Back from "the field"
First, a word about ecumenism. When Pope Benedict XVI arrived at Munich airport yesterday, he was greeted by the German president, Horst Köhler, who expressed the diplomatic niceties that are expected on such occasions and then surprised his guest by encouraging him to move decisively on ecumenism. Calling Germany the "country of the Reformation", Köhler said many Catholic and Protestant Christians wished for an "ecumenical understanding" and, speaking as a Protestant, he wanted to emphasize that "more unites us than divides us."
Although he was unprepared for this, the 79-year-old pontiff is an agile fellow so he departed from his prepared script and responded by saying that while 500 years of history cannot be erased with the stroke of a pen, "We will do everything we can to ensure that we can come together." But as he was speaking one could see that Benedict was determined to deal with the matter in a more decisive way, and sooner rather than later. BACKGROUNDER: German Protestantism has turned into a belief system in which pacifism, wealth redistribution and environmentalism are given equal billing with the word of God. Along with extolling the virtues of the "social market", Protestant clerics rarely deliver a sermon that does not include a condemnation of the Guantanamo detention camp or a critique of the War on Terror.
Today, the Pope approached the issue in a rather oblique way, but one which suggested that his vision of Christianity is far removed from that practiced by German Protestants. Rather pointedly in his sermon, Benedict said that bishops from around the world have praised the social activities of German Catholics, but find a lack of concern for faith itself. He said an African bishop recently told him, "If I come to Germany and present social projects, suddenly every door opens. But if I come with a plan for evangelization, I meet with reservations". Driving the point home, the Pope lamented, "some people have the idea that social projects should be urgently undertaken, while anything dealing with God or even the Catholic faith is of limited and lesser importance."
In other words, Benedict does not want the Catholic Church in Germany to become the touchy-feelie thing that the German Protestant Church has become. He knows that at the end of such a road lies the fate of Britain's Anglican Church — irrelevance. He also knows that he's got to express purpose on a global stage at a time when his Venezuelan flock is being governed by a bully; his Chinese faithful must endure despotism and his Nigerian adherents risk death at the hands of Islamic fanatics. These people live in a far more real world than that inhabited by German Protestants and they want their Pope to express a faith that extends beyond the everyday. So, expect to hear no more about ecumenism during Benedict's Bavarian visit this week. That aside, it was a great day. The sun shone and 250,000 people had an unforgettable experience.
