Pope Rigor Mortis I?

Charisma is a mysterious gift; intellectual rigidity and doctrinal obsessions are not. The Catholic Church lost a charismatic leader with the death of John Paul II. Its decision to replace him with the pope's former intellectual hit man surprises.

Benedict XVI, a.k.a. Joseph Ratzinger, is a doctrinal purist. He believes in the true faith, and he plays for the long haul. The scientific revolution, the Enlightment, the past several centuries of Western intellectual history. These are blips on the screen for this man. The Church will endure, and, with enough patience and faith, it can lurch the world back to medievalism in a heart-beat.

John Paul II's health was long in decline, so it surprises that the College of Cardinals could do no better that Ratzinger. Was there no discussion of "the vision thing"? No consideration of the need to confront new challenges?

At 78, the new Pope is hardly a source of intellectual vigor. As I watched him greet the crowds in St. Peter's Square, the smile on his face seemed more that of a man surprised to greet another day. It was not the smile of one confident of his ability to meet the future.

What's the significance of this election for lawyers, for American lawyers, to be exact?

Climates of opinion matter. What everyone, or nearly everyone, believesgoes unchallenged. A new arch-conservative pope, a Congress belching out foul legislation over Terri Schiavo, a religious right resurgent and spoiling for a fight in the selection of judicial nominees, all these signal a climate of opinion in which liberty, privacy, the right to forge one's own way are increasingly viewed as outside the mainstream.

Broader currents sweep us toward conformity. How far will this current carry the Bill of Rights? 

Comments

[Mark]

Geez, a little over the top, no?

[Aaron]

One might speculate that the Cardinals picked an elderly pope who wouldn't make waves, and who presumably won't serve for a quarter century, while they think about his longer-term successor.

[David Giacalone]

I'm not exactly a papist, Norm, but I also don't believe that either you nor I can tell very much about a man's intellectual vigor -- or self-confidence -- from a smile he gives during his first few moments under intense planetary observation, right after being chosen for one of the most difficult jobs in the world. Please supply us with a photo of yourself, so we can try to measure your mental capacity and/or incapacity.

[Norm Pattis]

David:
My capacity is shot. The rigor mortis reference was more about doctrinal rigidity.

Mark:
The Catholic Church scares the Hell out of me, and not in such a way as to yield salvation. I am with Voltaire on that group: encrasez l'enfame.

[Aaron]

Some might argue that the Catholic Church is failing in its mission if it doesn't "scare the Hell out of you". ;-)