Bishop McManus talks about Pope Benedict

Interview by Raymond L. Delisle
Director Office of Communications

What were your impressions of Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI?

The first time I had ever heard of him was when I was a philosophy student at The Catholic University of America and then when studying theology at the Toronto School of Theology. I remember my classmates used to kid me; if I came across an article of his I would say to them, “You’ve got to read this!” and they would just sort of roll their eyes at me. You would read him and it was like hearing a spiritual conference. I would put the text down and just think about it for a while. I would later describe the late pope as “a man who is doing theology on his knees.” As a young seminarian, I had this fascination with him.
In October of 1988, as a young priest, I was asked to give a short paper response entitled, New Life in Christ: The Foundation of Pauline Ethics in his Letters. This was a response to a major address given by Cardinal Ratzinger on moral theology in the life of the Church. You can imagine the fear and trepidation. “What do I know?” I rhetorically asked myself, sitting there at the feet of the master. He listened to us as if we were saying something really important.
Another similar experience was at the end of the Ad Limina visit in Rome. Because I was chair of the USCCB Committee on Catholic Education, Cardinal O’Malley asked me to give a little précis on what was happening in Catholic education in the United States to the Holy Father. It was one of those “father and son” experiences where I’m speaking to him and he is listening intently to what I had to say while showing great respect and concern.


How did Pope Benedict influence your priesthood and particularly your episcopacy?

The moment of grace for the Church, I believe, was the time that Cardinal Ratzinger was Dean of the College of Cardinals and was designated as the celebrant of Pope John Paul II’s funeral Mass. During his famous homily, he coined the phrase “the dictatorship of relativism.” To understand Father Ratzinger, Bishop Ratzinger, Cardinal Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI is to understand the motto he took when he became the Archbishop of Munich and Freising: Cooperatores Veritatis  – Cooperators of the Truth. This motto seems to me to have shaped his whole spiritual, theological, and ecclesial world view. The Church exists to evangelize, as Pope Paul VI states. And, how do we evangelize? We present Christ who is the Truth Incarnate, who revealed himself to be “the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” and we invite people to fall in love with this person who is the truth and then live our lives accordingly. That is why when I became a bishop and I had to choose an episcopal motto, the first thing that came to me was Pope John Paul II’s masterful encyclical Veritatis Splendor on moral theology, which of course was influenced by Cardinal Ratzinger. With this in mind I chose my motto to be: Christus Veritatis Splendor - Christ the Splendor of Truth.


In your opinion, what were Pope Benedict’s thoughts about the Second Vatican Council?

Pope Benedict was unwaveringly supportive of the Council as an act of the Holy Spirit – but he was constructively critical of factions who were trying to implement it in their own frame of reference and were not being true to the Council itself with respect for the Truths of the faith. It would be naive to say that the implementation was without flaws but in addition, we were in the throes of a cultural revolution. It is clear that all three of his encyclicals were optimistic in rescuing the culture from itself. There was something different about his theology. It was not a merely theoretical exercise; it was evident that it was profoundly deep Catholicism. He was a brilliant theologian who had unshakable faith that imbued both his head and his heart. This I believe to be the greatest compliment for any priest or theologian.

How do you think society will remember him?

Some areas of the media will present him as a man who did not do enough for the abuse crisis, but that is absolutely not true. At his direction, he ordered that cases must be reported to Rome and must be addressed head on, allowing for a more efficient and honest way to hold people accountable. The historical facts tell the truth.
Those of reasonable judgment will see a man, a brilliant theologian, called to do something he never imagined himself doing. They will say he was heroic in taking on a burden that was almost impossible to bear.
How would you ultimately describe him and want him to be remembered?

I would like him to be remembered as a theologian, a pastor, and a pope who adhered completely to the preaching of the truth of the Gospel no matter the consequences. He was desperately concerned about the unity of the Church and he was convinced that if the truth of the Gospel, the truth of revelation, the truth of great Catholic tradition was not preserved, promoted, and kept intact then the Church would be attacked.
The work Cardinal Ratzinger did on revealed truth was similar to the great mantra of the Second Vatican Council, that is to be attentive to the “sign of the times.” Cardinal Ratzinger always held this motto as true because the Church is a reality in history. It is Divine Revelation that becomes the context of properly understanding the signs of the times, and not the other way around. He has taught us that in this day and age, being heroic is being humble and carrying out the mission of the Church.
Cardinal Ratzinger was a man who wanted to retire to finish his academic work, not to become a pope. He accepted what was thrust upon him with humility. And when he found himself no longer capable of carrying out that mission, it was heroic humility which prompted him to a life of prayer and penance on behalf of the church.