New pontiff deserves to be given a chance

FOR 20 years, Washington Post cartoonist Herblock depicted Richard Nixon as unshaven, sporting the ‘five o’clock shadow’ which famously counted against him in the 1960 TV debate with John F Kennedy.

But when Nixon won the presidency in 1968, his nemesis decided to drop the practice. "At a time of national division and crisis," Herblock felt, an incoming president "was entitled to his chance to lead". So he drew a cartoon showing a barber chair and a sign saying, "This Shop Gives to Every New President of the United States a Free Shave."

Those who have chosen to take a dim view of the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI might reflect on Herblock's gesture.

In Nixon's case, the fresh shave may not have lasted very long. The President was not on the level, and his relationship with the media deteriorated steadily. But there are grounds for optimism in Pope Benedict's case. The uncertainty now felt by some may yet give way to hope, respect and, in due course, love.

Why? As Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Joseph Ratzinger had the most difficult job in the Church. To his lot fell the thankless task of telling it straight whenever theologians who were licensed to teach the Catholic faith started departing from the script.

This is an unpleasant role especially if you're a gentlemanly, sensitive person trying to live the Christian Gospel of love. No matter how hard you try, you are bound to make enemies.

And he did. Over the years, we have heard plenty of laments by and about theologians who were supposedly 'crushed' by Ratzinger's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Very little has been said about the backbiting which Ratzinger himself suffered at the hands of theologians when, as a younger man, he rejected the ideas of those who abandoned the teaching of the Second Vatican Council in order to embrace Marxism.

What's more, the sanctions imposed by Ratzinger's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith are heavily exaggerated and dishonestly invested with overtones of fear.

Nobody excommunicated Hans Kung, for example, or stripped him of his priesthood or deprived him of his job even though he opposed essential Church teachings. Kung simply lost the title 'Professor of Catholic Theology'. That was hardly inappropriate.

And what of the Brazilian Franciscan theologian, Leonardo Boff, Ratzinger's former student? Boff's Marxist analysis involved a rejection of Vatican II and characterised the existence of bishops and priests in the Catholic Church as "a sinful social structure". Was it unacceptable for Ratzinger to ask him to maintain a public silence on these issues for a year, to allow him to reflect on his position?

Those who regard this as tyranny or rule by fear would effectively bar the Catholic Church from maintaining any coherent teaching at all. Perhaps that is the point.

i've used following ca "Those who know Ratzinger have always been struck by the contrast between his bruising, polarising public image and his kind, genteel, generous private side," says Vatican commentator John L Allen.

"In person, Ratzinger comes across as refined and almost shy, and bishops who have had dealings with him over the years almost uniformly testify that he is a good listener, genuinely interested in working collegially."

Now he is in a new role. His is no longer the job of "hoovering the house".

Instead, as Pope, he must welcome people in. And the positive rating from those who know him suggests that the critics may be in for a surprise.

It would be wrong to expect that there will be changes in the area of doctrine. His predecessor lived a life of love and solidarity without ever sacrificing what he believed to be the truth about life, the Church and the destiny of mankind. That is the example he will follow. The truth may not make you popular, Benedict knows. Yet we saw during John Paul'a recents funeral how millions came to appreciate the authenticity of the one who would fearlessly proclaim the truth.

Every new leader deserves a 'free shave' a chance to start work unimpeded by the prejudices of the past. Surely that is especially true of Joseph Ratzinger as he puts his shoulder to the heaviest burden on earth.