Rite and Reason: Benedict XVI could well be a Pope of many surprises, writes Bishop Séamus Hegarty, who served in Munich diocese.
It was the late Cardinal Ó Fiaich who introduced me to parish ministry in Germany in the late 1960s.
During the school summer holidays I worked as an assistant priest in the diocese of Würzburg in the earlier period and, from the late 1970s to 1981, I served as an assistant priest in two parishes in the archdiocese of Munich. The present Holy Father, Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Ratzinger, was the local ordinary.
Apart from attending liturgical functions in the Fraünkirche, the Cathedral of Munich, at which the cardinal presided, and attending two regional priests' conferences conducted by the cardinal, I had no contact with him. On both occasions, I was just another priest in a group. All of my encounters with him were of a transient nature. However, since becoming a bishop, I have met him on a few occasions in Rome and in Austria.
My time in Munich gave me an opportunity to get views, observations and comments from the indigenous clergy, enabling me to formulate a profile of Cardinal Ratzinger. Prior to coming to Munich and Freising, to give the archdiocese its full title, the then Prof Ratzinger had spent many years in academia, latterly as a professor of theology and the history of dogma in the University of Regensburg. Assuming pastoral responsibility for such a large archdiocese was a significant challenge. The cardinal was seen as a shy but gracious person. He was perceived as the consummate academic and he continued his writing and his lecturing internationally.
In a sense, he was facilitated in doing so because the inherited role of the archbishop of Munich or, indeed of any large German diocese, is very different from the role of a bishop in Ireland. Here, we as bishops are engaged immediately or only marginally removed from all aspects of diocesan administration and pastoral outreach.
In Germany, by contrast, the generalvilar or vicar general heads the ordinariat or chancery office and, aided by a staff of approximately 300 assistants, is responsible for the administrative aspects of the diocese.
The bishop in a German diocese becomes engaged and involved only in those areas which require the specific intervention or engagement of the ordinary. While to us in Ireland that may appear to be an enviable position, it has a less positive dimension in that it does not facilitate the desired bishop/priest rapport, relationship or interaction.
However, being an archbishop in an archdiocese the size of Munich with 1.8 million Catholics, spread over 757 parishes, requires extensive resources. When I was in Munich there were five regional (auxiliary) bishops active in the archdiocese, each with an extended remit for administration and pastoral care in their respective regions.
By the mid-1970s, coinciding approximately with Cardinal Ratzinger's accession to Munich, the outworkings of the second Vatican Council were beginning to unfold. This time marked a period of transition in many areas of church life. Mainland Europe generally, and Germany in particular, was more proactive in this regard than the more peripheral regions.
As ordinary of Munich Cardinal Ratzinger endeavoured to progress the thrust of Vatican II in his diocese. In Munich, as elsewhere, it was not easy to achieve the desired alignment between the ecclesiology of Vatican II and the practical implementation of that ecclesiology. That still remains our ongoing shared challenge. Negative resonances to Pope VI's Humanae Vitae (1968) also posed problems in Munich as elsewhere.
Last Tuesday I arrived at a priest's house prior to confirmation to be told we had a new pope. My first surprise was that the conclave came to an end so speedily and, secondly, that Cardinal Ratzinger was the preferred choice of cardinal electors. I warmly welcome this result. Our prayers and our good wishes must accompany him now as he in his turn will pray for us and accompany us as our Chief Shepherd on our own way home to God.
We also owe it to him not to be prejudicial in our speculation as to how he will or will not exercise his Petrine Ministry. His experience as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, notwithstanding his perceived persona in his role as the defender of faith and orthodoxy, will now complement and enhance his mission as the supreme preacher of the Gospel and Gospel values in the church and in the wider world. His circumstances have changed and he is talented, gifted and perceptive enough to adapt accordingly.
Many commentators regard his age as an impediment. Again, we must keep an open mind on this. It is unlikely that Pope Benedict will match in tenure the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, but relative brevity does not necessarily entail lesser effectiveness or fruitfulness. Pope Benedict could well be a Pope of many surprises.
• Dr Séamus Hegarty is Bishop of Derry