The Pope Is Coming!

"The Pope is coming, the Pope is coming!"

If all goes well, Pope Benedict XVI will touch down at Andrews Air Force Base on April 15, 2008. This is his first visit to the United States and he plans to meet with President Bush, conduct Masses in Washington and New York, visit Ground Zero, and address the United Nations General Assembly.

Whatever else one may think of Benedict, you have to give him credit for renovating his persona from his pre-papal days. As the German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he was known as the "enforcer," the one who ensured that papal doctrines were believed and obeyed. It has been said that around the Vatican people spoke of him in "hushed tones ... as 'God's rottweiler' and 'the Panzerkardinal.'"

No longer. Pope Benedict XVI hired a team of PR people who have worked to effect his transformation from an austere and rigid autocrat to an accessible, human and humane man of God. While not budging from traditional Catholic teachings on married priests, abortion, or the use of condoms, he has still managed to appear more pliable and accessible.

His papal aides have striven to expand the his influence so that his message will resonate with the faithful around the world. Thus, the Vatican newspaper has been updated and is now available online. There is a new emphasis on use of the media, the internet and satellite television to get the church's message to the public.

In addition, the papacy is taking the lead in establishing links to confront modern problems and controversies. Sometime this year, the Vatican will host a debate on Darwinism, evolution and intelligent design. In November, there is to be a summit on Catholic-Muslim relations.

All of this does not mean Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI has gone soft. While he's in the United States, he is expected to let Catholic leaders and officials exactly where he has set the parameters of Catholic faith and practice. He plans to tell those involved in Catholic education that he expects them to stifle "unorthodox" campus groups that favor abortion, or "planned parenthood," or embryonic stem-cell research.

In other words, nothing has changed but the facade. We are now in the 8th year of the 21st century, and old, celibate men wearing dresses and funny hats are still attaching to themselves power and authority in order to maintain control of an increasingly restive and rebellious church.

For most of us, it matters not that Benedict is "kinder and gentler." He may smile more and speak with a softer voice, but he remains, at heart, Joseph "the enforcer" Ratzinger.