolific theological writers of our era, Pope Benedict still had not issued his long-awaited first encyclical ? or any other noteworthy document for that matter. Instead, Papa Ratzinger seemed more comfortable basking in the shadow of his ?much beloved Papa Giovanni Paolo?. Perhaps the most considerable way the ?Bavarian aesthete? emerged in contrast to the ?Polish athlete? was by his almost delicate joyfulness ? and his haberdashery. Photo-reporters discovered a new focus by capturing Benedict XVI?s curious penchant for combining stylish shoes and fashionable sunglasses with long-discarded Renaissance-style capes and hats rescued from the papal attic.

But now as the world gets set to ring in 2006, many people are wondering if the new calendar year will be the point at which Benedict XVI resolves to stop being the caretaker of the John Paul II legacy and sets about putting his own mark on the papacy. One thing is for certain: he will have the opportunity to do so in the coming months when he issues his first encyclical, creates a dozen or more new cardinals, and makes two or three journeys around Europe.

And there is still the expectation that the Pope will eventually begin making changes to the Vatican bureaucracy. As far as an overall programme for his pontificate, Pope Benedict has only said that it is ?not to do [his] own will? and ?not to emanate many documents?. But in what may be his most important speech so far (on 22 December to Roman Curia officials) he outlined what most closely approaches his agenda: to motivate the Church to develop the ?dialogue between reason and faith ? with great open-mindedness?, based on the Second Vatican Council.

Pope Benedict XVI will have been Bishop of Rome for nearly nine months when his first encyclical letter is finally issued some time in January. Though many people have become mercilessly impatient with the wait, they should remember that even though the first three popes of the past century (Leo XIII, St Pius X and Benedict XV) issued their introductory encyclicals within two months of assuming the papacy, Pope Paul VI only published his 14 months after his election. The five months it took Pope John Paul II to produce his first encyclical in 1979 is, only relatively, fresher in memory. While these popes used their first encyclicals to outline the programme of their pontificates, Vatican officials who have seen Pope Benedict?s letter say he does not do so.

The initial draft of the document ? Deus Caritas Est (God is Love) ? was supposedly signed on 8 December (see Church in the World, The Tablet, 29 October), though recent news reports said that the Pope revised the text and re-signed it on Christmas Day. The encyclical is due for release some time after 6 January, and is reportedly a meditation on the different meanings of the word ?love? found in the First Letter of St John. Archbishop Paul Cordes, the president of the Pontifical Council ?Cor Unum? (which oversees the Pope?s charitable donations), is reportedly the new encyclical?s ghost writer.

This will be the Pope?s first major document. But if inside reports are reliable, the encyclical is likely to be as anti-climactic as his message for tomorrow?s World Day of Peace, which he entitled, ?In truth, peace? (see page 32). Although the papal message condemns terrorism and makes a bold call for total nuclear disarmament, the media largely ignored it when it was released two weeks ago. The manuscript that has generated the most discussion thus far has been the Congregation for Catholic Education?s Instruction on the admission of homosexuals to seminaries, and that is not even a papal document.

One of the ways a pope can make a lasting mark on the Church is by appointing cardinals, who in turn will influence who might be his successor. Pope Paul VI created 143 cardinals in the course of six consistories, while John Paul II made 231 cardinals in the nine consistories he called. Pope Benedict?s advanced age suggests that he will probably not have the opportunity to exert such an impact on the College of Cardinals, though he could still influence who succeeds him as Bishop of Rome. Many people anticipate the Bavarian Pope?s first consistory could be as early as the 22 February feast of the Chair of St Peter or as late as the 29 June celebration of Saints Peter and Paul. Who is elevated to the College, and who is not, may depend on which personnel changes the Pope decides to make. Certain archdioceses around the world and specific Vatican offices are usually headed by a cardinal, but so far it is unclear whether Pope Benedict intends to distribute the red hats in this customary manner. For example, even if he should decide to alter the top spots in the Roman Curia before the consistory, it is possible that he will not make the new heads of the dicasteries cardinals until those they have replaced have reached the age of 80 and are no longer eligible to vote in a conclave. The only exception at this point is Archbishop William Levada, who succeeded Cardinal Ratzinger as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Levada?s will undoubtedly be the first name on the list of new cardinals, whenever that should be announced. As for an overall ?Curia shake-up? ? most people thought it would have transpired by now.

Alberto Gasbarri, the Italian layman who was recently named as organiser of papal journeys, has indicated that Benedict XVI will travel much less than his globetrotting predecessor. Yet there are already plans for a three-day visit to Poland in May and a five-day visit to Bavaria in Germany in mid-September (10-15). Officials in Spain have intimated that the Pope will visit their country for two days in July (8-9) to bring to a conclusion the fifth World Meeting of Families. The Vatican has not yet formally confirmed the dates for any of these journeys, but bishops in the host countries have said the visits will take place. There is also strong speculation that Benedict XVI will go to Istanbul for the 30 November celebration of St Andrew, the patronal feast of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Other governments ? including Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the Czech Republic and Brazil ? have asked the Pope to visit, but there has been no indication whether he might accept those invitations.

When Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Bishop of Rome on 19 April there was considerable concern among many who saw him as rigidly doctrinaire. The other cardinals who elected him ? even more moderate-to-progressive ones such as Carlo Maria Martini SJ and Godfried Danneels ? insisted that Pope Benedict XVI would not be a conservative reactionary, but would ?surprise us? with his desire to promote collegiality among the bishops and be ?a Pope for everyone and everything?. Nearly nine months on, the new Pope has shown himself as moderate and inclusive. On the other hand, he has moved slowly and has undertaken no major initiatives. No one has offered a convincing explanation why. And no one knows exactly what Benedict XVI has resolved to do in the New Year.