This month Inside the Vatican is even more concerned than usual with the Holy Father. November 1 marks the 50th anniversary of Karoi Wojtyla's ordination and October 16 is the 18th anniversary of his election to the See of Peter. In preparing this issue, we were again reminded what a profound teacher this Pope is. The thrust of his pontificate has been clear from the beginning - to restate the deposit of the faith, to bring into homes, the market place, and lives everywhere the teachings of Christ, handed down to us by the Apostles.

lt is a profound paradox of this pontificate, that among those who seem least moved by these teachings are Catholic theologians, who apparently cannot accept all of John Paul's "hard truths." These theologians have now launched a widespread effort to "reform" the papacy. The actual result of the "reform" proposed would be to cripple the Pope's ability to guide and govern the Church.

Following on Archbishop John Quinn's June 29 Oxford address (see our editorial in the last issue), a score of "papacy reform" proposals have now been published by liberal journals, most recently in Italy by the magazine Jesus. The campaign seems obviously orchestrated and is aimed to influence public opinion against a strong papacy. These proposals do not usually attack John Paul II directly. Often they praise him. The "bad guys" for these reformers are the Curial cardinals. (One suspects it is above all Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger who is the real object of these attacks.) The implication: that the Curia, not the Pope, is responsible for all of Rome's theologically unpopular statements defending Church tradition from Paul VI to John Paul Il.

Among proposals calling for Curial reform is one from Hermann Pottmeyer, Professor of Fundamental Theology at a German university and a member of Rome's International Theological Commission. The professor's views have been given wide attention in Europe (they were published in English in the London Tablet in September), and have been noted in Rome.

Pottmeyer seems to see the papacy as an evolving administrative office, a vehicle whose main purpose now should be furthering ecumenism. He thinks the papacy has improved in the last 35 years (thanks primarily to Pope John XXIII), but still retains "the mentality of imperial rule," still does not recognize "the priesthood of all believers." (There are, for him, "hopeful" signs. He writes that "the decline in religious vocations and Mass attendance" are promising signs of the disappearance of an older model Church and of the appearance of the new-model Church, "a Church which is a fellowship of believers.")

Pottmeyer's position is perhaps best understood by considering it in relation to a single phrase, "Vicar of Christ." For Pottmeyer, the title is tantamount to idolatry, to deifying the Pope. For John Paul the title is not at all idolatrous, if rightly understood. Pottmeyer sees the title as a grasping after power; John Paul sees it as a call to be Christ-like.

In Ut Unum Sint (May, 1995), John Paul wrote (paragraph 94) that the Pope can declare some opinions "irreconcilable with the unity of faith." By thus "bearing witness to the truth," the Pope "serves unity," he said. In the following section, John Paul (quoting a Council document) wrote: "When the Catholic Church affirms that the office of the Bishop of Rome corresponds to the will of Christ, she does not separate this office from the mission entrusted to the whole body of Bishops, who are also 'vicars and ambassadors of Christ."' (Lumen Gentium, 27)

Pottmeyer pounces on this, writing: "In this passage the Pope, like the Council, rejects the use of the title 'Vicar of Christ' for himself alone." Then he proceeds to interpret this as a triumph for theologians: "Already in 1970 the International Theological Commission recommended that this title be dropped, along with 'head of the Church,' and the Pope be referred to as 'successor of Peter,' 'bishop of Rome,' or the Church's 'chief pastor.'"

But Pottmeyer is here misrepresenting John Paul's teaching on "Vicar of Christ." In Crossing the Threshold of Hope (October 1994), the Pope pointed out that, for the Fathers, every Christian is another Christ (Christianus alter Christus), and that every priest administers the sacraments in persona Christi. "From this perspective," he wrote, "the expression 'Vicar of Christ' assumes its true meaning. More than dignity, it alludes to service. It emphasizes the duties of the Pope, his Petrine ministry, carried out for the good of the Church and the faithful." Instead of rejecting the term, John Paul challenges every Christian, every priest, every bishop to realize fully Christ's presence in their every act.

Earlier, in Mulieris Dignitatem (August 15, 1988), he specifically connected his attitude toward the papacy with Mary. There he describes the Church's structure as "totally ordered to the holiness of Christ's members." And, he adds, "holiness is measured according to the 'great mystery' in which the Bride responds with the gift of love to the gift of the Bridegroom." Because, the Pope says, Mary, "the Bride without spot or wrinkle," is the most perfect human expression of holiness, the Marian dimension of the Church precedes the Petrine. The service of love takes precedence over all else. He would write later: "On October 22, 1978, when I inherited the ministry of Peter in Rome, more than anything else, it was (the) experience and devotion to Mary in my native land which I carried with me." The Pope's understanding of "Vicar of Christ" derives from the depths of his spiritual life, not from the International Theological Commission, and thanks be to God that it should be so.

- Robert Moynihan
Editor

Inside the Vatican - ISSN 1068-8579
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