What is Pope Benedict XVI’s legacy? Why was he able to inspire so many priestly vocations? And what was the source of his deep affection for England and her saints?
Ahead of Pope Benedict’s solemn funeral on Thursday, 5 January, the Catholic Herald discussed these and other questions with Father Roberto Regoli, an Italian priest and Professor of Contemporary History at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he directs the Department of Church History. A specialist in the history of the papacy, the Roman Curia and papal diplomacy for the 19th and 20th centuries, Fr Regoli is author of Beyond the crisis of the Church: the Pontificate of Benedict XVI.
In this interview, we also discuss the lasting impact of Benedict XVI’s 2006 Regensburg Address, his deep friendship with St John Paul II and the suggestion that Pope Benedict could one day be declared a Doctor of the Church.
Diane Montagna (DM): Fr Regoli, when did you first meet Pope Benedict?
Fr Regoli (RR): I first got to know him through his television interviews when I was a boy, and through reading his texts when I was a university student. In small ecclesiastical Rome it was easy to meet him on the street, at liturgical ceremonies, or on occasions when he was accessible. This is Rome: distances are short, and encounters are possible.
DM: How would you describe Pope Benedict XVI’s legacy?
RR: The gentle force of Catholic thought. Ratzinger’s whole life was spent showing the beauty of the life of faith, whether as a theologian, bishop, or cardinal, and ultimately as Pope. Benedict XVI’s legacy is the proposal of a simple and full faith; it is the vision of a beautiful Church which is a work of God and not of man. His legacy is one of radical trust in God—an aspect of no small importance in a weary and self-destructive age that exalts man but, in the end, continually humiliates him. Benedict XVI chose trust in God and in man. He chose harmony between faith and reason. That is his legacy.
DM: Scripture tells us that divine providence “disposes all things sweetly” (Wisdom 8:1). How do you interpret the timing of Pope Benedict’s death?
RR: Ratzinger was born in 1927, on Holy Saturday, as Christ’s death was contemplated and the Resurrection bells tolled, and he died on the Saturday of the Christmas Octave, which liturgically is an extension of Christmas Day. Thus, the story of his life was touched by the fundamental mysteries of Christ: His Incarnation, Birth, Death, and Resurrection. It’s a striking fact that the chronology of his life is consistent with his commitment as a theologian.
DM: What, in your view, was Benedict XVI’s greatness?
RR: He knew how to express the great mysteries of life and faith in the simplest way possible. He proposed an understandable Christianity and avoided moralism. He knew how to recall that faith takes historical forms, that is, it produces a culture. And if it does not, it dies. His criticism of the current situation in Europe and the West was directed at its loss of European and Western culture with respect to its spiritual sources, and the Church’s inability to propose a spiritual renewal. For example, he did not hesitate to criticise publicly the bureaucratisation of the German Church.
DM: Many people regard Benedict XVI as one of the great Christian thinkers of the twentieth century. Some have even suggested that he could one day be made a Doctor of the Church. What is your view on this?
RR: I fully agree with this suggestion. Ratzinger’s thoughts and actions have made a decisive contribution to the identity of contemporary Catholicism. His books— starting with the well-known Introduction to Christianity in 1968, which has been translated into several languages and gone into several editions—have left their mark on many generations. Without him, there would have been a different Catholic Church. And this applies not only to theological reflection, but also to his encouragement of the ways in which lay Catholics can be present in culture and politics, by prioritizing [Christian] witness and the contribution of ideas in the public debate without timidity or watered-down proposals.
DM: What, in your view, will be the enduring value of Benedict XVI’s famous Regensburg Address?
RR: I would point to two essential elements. First, the stigma of the relationship between religion and violence: the two poles are irreconcilable. Secondly, the intelligent explanation of the relationship between religion and reason. He explained the mutual aid between reason and faith because reason helps faith not to fall into fundamentalism, and faith helps reason not to fall into totalitarianism. It was a very balanced address.
DM: Pope Benedict died not long after Queen Elizabeth, and he had a deep affection for England. Was it England’s great Catholic heritage, or its great saints like Thomas More and John Henry Newman that inspired this affection?
RR: Undoubtedly, his relationship with England was mediated by the figure of the two saints. Both St Thomas More and St John Henry Newman were, for Ratzinger, saints of conscience—a theme that was particularly close to his heart. The young Ratzinger was already familiar with Newman in 1946, thanks to one of his professors, but he would get to know him much better over time, leading to his beatification in 2010. Certainly, within Newman’s theological thought, Benedict XVI appreciated the idea of the development of doctrine and was also fascinated by the primacy of conscience.
DM: Why, in your opinion, did Pope Benedict XVI inspire so many priestly vocations?
RR: Because many young people have found in him someone to look to, in his teaching and in the simplicity of his life. Over these days, just look at the queues to pay homage to his body: despite 10 years of hiddenness from the world not only are there many people, but also many young people. There is a fascination that can inspire even the most radical vocational choices.
DM: Cardinal Ratzinger was known to have a close relationship with St John Paul II and chose not to retire to a life of writing books but instead to continue serving as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. What can you tell us about their relationship that perhaps people are not aware of?
RR: There was a great friendship between them, despite their character differences, so much so that John Paul II, in his last book written before his death, described the then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as his friend. He is the only person in the text to receive such an epithet. They were really very close friends. Between the two of them there was, first of all, a great human affinity linked also to their frankness in speaking. They understood each other and knew how to influence each other. For example, Ratzinger borrowed from John Paul II the critical judgement on the Vatican’s Ostpolitik towards communist countries. There was such a strong understanding between them that Ratzinger can be considered the theological soul of John Paul II’s pontificate.
DM: His critics often accuse Benedict XVI—both as Pope and as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith—of not doing enough regarding the sex abuse scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church. How would you respond to such criticism?
RR: It is inconsistent. We owe the “zero-tolerance” policy to Benedict XVI. It is a historical fact.
DM: Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation has been a constant point of debate since 2013. It was at the launch of your book in May 2016, in Rome, that Benedict XVI’s long-time private secretary, Archbishop George Gänswein, delivered his famous and some would say controversial remarks on Benedict’s understanding of his resignation. Archbishop Gänswein spoke of an “expanded Petrine office” with “an active member” and a “contemplative”. What is your view on his resignation and his creation of the role of “Pope Emeritus”?
RR: At the time, Archbishop Gänswein wished to reiterate that there is only one Pope, and at the same time he tried to explain the novelty of the situation. He was not understood. I fear he was deliberately not understood. In reaffirming the uniqueness of papal government, Gänswein was attempting to initiate a theological reflection on the resignation, employing an analogical language on the “expanded” Petrine ministry, which included—according to the archbishop himself—two biographers of Benedict XVI: Peter Seewald and myself. This “expanded” ministry does not seem so dangerous, then, when mere scholars are included in it. Not everyone paid attention to the integrity, only creating confusion. In any case, the creation of a “Pope Emeritus” is an act of genuine theological creativity that only a theologian like Benedict XVI could perform. No one else would have had his unfettered freedom.
DM: Is there anything you would like to add?
RR: A word of advice to readers: read one of Ratzinger’s or Benedict XVI’s texts. They are intellectually and spiritually nourishing.
Photo: Marco Secchi/Getty Images
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