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Benedict challenged to open global doors of Church

-20/04/05

Pope Benedict XVI, who this morning will celebrate his first Mass as Pontiff at St Peter’s, has been told by a leading Catholic thinker he once suppressed that he should throw open the doors of the Church to an expectant world.

Dr Lavinia Byrne, who was hounded by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (formerly the Inquisition) when it was headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, yesterdayís choice to succeed John Paul II, was speaking on BBC Radio 4.

So far ìthe church has promoted a one-size fits all kind of globalizationî said Dr Byrne, whose book Women At the Altar caused Papal anger by seeking to demonstrate how the leadership of women would benefit the Catholic church and segue with a faithful interpretation of its tradition.

How the Church negotiates its new role in a rapidly changing world order is seen as the key issue for its future.

Dr Byrne decided to leave her religious order, the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM), following her ordeal. But she has remained an active Catholic thinker and writer.

She said today that Pope Benedict XVI is a highly intelligent man who is still capable of renewing ìthe engine room of the Churchî if he chooses to.

The former Cardinal Ratzinger is seen as the ringleader of conservatives within the Catholic Church, but seasoned Vatican watchers are saying that it is always perilous to predict how things will work out with new popes.

Pope John Paul II was hailed as a reformer early in his tenure, not least in ecumenical affairs with his historic visit to Britain in 1982. But he ended up clamping down on progressive bishops and Cardinals.

Ratzinger has been seen as a key figure in that shift. Though a reformer at the Second Vatican Council in the early 1960s, he was horrified by the student revolts of 1968 and by what he saw as steps too far in the direction of liberalisation inside as well as outside the Church.

Dr Byrne said it was significant that commentators described the moment of his appearance on the balcony at St Peterís last night as a ìflinging open of the doorsî.

She indicated that this would indeed be the hope and prayer of millions of Catholics, in spite of the new Pontiffís reputation and track record.

Acknowledging that she has been treated badly in her brush with the former German Cardinalís authority as head of the Sacred Congregation, Dr Byrne praised the late Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, Basil Hume, who quietly supported her through the turmoil.

The new Pope has chosen the name Benedict XVI partly in honour of Pope Benedict XV (1914-1922), who settled the Church after a period of reaction.

It is not known whether the former controversial Cardinal made this choice to indicate an intention to follow suit, or to model a different kind of papal succession.