Sara Silvestri is a Professor of Religion and
International Politics at City University London, a Research Associate
at the Von Hügel Institute (an academic research institute that
studies the role of religion in contemporary society) based at St.
Edmund’s College, Cambridge and a columnist for British newspaper The Guardian.
You drew an interesting comparison between Cardinal Martini’s last days in office and Ratzinger’s last days as Pope. Can you explain it to us?
“Cardinal Martini and Pope Benedict XVI managed to establish themselves as great intellectuals – as well as religious leaders - of our time, who are appreciated on an international level, even outside the Catholic Church. But they both differ in terms of their direction within the Church: the former represented a more liberal voice, while the latter a conservative one. Towards the end of their lives they have both performed highly symbolic and radical gestures: Milan’s former archbishop asked doctors to stop the artificial prolonging of life and for people to be able to face death freely and naturally. Benedict XVI also emphasised his own humanity in acknowledging that his age was preventing him from adequately performing his duties as leader of the Catholic Church.”
Ratzinger’s papacy initially showed continuity with John Paul II’s but his recent decision marked a radical change of course: do you agree?
“I was struck by the fact that Ratzinger, the protector of the Church’s doctrine dared make such a bold and unusual gesture, deciding to step down from the papacy. His move has given a whole different dimension to the role of Peter (who as a mortal and a sinner denied being a follower of Christ when Christ was crucified), making it more human. Interestingly, however, in abdicating as Pope, Ratzinger did not act outside the limits of Canon law and invented nothing new. Let’s say he dug into tradition and unearthed an aspect of the papacy which had been forgotten about.”
You wrote that the Pope’s gesture is a celebration of human freedom: how important is the concept of individual freedom in Christianity?
“Freedom is absolutely core to Christian thought. It is no surprise that these great Christian leaders of our time focused so much attention on this topic.”