Many people seem to believe that Lefebvre was right and that then Cardinal Ratzinger was a supporter of his.
But let’s look at the facts. Cardinal Ratzinger was the Prefect for the Sacred Congregation on the Faith, formerly the Inquisition.
During his tenure at this post his allegiance was always to Pope John Paul II, not to Lefebvre. During many of his speeches he declares his profound love and admiration for John Paul’s holiness, not Lefebvre’s.
While there may have been disagreements between John Paul II and Ratzinger, he never disobeyed. He executed John Paul’s wishes with humble obedience.
He submitted his resignation to John Paul, because he wanted to go home to Germany and write theology. John Paul declined to accept the resignation. If there had truly been fundamental disagreements between the two men or any kind of conflict, the resignation would have been an opportunity to rid himself of Ratzinger and bring in someone more to his liking. Obviously, there was no such conflict between them. The opposite seems truer; there was a great deal of affection and respect between the two men.
Ratzinger is not an idiot. His job was to protect the faith. There is no recorded or rumoured disagreement between him and the reigning pope.
It may be true that Ratzinger may have been sympathetic to the preservation of certain traditions, such as the Tridentine mass, but he was also dedicated to the preservation of a more important tradition, the Primacy of Peter.
Given his rank and power in the Vatican, Ratzinger had the necessary cards in his hands to proclaim that the Pope was a heretic and that the Chair of Peter was vacant. He did not play those cards.
Was he being cowardly or maybe he did not see the Pope as a heretic at all, but simply someone who had his own style of leading the Church. He was wise enough to recognize that a difference in styles is not a reason for disobedience or infidelity to the person who sits in Peter’s Chair.
To those who see Benedict XVI as Lefebvre’s vindicator, I suggest that you look at his track record when it comes to his loyalty to John Paul II. Let’s not forget the current state of affairs that Cardinal Ratzinger, at the Pope’s funeral eulogized him as The Great John Paul.
This is how Benedict XVI remembers John Paul II and wishes all Catholics to remember him. These are his own words from his sermon at the Pope’s funeral.
**[John Paul II] really went everywhere, untiringly, in order to bear fruit, fruit that lasts
The Holy Father was a priest to the last, for he offered his life to God for his flock and for the entire human family
The love of Christ was the dominant force in the life of our beloved Holy Father
We can be sure that our beloved Pope is standing today at the window of the Father’s house, that he sees us and blesses us **
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4425207.stm
Either Benedict XVI played the game well, which makes him a deceptive person or he saw a holiness in John Paul that some people here seem to bypass. I believe that he saw holiness in this great man and saw him as a great Pope. That’s why he stayed around. More than can be said for Lefebvre. We’re only judging Lefebvre’s actions, not his soul. That’s up to God.
JR
