Educating the masses

Magister's new look at the pontificate of Benedict XVI as it has progressed so far provides much insight into what's going on in Rome and the changes that are waiting to be made as the Vatican continues the transition from John Paul II to his successor. Rocco takes a good look at these different points over at Whispers in the Loggia and I don't need to rehash the excellent points he's made.

There is one section of Magister that I would like to examine in more detail, however.

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But for his part, Benedict XVI is captivating the crowds.

The same masses of the faithful that applauded the gestures or striking phrases of pope Karol Wojtyla, while almost completely missing what it was that he was talking about, are doing the opposite with the new pope. They follow Ratzinger's homilies word for word, from beginning to end, with an attentiveness that astonishes the experts. Verifying this takes nothing more than mingling among the crowds in attendance at a Mass celebrated by the pope.

The new pope's style is sober in terms of his contact with the masses. His symbolic expressiveness comes entirely from the liturgy, which he celebrates with a great sense of authority. But apart from the Masses, catecheses, and blessings, Benedict XVI is a minimalist. "The pope must not proclaim his own ideas, but rather constantly bind himself and the Church to obedience to God's Word," he said when taking possession of the Chair of the Bishop of Rome, in the Basilica of St. John Lateran, on May 7. And he keeps to this standard even in regard to public gestures. He does very little of his own. He wants the faithful to pay attention to what is essential, which is not his own person but Jesus Christ alive and present in the sacraments of the Church.
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Read the complete article The First Three Months of Benedict XVI: New Pope, New Style from www.chiesa.

I don't know how many of you are familiar with the book Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. It's about computer hackers who set up a secure data storage site as a commercial venture, but the venture morphs into something much bigger.

In the novel, one of the major characters is Enoch Root. Root is a former Catholic priest whose departure from the Church is never spelled out, but still works with the Church at the grassroots level. While he is in jail with the protagonist, he talks about how at one time, those in his profession were expected to deliver interesting and thoughtful theological and philosophical homilies every week (back when Oxford was still dedicated to educating the clergy).

While I'm sure Stephenson is exaggerating to some extent, I would find it most interesting if Benedict XVI were to lead Catholics into a new period taking the faith seriously not only as a 'faith', but as an intellectual subject that is worthy of study and understanding. The 'why' we believe what we believe can be just as important is the 'what' we believe.

This is not to say that what our priests are teaching us each Sunday in Mass is boring or not very stimulating. Far from it, learning about the Gospel is fundamental. But on issues that have divided and caused so much debate in society, it is as important to learn about the Church's reasoning behind its positions on stem cell research, abortion and marriage.

As the section above illustrates, the laity are probably far hungrier for such reasoning than they're given credit for by most everyone.