Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1489386
15 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 4 JANUARY 2023 OPINION a cardinal, he had publicly downplayed the extent and se- riousness of the crisis. And it was under his leadership that The Congregation for the Doc- trine of the Faith decided not to remove Lawrence C. Mur- phy from the priesthood, even though Murphy had been ac- cused of molesting more than 200 boys at a Catholic school for the deaf in Wisconsin. As pope, however, Benedict did take some strong steps that his predecessor, John Paul II, did not. Most significantly, Benedict punished Marcial Ma- ciel Degollado, an incestuous bigamist, serial pedophile and the powerful founder of the Le- gionaries of Christ, an impor- tant Catholic religious order, by taking away his permission to preach or to say Mass pub- licly. He also criticized Irish bishops for their mishandling of the sexual abuse crisis. For many survivors of cleri- cal sexual abuse, these actions were not nearly enough. Bene- dict did not move to open Vat- ican records to public inves- tigation, and he also failed to discipline cardinals and bish- ops who reassigned pedophile priests. Beyond the sexual abuse cri- sis, Benedict's pontificate had other controversies that drew worldwide attention. During a lecture in Regensberg in 2006, Benedict seemed to criticize the Islamic view of God and the legacy of the Prophet Mu- hammad. This lecture led to protests in the Middle East and South Asia. However, his offi- cial visits to Beirut and Istanbul repaired some of the damage. Benedict also reached out to Catholic splinter groups. In 2009, he lifted the excommu- nication of bishops of the or- der of St. Pius X, a breakaway Catholic sect that rejects the reforms of the Second Vati- can Council. After doing this, Benedict learned that one St. Pius X bishop, Richard Wil- liamson, had made antisemitic comments and denied the hol- ocaust. Benedict said his lack of knowledge about Williamson's views was an "unforeseen mis- hap" due to a lack of familiarity with the internet as a "source of information." Theological writings As pope, Benedict continued his theological writing and produced three important en- cyclicals or papal letters. The first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, or "God is Love," defends "charity" as love that is freely given. Charity is not sim- ply a good deed but an act that changes both the giver and the recipient. The second encyclical, Spe Salvi, or "Saved in Hope," re- flects upon the hope that God gives human beings in a world that often seems hopeless. In the third encyclical, Cari- tas in Veritate, or "Charity in Truth," Benedict argues that charity is fundamentally re- lated to justice. And when it comes to questions of human progress and fulfillment, we cannot place our trust in the nation state or market econ- omies because "without God, man neither knows which way to go, nor even understands who he is." These papal letters attempt to defend Christianity in a world that Benedict believed was growing increasingly hostile to religious faith. What was strik- ing about Benedict's thought – even to his theological critics – was how elegantly he presented his case for Christ and Chris- tianity's transforming power as sources of truth, beauty and love. But long before he be- came pope, Benedict admitted that Christianity would con- tinue to lose cultural ground and dwindle to an ever small- er group of faithful believers. Writing in 1969, Ratzinger pre- dicted the Church would have "to start afresh from the very beginning," which meant that someday Christianity would have to build itself up again from its foundations. The legacy of Benedict XVI When Benedict resigned as pope in 2013, it took the world by surprise. In saying that he could no longer bear the bur- dens of the Papacy, Benedict promised to live in seclusion. His official title became "Pope Emeritus." But controversy also followed his resignation. For example, he gave interviews and put his name on writings that ap- peared to criticize the reforms of Pope Francis, who succeed- ed him. Most recently, a January 2022 report on sexual abuse in the diocese of Munich criticized Ratzinger's "inaction" regard- ing four cases of sexual abuse during his period as archbish- op from 1977 to 1982. In re- action to the report, the pope emeritus apologized but did not admit to any administra- tive failures. Benedict XVI's writings will be relevant decades from now, but his pontificate will inevi- tably be associated with con- troversies. As for his own per- sonal legacy, that will likely be defined by the one issue that concerned Benedict the most: how the Catholic Church can still make a difference in the modern world. Mathew Schmalz is Professor of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross Above: People waiting in line to pay their respects to the body of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI lying in state at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican Left: Pope Benedict XVI visited Malta for 27 hours April 17 and 18, 2010.