Pope Benedict XVI Blog

TIME on whether Pope Benedict will liberalize the Church---"...don't hold your breath"

TIME Online Edition

Web Exclusive World

Why Benedict XVI Won't Liberalize the Church
Progressives' hopes for surprises from the new Pope may be in vain

By JEFF ISRAELY/ROME
Posted Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2005

Listen to a liberal Catholic in Rome these days, and the words "like Nixon going to China" will probably slip out at some point in the conversation. It is the whisper of hope among long shut-out Church reformers that Pope Benedict XVI's unquestioned conservative credentials could make him just the right man to loosen rigid doctrinal policy after the quarter century of John Paul II's traditionalist ways. The German Pope's surprisingly warm persona and his decision to create a more open debate in this month's synod of bishops have fuelled the sense among some that change is in the air. Last week, after Benedict spoke to the synod—a once-every-few-years advisory council to the Holy Father—one progressive Rome-based priest told TIME: "He offered very thoughtful remarks. I'm surprised to see that he seems to be open to hear new ideas." But six months into Benedict's papacy, the Republican-Meets-the-Communists analogy sounds a lot like wishful thinking. Those who believe the 78-year-old Pope could lift the clergy's celibacy requirement or welcome gays into the priesthood are not imagining a Nixon going to China, but Nixon becoming a Marxist. In other words, don't hold your breath.

more...

posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 5:54 PM