April 19, 2005. The Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter. The day Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, in relatively short order, by the voting cardinals of Catholicism. For the Roman Catholic Church, for world Christianity, and for the whole world, the day that Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger became Benedict XVI will prove to be a good day, a memorable day.

Joseph Ratzinger brings great theological gifts to the papal office. For years, he taught and wrote theology. Like Karl Barth, the Protestant systematic theologian of the last century, Ratzinger wrote theology for the Church. Though both were professors of theology in great universities of Europe, their theological labors served Christ and His Church. That is, their work extended beyond the confines of academic, speculative theology into the arena of Church doctrine and dogma.

Early in John Paul II’s pontificate, Cardinal Ratzinger was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican. It could be said that he was CDO -- that is, Chief Doctrinal Officer -- of Roman Catholicism. For over twenty years, he oversaw matters related to Catholic doctrine. Given the prolific documentary output of John Paul II’s pontificate, including many encyclicals and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Cardinal Ratzinger has been an especially busy man over the last two decades and more.

As one committed to the transmission of the Catholic faith, as opposed to various Catholic faiths, Cardinal Ratzinger has become somewhat controversial. Some in the media have depicted Ratzinger as harsh and negative in personality and in ministry. That depiction recalls some personal experience.

In January 1988, The Center on Religion and Society in New York City sponsored a conference at which Cardinal Ratzinger presented the primary paper. Hospitality and protocol required that The Center’s staff, then-Lutheran Rev. Richard John Neuhaus and this United Methodist pastor, meet Cardinal Ratzinger at Kennedy International and be driven with him to the neighborhood in Manhattan where the conference would be held. At the airport meeting and throughout the events that followed, the Cardinal proved to be humble, kind, and personable.

Cardinal Ratzinger’s paper, entitled "Biblical Interpretation in Crisis: On the Question of the Foundations and Approaches of Exegesis Today," was delivered to a standing-room-only crowd of 600 at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church at Citicorp Center on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Early in the lecture, Ratzinger spoke these words: "[M]aterialist and feminist exegesis, whatever else may be said about them, do not even claim to be an understanding of the [Biblical] text itself in the manner in which it was originally intended..." At that point, some 40 or 50 gay-rights militants stood and shouted down the Cardinal with: "Nazi!" "Fascist!" "Antichrist!" Ratzinger stopped speaking and stepped away from the microphone. Immediately, officers from the NYPD arrested those who had disrupted the lecture. In a matter of minutes and with an uncommon graciousness under pressure, Cardinal Ratzinger resumed his lecture and continued to its conclusion. Then he responded to several, thoughtful questions from the assembly. At that point, the twenty-one conferees walked to the residence of John Cardinal O’Connor, the Archbishop of New York, for an enjoyable dinner.

The next two days were spent discussing Ratzinger’s lecture and papers by Raymond E. Brown, William H. Lazareth, and George Lindbeck. (By the way, the lecture, the three papers, and a report on the conference conversation are published in Biblical Interpretation in Crisis: The Ratzinger Conference on Bible and Church [1989, Eerdmans].) Throughout these days of discussion, Cardinal Ratzinger was creative, engaging, wise, and an excellent listener. He did not resort to using the weapon of church authoritarianism. Nor did he use table-pounding tactics, as his detractors might have predicted. Again, Cardinal Ratzinger looked, spoke, and behaved like a very sophisticated theologian of the Church. Because he was, and is, exactly that.

People who are curious to know more about the theology of Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, might want to read The Ratzinger Report: An Exclusive Interview on the State of the Church (Ignatius, 1985). His simple prose contains profound truths that are highly relevant for our day and for his new pontificate.

As Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger becomes Benedict XVI, the whole world will be watching and listening. What will be seen and heard is a pope who, like John Paul II, will serve the truth of the Church’s faith in love -- even when that truth is not gladly received.

[This article first appeared in The News & Observer (04/22/05) and The Carteret County News-Times (04/27/05).]