LONDON - 5 March 2007 - 640 words
Book review: Rupert Shortt on Benedict XVI
Gemma Simmonds CJ
Rupert Shortt, Benedict XVI: Commander of the Faith, (London, Hodder & Stoughton, 2005)
This study of Benedict XIV by the religion
editor of The Times Literary Supplement offers an intriguing
and informative investigation of the man and his theological evolution
which also acts as a medium in which the course of twentieth-century
ecclesiology is explored. As a piece of investigative journalism
it is stylish and sure-footed and based on interviews with such
authoritative voices as Nicholas Lash, Rowan Williams, Nicholas
Boyle, Tina Beattie, Timothy Radcliffe and Aidan Nichols on the
British scene and Charles Curran, Richard Neuhaus, Gerald O'Collins,
Notker Wolf and Joseph Komonchak overseas.
The author is not aiming to offer a comprehensive portrait of
the man or the pontificate so far, but an understanding of the
varied and sometimes conflicting strands that have gone into the
making of an enigma. The champion of liberal reform at the Second
Vatican Council is the same one who has since appeared to denounce
its subjection to the 'dictatorship of relativism'. The fierce
critic of Catholic integration of yoga and Eastern meditation
practices is the maker of generous personal donations to the translation
into German of the Lotus Sutra. The man described as gentle,
courteous and humorous by some is seen as the cold, harsh enforcer
of internal church repression by others. Shortt does not fall
into the trap of portraying this as a simple liberal-conservative
split but digs deeper to find the underlying theological foundations
of Josef Ratzinger's view of the church. Within the exploration
he covers areas such as ethics, ecumenism, liturgy and ecclesiology
in a way that illuminates the trouble sports in many debates.
The study begins with a critical evaluation of Benedict's account
of his German roots in his memoir Milestones, with its
admiring evocation of pre-war Bavaria and of Catholic resistance
to Hitler. In its account of the young Josef's progress through
studies for the priesthood to work as an academic theologian the
book offers clues both to his early ressourcement-based
reformism and to his later retrenchment into a more hostile view
of the changes wrought through the council in which he played
so significant a part. In particular, this discussion gives helpful
insights into the theological issues at stake that are not always
clear to an audience forty years later. Ratzinger's hostile verdict
on Gaudium et Spes, which did so much to usher in a spirit
of aggiornamento, on Episcopal collegiality and on the
liturgical reforms he has so bitterly lamented since, are explained
both in his deep-rooted resistance to secular modernity and in
the context of their wider theological implications. At the heart
of much of this, and of his later conflicts with theologians such
as Karl Rahner, Leonardo Boff and Jacques Dupuis is a rejection
of any notion of self-made theology which places what he sees
as an idolatrous emphasis on human perceptions and constructs
or the reduction of the supernatural to programmes of politically
or socially-motivated action.
The years as prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the
Faith receive critical comment, especially of what is perceived
as Ratzinger's dual role as judge and jury, and a telling point
is the unwillingness of a number of Shortt's interviewees to be
named. The conflicts over liberation theology, pastoral action
for gay and lesbian people, feminist theologies and interfaith
dialogue succeed one another, inevitably building up a portrait
of someone whose conservative opinions were becoming increasingly
entrenched. Opposition to some of his papal predecessor's more
open-handed approach to other faiths, or to the emergent theology
of Latin America, is offered as proof of this hardening of the
arteries, and although honest attempts are made to understand
Ratzinger's stance on its own merits, we hear little from theological
voices who would be in agreement with him on these matters.
While this book is by no means uncritical, there is an undercurrent
of sympathy and at times an even-handed attempt to explain the
enigma that is Benedict XVI in his own terms. For this alone,
as well as for its clarity in explaining complex shifts within
the modern church, it is worth reading.
© Independent Catholic
News 2007
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