Whatever may be his legacy, this single historic decision of
Pope Benedict XVI to renounce the papacy
“with full freedom” will be remembered as a very significant
contribution to the papacy in particular, and leadership in general.
It is very clear that the octogenarian pope has not resigned
due to any pressure or a particular illness or a crisis. He has done so, in his
own words, because “strength of mind and body … has deteriorated in me to the
extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the
ministry entrusted to me.” He could have continued till the very end of his
life but chose otherwise in the wider interest of the church he has led for
almost eight years. It is indeed a wise and inspiring decision.
Humanly speaking, it could not have been an easy decision to
forsake the powerful office of the pope, and to move from the centre of the mainstream
into the obscure margins. If Jesus Christ himself had to undergo and resist the
temptation for earthly power as depicted in the Gospel of St Luke on the first
Sunday of Lent, Pope Benedict must have surely had a tough time repeatedly
examining his conscience before God. Therefore, as many have commented, it was
a courageous decision. It sets a precedent for future popes, and an outstanding
example to present bishops as well as any other leaders occupying positions of
power and responsibility. When one encounters the moment when one can’t do justice
to a responsible job due to deteriorating health or the ageing process or any
other inability, one should pass on the baton in the interest of the church,
the organization or the state as the case may be.
I still remember the answer Pope John Paul II gave to a
journalist about 10 years ago when asked about running the papacy in spite of
his severe suffering with deteriorating knees. The pope replied in a lighter
vein that he ran the papacy with his head and not on his knees. That was the
charismatic and strong Pope John Paul II. He had a mission, a much needed
mission in the early years of the present century. He had led the church to the
twenty-first century from the previous one that was marked by unprecedented
violence and suffering during the two world wars. The century of science and
progress it was, but also a century of nuclear weapons, of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, of gas chambers, of genocides, and of exiles to chilly Siberia. He himself had come from totalitarian Poland.
He knew suffering from close quarters, and could face it stoically. He had the
opportunity to show the world the meaning of suffering unto death from his
papal seat, and he did it gracefully in April 2005, stunning the world in
another transforming way.
As a personality, Pope Benedict has been a contrast to his
popular predecessor Pope John Paul. While the conservatives were happy with him,
the liberals felt that he was in some ways turning back the clock of reforms
started by Vatican Council II. He is a scholarly theologian speaking and
writing in a cerebral and yet lucid language. When he became Pope, it was
reported, while his luggage and personal belongings were transferred to his nearby
new residence, he not only personally supervised the transfer of his books but
carried some himself, walking his way with his red shoes, carrying a meaningful
load in his hands. Popes are generally intellectuals, but the outgoing one is
specially so. He has communicated his viewpoints and admonishments in a
rational way to the science oriented and the young. He has been using cyber
space for quite some time, and of late has been twitting to reach out to the
modern.
The search for the successor has begun in the minds of those
interested in the future of the church. Pope Benedict will neither participate
in the proceedings nor advise. The college of Cardinals will meet probably in
mid March in a Conclave in the Sistine Chapel to choose prayerfully the new
pope. It is the cherished hope of many that the new leader of the Catholic
Church will be either from Latin America, Asia or Africa; that he will be
relatively young; charismatic and inspiring; reaching out to the young; liberal;
initiating measures for peace and dialogue with other religions; and of course
a man after God’s on heart who can make a difference to the church as well as
our difficult and crisis ridden world.
Inspired by the timely resignation, I shall end with a
quotation by Tao Te Ching, placed on my work desk:
“Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.”
Published in The Navhind Times, Panorama 17.02.2013
No comments:
Post a Comment