Although unity, peace, and love have been key words of Benedict’s papacy, his actions or inactions are at odds with that rhetoric.

Pope Benedict: The First Year
By Matthias Beier

In early March 2006, Pope Benedict XVI puzzled the world by quietly dropping one of his nine titles, “Patriarch of the West,” held by popes since 642. Dropping the patriarch-title, traditionally reserved for Eastern Christian leaders, was meant to “be helpful for ecumenical dialogue,” explained the Pope, whose “primary commitment” is unity with all Christian churches. But the gesture is more ambiguous than that. It also reasserts the Pope’s claim to authority over the entire church, East and West. The true test for Benedict’s openness to genuine ecumenical dialogue depends on whether he is willing to put the most valuable of his eight remaining titles on the table: Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church — something he is least likely to do.

Benedict XVI’s first year record is mixed. Although unity, peace, and love have been key words of his papacy, his actions or inactions are at times at odds with such rhetoric. While his fashionable wardrobe has received much attention — flashy redshoes by Prada, hip sunglasses by Gucci, elaborately imperial gowns by Gamarelli, and, most recently, a stylish white 2GB iPod Nano — the jury is still out on how open-minded the former top guardian of the Church’s tradition really is. The central question for assessing Benedict’s first year may well be whether his obvious changes in style from rigid moral watchdog to diplomatic, meeting-happy uberfather are more than merely a Pope’s new clothes.

Has Benedict XVI truly had a change of heart? Or do these superficial changes in style conceal the same absolutistic claims to truth and power which guided him throughout his tenure as the Church’s top watchdog? To explore that question, let us look at four areas that the Pope himself has highlighted: issues of peace and justice; inter-religious dialogue; moral values and the fight for Europe; and carrot-and-stick power struggles within the Church.

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