Never Forget!

Towards the end of the first segment of our radio program last Sunday morning, my partner and I directed our conversation to the “first anniversary of an event that rocked the world.”

In particular, we set up our discussion to an incident that took place one year ago today, on February 11, 2013.

Glancing at the teleprompter, I noticed that a member of the production staff was scrambling to look up the event on the internet, to supplement our banter.

Several news items appeared on the prompter. But news about the piece of history we were about to discuss, curiously, did not show up.

I kept on rambling about the impact on society of that event, without yet revealing what it was.

Mindful of the fact that we were speaking to a “secular” audience, I had to qualify that the incident was a game-changer, not only for 1.2 billion people across the globe, but practically for rest of the world.

Except for my co-anchor, I got the feeling that no one knew what I was talking about. So I finally made the big reveal:

February 11th is the anniversary of the announcement of Benedict XVI’s resignation from the papacy, a historic event in all respects. 

As expected, there was no reaction. It's as if what I said was in some dead language like Latin.   

“How could anyone forget,” I thought.

Sensing that I still had to convince listeners of the need to commemorate the significance of the date, I argued that there would be no Pope Francis, a more well-received discussion topic in our program, had it not been for THAT resignation.

At the back of my mind, however, I knew I shouldn’t have said that. 

By saying Benedict’s resignation was a mere “front act” to the “main event” that was Francis’ election, I became no different from that recent Rolling Stone edition that featured Pope Francis on its cover. In praising Francis, the magazine defamed Benedict XVI in the process.

Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi strongly criticized that article saying it fell into the “mistake of superficial journalism, which in order to highlight the positive aspects of Pope Francis, thinks it should describe in a negative way the pontificate of Pope Benedict.”

Although I did not actually slander Benedict XVI by trivializing his resignation to a certain degree, I seemed to have added my voice to a number of people who think his almost eight year pontificate was not good for the Catholic Church.

Of course, that is not what I believe in.

In previous writings, I have proudly stated that I was born in the “Year of the Three Popes”: Paul VI, John Paul I, and John Paul II. More important than this, however, is the reality that I have lived (or am living) under the guidance of Three Popes: John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis.

It is a given that John Paul II is the Pope of My Youth; his life, teachings, and example have formed much of what I know and love about, and believe in the Church.

On the other hand, Pope Francis’ papacy, while still taking shape, is already making an impact on my life, and the lives of many Catholics, and non-Catholics as well.

Benedict XVI’s papacy, meanwhile, has profoundly reinforced the influence of John Paul II’s teachings in my life.  I liken its effect to the retrofitting of a piece of architecture in case an “earthquake” or the “wind of teaching that may arise from human trickery and deceitful scheming” may, in a moment of doubt or weakness, toss and sweep me (cf Eph 4:14).

The Pope Emeritus may have been regarded by some as a “transitional pope,” an elderly man who simply needed to fill the “shoes of the Fisherman,” shoes that were too big for just any cardinal, other than Joseph Ratzinger, to fill. But much like John XXIII, Benedict XVI wasn’t a mere placeholder. In his own way (and despite the mudslinging between the conservatives and the liberals during his time), he revolutionized the Church at a time when change was needed the most. If anything, Benedict XVI was not afraid to stand his ground despite criticism or negative reaction to his judgments.  His decisions were always guided by a clear conscience, a conscience examined before God, which made these decisions beyond doubt.

Benedict XVI was often criticized for decisions that made people leave the Church, in contrast to the pronouncements of Pope Francis which are drawing back people to the fold, a very unfair comparison.  In fact, the Pope Emeritus, as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger in his book Faith and the Future, already envisioned these defections, i.e., that “the church will become small,” a church that will go through “the process of crystallization and clarification.”  However, this “new Church,” despite losing its old glory, “will become the Church of the meek,” the “Church of faith.”

In spite of this prediction, Benedict XVI exerted much effort and had specific platforms to draw lukewarm or separated Catholics back to the faith.  For example, his motu propio Summorum Pontificium in 2007, which permitted the celebration of the Tridentine Mass, was, among other things, an attempt to heal the schism between the Church and those opposed to the reforms of the Second Vatican.  

(Of course, some perceived it as a step backward, a reversal of these reforms.)  He also lifted the excommunications of four bishops of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), a group in schism with Rome, in an attempt to accelerate talks for healing and reunification between the two.

In 2009, the Holy Father also promulgated the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus, which established communities for Anglicans, i.e., members of the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion, who want to become Catholic. These communities or “ordinariates” are like Catholic dioceses but retain the elements of Anglican heritage and liturgy.  Some in the Anglican Church perceived this as a form of proselytism, an act of converting people to another

religion.  However, the Pope clarified that the Apostolic Constitution was authorized in response to numerous requests from Anglicans or former Anglicans, who did not anymore believe in what the Communion teaches or stands for.  Anglicanorum Coetibus was a big step towards Christian unity, something that has not been seen for many years.

But perhaps what defined Benedict XVI’s pontificate the most was his continuing war against the “Dictatorship of Relativism,” which he referred to as “the central problem of the faith today.” In many of his writings and teachings, both as Cardinal and Pope, he seemed to take on this threat head-on.  

He called relativism “false freedom,” a mere subjective appreciation of realities with no absolute moral truth to serve as a guide. Simply put, people allow themselves to be swayed by what they desire, by what they deem convenient.  Such skewed perceptions have a profound effect on how life, marriage, and family, among other things, are understood. 

Aware that this is what is affecting Europe, the cradle of Christianity, and parts of the world that used to be very Catholic, Benedict XVI initiated “New Evangelization” efforts, another hallmark of his papacy, to instill a “renewed missionary activity…given that a large number of people who do not know Jesus Christ, in not only far-off countries but also those already evangelized.”  To modify the idiomatic expression, Benedict XVI wanted to “teach the old dog old tricks, using new means.” 

Despite his efforts, many did not seem to connect with Benedict XVI, perhaps because of his intellectual brilliance.  Some considered him an old man who simply could not relate to the young. Others, meanwhile, argued that he did not have the charisma of his immediate predecessor and successor needed to make that connection. (Sadly, another unfair comparison.) 

Regardless of what has been said and is being said about him, however, Benedict XVI was a shining light for the Church. Yes, he may not have been a good administrator, especially with the clerical abuse and Vatileaks scandals indelibly associated with his papacy. He, however, was able to explain the faith with clarity of thought, especially during a time of crisis and confusion.  Benedict XVI was, therefore, very relevant to the Church and to the world. 

While John Paul II and Francis are being described as personifications of the theological virtues of “hope” and “charity” respectively, Benedict represents the virtue of “faith,” a faith he very much loved to share and to defend.  Even at the announcement of his resignation, he was clearly imparting a lesson --- a lesson in humility --- to everyone, most especially leaders.

“Teacher” is perhaps what best describes Benedict XVI. If only for this, he, and his legacy, must not and will never be forgotten.

To be sure, he was able to teach this old dog some tricks, both old and new.

And if you if you claim that you did not learn anything from him, I dare say that you were not paying attention.