Two days ago, The Register-Guard featured a front-page story titled “Pope stands back from political edge” by The Associated Press. The article, one of many such worldwide news articles, went on to detail the reasons why Pope Benedict XVI represents a reasonable, non-politically charged choice to fill the shoes of Pope John Paul II. The basis for this “lack of political edge” includes Benedict’s warmth toward Rome’s Jewish community and his announcement that “my thoughts go out to all men and women, … to believers and nonbelievers alike.”
Unfortunately, the gap between what the pope says and what the pope does is wide. Although he recently issued what has been termed a
“special greeting” to people of faiths other than Catholicism, Benedict’s 2000 Vatican document indicated that only Catholics could achieve salvation. And while he mentioned the Jewish faith, Muslims were ignored during the pope’s “special greeting.” His comments on Monday, which barely felt like an acknowledgment of Muslims, were sadly taken as a broad gesture of reaching out to the faith.
In terms of social politics, it is interesting that Benedict should be painted as standing back from a political edge, when last year Benedict spoke out against giving communion to pro-abortion politicians. Just last week, Benedict criticized the Spanish government’s decision to endorse gay marriage, as well as a bill that would allow gay couples to adopt children.
Benedict has taken a hard-lined stance against women in the Vatican and remains in favor of a ban on birth control. The new pope has even denied the reality of ongoing sexual-abuse issues, calling the scandal a U.S. plot to degrade the Catholic faith.
More unnerving is Benedict’s involvement, as a young man, in the Hitler Youth movement during World War II. Although Benedict has publicly repented that decision, noting that membership was practically demanded by young men at that time and place, this facet of the pope’s past still produces discomfort for many, and rightly so. Keeping up healthy, inter-faith relationships is an important job of any religious leader; it certainly seems anachronistic that Pope Benedict XVI should be working on such relationships considering his former position as a member of a hate organization.
By saying Benedict is standing back from the political edge, supporters of the new pope apparently mean he is not bringing any novel politics to the Vatican. As long as at least some of the
political leaders in this country look to Benedict as their personal leader, it is wise to assume that Benedict’s views on religion, minorities and science will at some level be mirrored in the homeland politics.
Pope Benedict XVI is not standing back from the political edge. Even at the ripe old age of 78, he is jumping into the pool of politics at full force.

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