A skeptical Catholic

            Forgive a skeptical Catholic, but something seems suspicious with this process of Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation, official today, and the coming conclave to elect a new pope. This isn’t conspiratorial, just a little surmising, a supposition, if you will.

            Keep in mind that while the papacy and the Vatican are venerated as most holy by not only the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, but also those of other faiths, it’s also massive in its power and influence, which lends to palace intrigues.

            The pope, cardinals, bishops and other ecclesiastical dignitaries are, after all, human, susceptible to ambition and deceit, even in the name of the Lord.

            Consider first that 53 percent of the 117 cardinals who will elect a new pope in the conclave were appointed by Pope Benedict, according to the Catholic News Service.

            Second, Pope Benedict has taken the title of pope emeritus and will live in the Vatican, albeit in a convent within the walls of the Holy See.

            These two facts taken together could lead one to surmise that Benedict will have enormous influence in not only the selection of the new pope, but also in the new pope’s reign, which comes at a time of upheaval in the world and the church.

            Moreover, before becoming pope, Benedict was Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, who the late Pope John Paul II named as Prefect for the Scared Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. The office’s origins are steeped in the 16^th century Roman Inquisition.

In this position, Benedict served as a tenacious defender of the faith, reaffirming the church’s position on birth control, homosexuality and inter-faith dialogue, which clearly puts the church’s doctrine at odds with most American Catholics.

In his role, Benedict (Ratzinger) went after theologians who did not tow the line; he suspended Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff for his support of liberation theology, which interprets the teachings of Christ in relation to liberation from unjust economic, political and social conditions; he censured others.

As cardinal and as pope, Benedict has been accused of covering up the sex abuse scandal that has long plagued the priests and prelates of the church.

No doubt, there are forces in the church battling to steer its course in the 21^st century; those who want reforms for progress and openness and those, like Pope Benedict, who don’t believe change is necessary in the centuries-old church.

The reformers may be gaining the edge. In his final public audience, held earlier this week in St. Peter’s Square, the New York Times quoted Benedict saying he sometimes felt “the waters were agitated and the winds were blowing against” the church.

It could be the 85-year-old pope felt he is no longer strong enough to stand out front and wage the battle, but that he can, from the privacy of his secluded apartment in the Vatican, direct the next pope to fight on.

The election of the new pope and the course he (she?) sets for the church may tells us much.

The Lord works in mysterious ways.