POPE BENEDICT XVI

They call him The Enforcer.

John L. Allen Jr., the National Catholic Reporter's chief Vatican watcher, dubbed him that in a 1999 profile and carried the title over into his 2001 biography of the Cardinal who has been widely acknowledged as the second most powerful man in Rome.

On April 19, 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI, the 265th leader of the Roman Catholic Church.What will it mean to have such a man as pope? What will it mean, particularly, for interfaith relations? Many fear a chill.

John Ratzinger was a young priest committed to reform in the heady days of Vatican II. The student uprisings of 1968 are often cited as a formative incident that turned him toward increasing conservatism. Since then he has championed a narrow orthodoxy often at odds with modern theological scholarship; silenced Latin America's liberation theologians, bringing a halt to the Catholic Church's influence on reform in the region (in contrast to the church's vigorous participation ion the liberation of Poland) and casting a shadow on all theological inquiry; and openly expressed his discomfort with the interfaith agenda of his boss, the late Pope.

It was, in large measure, Cardinal Ratzinger's conviction that pro-interfaith forces in the Vatican had grown too powerful which led to the 2000 declaration "Dominus Iesus," in which he re-affirmed the primacy of Christianity and the Catholic Church over other denominations or faiths as a matter of "truth."  The reaction of many in the interfaith community at the time was one of shock and outrage: "What is the point of dialogue,"asked one church leader, "if the Vatican makes a prior claim that only it knows the truth?"

The horrors of relativism remain Cardinal Ratzinger's continuing mission. In a rare interview in 2003, during the American church's long agony with a sexual abuse crisis, the Cardinal gave more time to relativism than to abuse, which he said was caused by "human weakness" and lack of faith.

The Cardinal returned to the theme just hours before the electoral conclave began, telling the Cardinals: "We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires," according to the National Catholic Reporter.

While North Americans and Europeans embrace post-modernism, the man who has become Benedict XVI (casting back to the early part of the last century for his spiritual predecessor) urged the Cardinals to defend the church against modernism.

If other Christians are uncertain, those of other faiths may be even more nervous. Certainly Benedict XVI is far less likely than his predecessor to pursue dialogue with Islam.

And yet, the picture is not all one-sided. One of the most startling developments occurred at the beginning of April when, with Cardinal Ratzinger's explicit authorization, the Vatican released a document called "The Jewish People and the Holy Scriptures in the Christian Bible." It was done quietly and there was for a disconcerting amount of time no authorized English translation. But the document acknowledges that Christians have misused scripture as a basis for anti-Semitism and unequivically repudiates the practice.

The document says a full reading of Biblical texts reveals a "dynamism of love" in both Old and New Testaments: "... even if they do not believe in his Son whom he sent as their Messiah Saviour, Israelites are still 'loved' (Rm 11:29). Whoever wishes to be united to God, must also love them." It acknowledges that many New Testament passages "are capable of providing a pretext for anti-Jewish sentiment and have in fact been used in this way," but "... an attitude of respect, esteem and love for the Jewish people is the only truly Christian attitude...."

Even John L. Allen Jr., who has had some profoundly critical things to say about the new pope's career thus far, has praised him for his sincerity and intellectual brilliance. Perhaps Benedict XVI will yet surprise us.

More information about Pope Benedict follows, including several of his homilies and lectures.

German theologian one of most respected, controversial cardinals Considered the guiding light on doctrinal issues during Pope John Paul II's pontificate, German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger will enter the next conclave as one of the most respected, influential and controversial members of the College of Cardinals. More Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI, formerly Joseph Ratzinger, was born on April 16, 1927 in Marktl am Inn, Germany. He was ordained a priest on June 29, 1951. More Profile of new Pope: Joseph Ratzinger German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was elected Pope on Tuesday, has played the role of doctrinal watchdog at the Vatican since 1981. More Homily by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger Full text of the sermon from the funeral of Pope John Paul II More Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion Presenting oneself to receive Holy Communion should be a conscious decision, based on a reasoned judgement regarding one’s worthiness to do so, according to the Church’s objective criteria, asking such questions as: "Am I in full communion with the Catholic Church? Am I guilty of grave sin? More Culture and Truth: Some Reflections on the Encyclical Letter, Fides et Ratio - a lecture by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger Man is not trapped in a hall of mirrors of interpretations; one can and must seek a breakthrough to what is really true; man must ask who he really is and what he is to do; he must ask whether there is a God; who God is, and what the world is. The one who no longer poses these questions is by that very fact bereft of any standard or path. More