Catholic Church needs Panzer Pope

By Paul Schmitt

Never had ambiguous puffs of white smoke ushered in such an important moment for traditional Catholicism. A new pontiff had been named for the world’s more than one billion Catholics, inciting excitement of the possibility of change and progressiveness among many more moderate Roman Catholics. The man that emerged on the balcony was not any longer, however, a beacon of progressive reform. Joseph Alois Ratzinger raised his arms to an adoring crowd, instantly evoking the image of the “papal bulldog” who would strictly enforce the doctrines and values of the Catholic Church.

Surely left-leaning writers, such as Anna Quindlen of Newsweek, let out a collective sigh of disappointment when the white-haired German with typical Bavarian circles under his eyes emerged.

Those like Quindlen, who called for women in the church’s clergy and other major reforms, will certainly be restless during this papacy. While Benedict isn’t ready to embrace the major social changes that have developed in Western culture during the past 50 years, he is prepared to battle long and hard against one evil thing: relativism.

Not only is Benedict XVI a religious warrior, working for a more traditional yet welcoming communion in the church, he also has become a social warrior, fighting in secular society to protect things that he not only holds as good, but as “uniquely European.” For the church’s front, Benedict seems willing to accept any casualties necessary, stating in an interview years ago that the church may have to resemble that of the mustard seed (Mark 4:31-32). While the thought of a smaller, more devout church doesn’t seem to bother Benedict, it leaves many progressive Catholics feeling ostracized and ignored.

The only question is, when arguing on the principles of good and evil, is absolutism a bad thing? Pope Pius XII stated his concern for the culture of relativism that has been emerging, saying, “The greatest sin of our modern generation is that it has lost all sense of sin.”

Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!

  • Catch the latest on University of Illinois news, sports, and more. Delivered every weekday.
  • Stay up to date on all things Illini sports. Delivered every Monday.
Thank you for subscribing!

Truly, relativism, which has become an institutionalized school of Western thought over the last century, plagues a college campus more than anywhere in mainstream society. While many will shrug off the idea that something is wrong with society and then will lamely write off moral watchdogs as “prudes” or as those bitter against a society they can’t successfully embrace, a simple glance at a changing culture calls for pause and thought on the subject of morality.

U.S. statistics cite the average rates of married men and women who engage in affairs to be as high as 60 percent, only about 36 percent of Catholics attend Mass weekly (down from nearly 75 percent in the early 1960s) and the percentage of children with single parents is now at 31 percent (up from 23 percent in 1980). In addition, the number of young men entering the seminary continues to be inadequate for the church’s needs (only 456 ordinations in 2007). With such a pessimistic statistical view and “half-empty” churches, can the Panzer Pope really do much of anything to turn things around?

All issues of morality aside, Benedict also faces a geopolitical Christian crisis – how, as Christianity fades from the cultural fabric of the West, does Christendom respond to spreading radical Islamic fundamentalism? How does the Church regain relevancy long lost in her most historic European strongholds? How can the Church spread fervent belief found in a liberated Poland to her European and American sisters? Further, how can the church reverse the slowly growing opinion among the faithful that her moral teachings are becoming antiquated?

The problems are overwhelming, the answers are complicated and at the center of it all sits a soft-spoken college professor with a love of ‘Bier,’ Friday fish at Rome’s Scarpone, Mozart, Bach and, oddly enough, porcelain cats (according to Rev. Christopher A. Layden, the pontiff’s former master of ceremonies).

All of that aside, for the future of Catholicism and Christendom one thing is certain: it’s time for the Panzer Pope to strike back.