MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/12 February) – Roman Catholics consider Saint Peter the Apostle as the first Pope. That’s how the highest position in the 1.2-billion strong church earned for it the idiom “the shoes of the fisherman,” an allusion to the apostle’s original work until The Christ called on him to leave his family behind and become fishers of men.
But the proverbial catch has not always had been good. Despite – or perhaps because of – its power and influence the Roman Catholic Church has had its share of internal crises spawned by scandals, dissensions, schisms and challenges posed by ideas deemed to be contrary to its well-entrenched doctrines and dogmas. Nonetheless, throughout the Church’s 2000-year history only two pontiffs had abdicated – Pope Celestine V in 1249 and Pope Gregory XII in 1415.
On Monday, 11 February, Pope Benedict XVI became the third leader of the Church to do so. Nobody had anticipated the move, and even his closest aides told news networks they were shocked at the announcement that he would step down on 28 February. The Vatican did not say if the Pope is suffering from a particular ailment. The resignation statement simply said he no longer has the mental and physical strength to fulfill [his] ministry, the point stressed by Vatican spokesperson Fr. Federico Lombardi in a news conference shortly after the Pope said he was quitting.
Unfortunately for Benedict, his predecessor Pope John Paul II was afflicted with a serious ailment but stayed on until his death in 2005. The comparison has led to speculations there is more than meets the eye behind the resignation, that it was preceded by an intense debate over how he has shepherded the faithful, thus a pressure for him to step down.
There is no proof as yet that would vindicate the conspiracy theorists among us. It is the situation facing the Church under his papacy that has fueled the speculations.
Under the incumbent Pope’s watch the Church has been plagued with scandals involving pedophiliac priests, and accusations that the leadership has done little to discipline them. Worse, the Pope himself was accused of trying to cover up a similar scandal when he was still Archbishop of Munich in his native Germany.
And in contrast to John Paul’s attitude towards the other religions, Benedict earned the ire of Muslims by equating Islam to violence.
The latest controversy erupted last year courtesy of the Pope’s butler who leaked documents implicating the Vatican in allegedly shady business transactions.
But it seems the greatest problem confronting the Church is the continuing disenchantment of its flock over its Teflon-like conservatism on various issues. For instance, the pontiff has opposed the use of artificial contraceptives and same-sex marriage, a practice that has become generally acceptable in the West.
More importantly, Benedict has never compromised when it comes to dogma, resisting each and every attempt to adjust the sails of Church theology to the changing winds of the times. Arguably, the scandals and the refusal to usher in reforms have only served to drive away the faithful – if not to other denominations, then to secular lives that border on agnosticism.
The least that Benedict’s successor can do is listen to well-intentioned criticisms from an increasingly disillusioned flock.
Will the man who will be chosen to wear the shoes of the fisherman resist calls for change or will he be humble enough to realize that the Church may write its own epitaph if such calls went unheeded? (MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. H. Marcos C. Mordeno can be reached at hmcmordeno@gmail.com)
