For a Pope who practises and preaches militant Catholicism, Benedict XVI's decision to bow to a small group of protesters and cancel his speech at Rome's leading university seemed curiously out of character.The move this week was at odds with a pontiff who has made dogmatic activism a driving force of his three-year-old papacy, clashing repeatedly with the Italian government over social policies and boldly visiting Turkey after uttering statements widely interpreted by Muslims as offensive.
Yet, what initially appeared as an unconditional papal retreat has suddenly been transformed into a resounding Vatican victory. Fallout from the university incident has turned Benedict into a martyr for freedom of speech and silenced – at least for now – critics who accuse the Vatican of repeatedly interfering in the affairs of the Italian state.
The Vatican is pressing its advantage, calling on followers to show their support by flocking to the pontiff's weekly Sunday blessing in St. Peter's Square. Church officials are painting him as a victim of what the Pope has often described as Catholicism's great nemesis – secularism.
"This sad episode will greatly contribute to the understanding that attacking this Pope isn't right, nor is it worthwhile," said Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Pope's vicar in Rome.
An emboldened Pope could spell more trouble for Prime Minister Romano Prodi's shaky, left-of-centre coalition government. It almost fell a year ago, partly because of Vatican opposition to proposed legislation that would have extended rights to unmarried couples, including homosexual ones.
Prodi was quick to condemn the "unacceptable climate" that pushed the Pope to cancel his speech: "No voice should be stifled in our country, least of all the Pope's." And politicians of all stripes accused protesters of "intolerance" and "censorship."
The rector of La Sapienza, Rome's largest and oldest university, vowed to invite the Pope back. And Italy's major newspapers published the full text of the speech he never gave, thereby assuring it received more coverage than if it had been delivered.
Opposition to Benedict's visit began with a letter, signed by 60 professors, accusing the Pope of being hostile to science. Later, about 50 students briefly occupied the rector's office in protest, vowing more demonstrations when the Pope arrived.
On Tuesday, the Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said the Pope cancelled his visit because conditions for a "dignified and calm welcome" were reduced by the actions of a minority.
Ruini suggested the government was partly to blame, hinting its leaders should have spoken out in support of the Pope before he was pushed to cancel. But Ruini firmly rejected charges the Roman Catholic Church is responsible for dividing Italian society with its forceful interventions against government policies.
The Vatican adopted a more interventionist line shortly after Joseph Ratzinger was elected pontiff in April 2005. His predecessor, John Paul II, focused on attracting as many people as possible to the church. Observers say Benedict, despite plummeting church attendance and a severe shortage of priests, is more interested in the militant quality of followers. He wants soldiers for Catholicism, people who live, breathe and preach the church's values.
In a 130-page "apostolic exhortation" issued last year, the Pope reasserted the church's opposition to abortion, euthanasia and gay marriages, calling these values "non-negotiable." And he insisted that Catholic politicians had a duty to defend the church's teachings.
The Vatican virtually went to war against the Prodi government when it proposed legislation a year ago to extent rights to unmarried couples. Prodi was forced to shelve the bill when members of a Catholic party in his coalition threatened to bring the government down.
The Vatican is opposing proposals for a law on "living wills" that would allow people to refuse "excessive" medical interventions to keep them alive if they can no longer communicate their wishes. The church has compared this to euthanasia.
Battle lines are also being drawn on abortion. The Vatican is backing a private member's bill from an opposition MP that would restrict abortions, and is pushing the government to propose a UN resolution for a worldwide moratorium on the procedure.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce