Habemus Papam! --- “We have a Pope!” The words came over the radio just as I was about to pull into ABC News to do commentary --- and was I ever surprised. Although constantly present before us in his role as Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals since the death of John Paul II, I had not believed it possible that Josef Cardinal Ratzinger would ascend the throne of St. Peter. To say it was a pleasant surprise is a miracle of understatement. Of all the higher clerics I know of, he has been the most consistently honest. Could anyone who honestly surveys the current Catholic scene possibly disagree with this quote?:

We have considered the fall of man in general, and the falling of many Christians away from Christ and into a godless secularism. Should we not also think of how much Christ suffers in His own Church? How often is the holy sacrament of His Presence abused, how often must He enter empty and evil hearts! How often do we celebrate only ourselves, without even realizing that He is there! How often is His Word twisted and misused! What little faith is present behind so many theories, so many empty words! How much filth there is in the Church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to Him! How much pride, how much self-complacency! What little respect we pay to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where he waits for us, ready to raise us up whenever we fall! All this is present in His Passion. His betrayal by His disciples, their unworthy reception of His Body and Blood, is certainly the greatest suffering endured by the Redeemer; it pierces His heart. We can only call to Him from the depths of our hearts: Kyrie eleison -- Lord, save us.

Yet they were not uttered by some disgusted layman or some crusading priest, but by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, himself, when, on Good Friday, 2005, he took the place of the ailing John Paul II at the Stations of the Cross in Rome’s Coliseum. And now this rabid truth-teller has become the 265th Bishop of Rome, Benedict XVI.

Although his position as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the office in the Vatican that is supposed to correct doctrinal abuses on the part of Catholic clergy around the world, had led dissenters to hate him and much of the media to give him such names as “God’s Rottweiler,” the world saw and was surprised by a very different man.

The first clue to the new Pontiff’s character might be seen by the name he chose --- Benedict. Benedict XV was Pope during World I; despite the abuse showered on him by governments eager to shed blood, that particular Benedict stood up against the slaughter, calling for an end to the insanity. He was ignored, with what result history sadly records. Benedict XIV reigned during middle of the 18th century, defying the rising tide of secularism on the part of Europe’s rulers that would end at last in the French Revolution. Here too, the “Enlightened Despots” ignored him, but even Voltaire was forced to call him the “greatest mind of the age.” Of course, during the wreckage of the fall of the Roman Empire and the onset of the Dark Ages, St. Benedict refounded western Monasticism, standing up for the truths of Catholicism in a dying world. There can be little doubt it is from such men that the sixteenth Benedict derives inspiration, living as he does in a Western Civilization that seems drunk with its own dissolution, reveling in its falling birthrate, and gleefully destroying its own identity and traditions.

But Benedict XVI is not merely Pope of the dying West, but of the growing Third World. While aging remnants of the 1960s, like Frs. Andrew Greeley and Hans Kueng call for priestesses and acceptance of contraception the Church in Africa, Asia, and Latin America is growing, despite huge challenges from Islam in the first continent, and Pentecostalism in the last-named. Added to this is the fact that with a few notable exceptions, virtually all the world’s governments pursue policies directly opposed to the teachings of the Church --- whether social (abortion, divorce, contraception, gay marriage, euthanasia, and so on) or economic.

In the midst of all of these challenges, on the day following his election the new Pope in his first message gave a mighty response:

You are Christ! You are Peter! It seems I am reliving this very Gospel scene; I, the Successor of Peter, repeat with trepidation the anxious words of the fisherman from Galilee and I listen again with intimate emotion to the reassuring promise of the divine Master. If the weight of the responsibility that now lies on my poor shoulders is enormous, the divine power on which I can count is surely immeasurable: “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church.” Electing me as the Bishop of Rome, the Lord wanted me as his Vicar, he wished me to be the “rock” upon which everyone may rest with confidence. I ask him to make up for the poverty of my strength, that I may be a courageous and faithful pastor of His flock, always docile to the inspirations of His Spirit.

Brave words, to be sure! But he revealed his motivation, and that which should animate every Catholic: “It is before Him, supreme Judge of all living things, that each of us must stand, in the awareness that one day we must explain to Him what we did and what we did not do for the great good that is the full and visible unity of all His disciples.”

In the days to follow, Benedict XVI has given every evidence that he understands the real world in which all of us live far better than do his critics in the Church and media. He has flung down the gauntlet against the relativism and secularism that is sapping the life and freedom out of nations, and the coldness and sinfulness that afflicts us as individuals. While he chose to forego coronation with the Papal tiara (as did the two John Pauls), the pallium of Papal office laid upon his shoulders was of a type unseen since the 13th century Pope Innocent III, who dared to humble the mighty rulers of his day. In his homily on that occasion, Benedict XVI, rather than outline a program of action, preferred to dwell on the symbolism of the pallium and ring that he wore, and to say that he would attempt to follow Christ unswervingly. That this will involve a great deal of difficulty was pointed out by his words, “Pray for me, that I may learn to love His flock more and more – in other words, you, the holy Church, each one of you and all of you together. Pray for me, that I may not flee for fear of the wolves.” Obviously, he intends to do something that will rouse those wolves.

Yet another occurrence during that homily is well worth pondering. In keeping with tradition, the hereditary rulers present upon that occasion --- the Kings and Queens of Spain and Sweden, the Crown Princes and Princesses of Belgium and the Netherlands, the ruling Princes of Liechtenstein and Monaco, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Queen Elizabeth II’s consort, the Duke of Edinburgh --- sat in the front row, while the elected presidents and prime ministers sat behind them; thus the ceremonial figureheads took precedence over the wielders of real power. In the last paragraph of his homily, speaking of John Paul II’s words “Do not be afraid! Open wide the doors for Christ!,” Benedict XVI declared that “The Pope was addressing the mighty, the powerful of this world, who feared that Christ might take away something of their power if they were to let him in, if they were to allow the faith to be free. Yes, he would certainly have taken something away from them: the dominion of corruption, the manipulation of law and the freedom to do as they pleased.” The royals applauded and cheered, while the representatives of the people sat stony-faced. It was a telling moment.

The new Pope has shown and spoke of his willingness to reach out to all who will respond to the Church’s message in good-will; but he has also shown his unswerving opposition to all those --- inside or outside of the Church --- who would in anyway adulterate or impede the teachings of Christ and his Church. In so doing, he cannot avoid conflict. As he prays that God will sustain him in this struggle, so I for one pray that I too might fight bravely by his side.