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April 20, 2005
More on Benedict XVI
In case you were wondering (and really, you weren't now were you), I think the choice of Cardinal Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI, was terrific (from the perspective of a non-Catholic of course). That the largest Christian body will stay on the path of orthodoxy and reject humanism's attempt to destroy it is a very good thing for all Christians.
The good Pope has had his share of detractors, in the past, now and, I am sure, in the future. If I were a good writer, I would have written this in response to the detractors. Instead, you will simply have to go to Pastor Mark Roberts's site (always a good idea in any event) and read it there.
Among other things, Pastor Roberts comments on the dismay that Benedict's critics feel at his audicity in keeping Catholic theology, well, Catholic:
Consider a few analogies. If a Vice President for Apple starts publicly touting the benefits of Windows, should she keep her job? If a professional baseball player says, "Hang the rules. I'm going to take steroids anyway," should he be allowed to keep on playing without reprisals? If a university professor plagiarizes the research of others, should there be no consequences? If a reporter for the New York Times makes up facts in news stories, should that reporter keep his job? Every company, every organization, every institution has basic values and rules of operation. If people within that organization choose to reject the values or break the rules, then they are disciplined, and sometimes that discipline includes being excluded from the organization. To be sure, this sort of procedure can be abused by people in power. Sometimes it is vengeful and unjust. But sometimes it is both fair and just. If you're going to be a part of an institution that has clear values and rules, you must expect to live within them.
This reminded me of a statement in the Quodlibet comment "Talking Out of Church" in the April 2005 issue of Touchstone (article not online). The context was a discussion at Oxford University among students and faculty regarding the recent defocking of an Anglican priest for his atheism. The students thought the whole thing unfair; the professors thought otherwise. Finally, Professor Alun Jones, "an Oxford professor of archaeology", found the right analogy:
"Now see here," he said. "Suppose that I, as Professor of Medieval Archaeology at Oxford University, were to start going about telling folks that Gothic cathedrals have thick walls and rounded arches? I say, it just wouldnt do, you know, it just wouldn't do."
A Pope elected to fulfill an agenda other than God's? It just wouldn't do, you know, it just wouldn't do.
Posted by Mark at April 20, 2005 11:30 PM