Bob Burkett, Editor-in-Chief

In the midst of Bishop John D’Arcy’s death and Pope Benedict XVI’s announcement that he would step down, Notre Dame has experienced a whirlwind of changes within the hierarchy of the Church. Both were incredible spiritual leaders and have made a clear impact on Catholics both at home and around the world. As influential spiritual leaders, both possessed a number of leadership qualities which allowed them to affect positive change. Chief among these characteristics is the humility which forms the cornerstone of the servant leadership demanded of the Catholic hierarchy.

In Phillippians 2: 3-8 the nature of this humility as an essential imitation of Christ and servant leadership becomes clear. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!”

Indeed, this is a sentiment richly entrenched within the Catholic Church. Pope St. Gregory I was the first to take the title of “Servus Servorum Dei”—the Servant of the Servants of God. Under this title, the pope is no longer viewed simply as the ruler of the hierarchy or an official whose authority places him above others; rather, the image is turned upside down and the pope is also, in a way, subservient to the hierarchy, serving even the lowest among us. The great paradox of Catholicism, then, is that the leader and the servant are one and the same. This same paradox is visible in Jesus—the same Jesus who watched the feet of his Apostles during the Last Supper.

Pope Benedict XVI has embodied this ideal of humble servant leadership throughout the entirety of his life. Born to a Bavarian farming family in 1927, Joseph Ratzinger was raised from humble beginnings. His life was often difficult and he was compelled by the government to do things against his will, including being coerced into the Hitler Youth at age 14 and pulled from the Transtein seminary during World War II to serve as part of an anti-aircraft unit. Ratzinger humbled himself to the will of God by deserting his unit in 1945—a crime punishable by death—and was taken as a POW in an Allied internment camp. Six years later he was ordained a priest and developed into a renowned theologian in the late 1950s, eventually receiving a professorship in 1958.

During his time teaching at the university, Ratzinger noticed that Marxism and other anti-Catholic philosophies were pervasive throughout both the student and faculty populace. Ratzinger clung more tightly to his Catholic beliefs, subordinating his own intellect to the knowledge of the Church rather than being swept away by the prevailing notions of the time. After years of teaching—including becoming a dean and vice president at the University of Regensberg—Ratzinger was named Cardinal of Munich by Pope Paul VI in 1977. Four years later he was named Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) and moved to the Vatican a year later in 1982. Ratzinger defended many of the Tradition’s moral teachings that were criticized by the secular world, including Church teachings on birth control, homosexuality and interreligious dialogue.

During his time in the Vatican, he was known as a gentle and quiet intellectual and was often caught conversing with the shop owners who did business in the Vatican. He was also passionate about the piano and classical music, serving as a piano teacher at various times throughout his life and having a particular penchant for the music of Beethoven and Mozart. At no point during his elevation in the Church hierarchy did he take pride in the amount of power he wielded. One of the most telling signs of his humility was his request made to Pope John Paul II in 1997 to step down as Prefect of the CDF and instead work as an archivist. John Paul II denied his request, probably because of Ratzinger’s staunch adherence to Church teachings and his status as one of John Paul II’s closest confidants. Ratzinger had no intention of taking on more responsibilities, and even when he asked for a less influential role, he allowed the will of the Pope and the Church to dictate his position in the Church.

After the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005, Ratzinger hoped to retire from his position because of age-related health problems including impaired eyesight from a hemorrhagic stroke suffered in 1991. Yet he assumed the Papacy in 2005 upon his election. It was a difficult position to hold; the Church was under fire from the media because of the sexual abuse scandal. Additionally, he had to follow the reign of the second-longest reigning pope of all time, a pope of immense popularity. Other issues plagued the Church as well, including an increasingly secularized Europe, a rapidly expanding Islamic faith and the decline of believers and priests in the West.

In his 8 years in office—the average reign of a pope—Benedict XVI addressed all of these problems to the greatest extent that he could. In order to improve interreligious dialogue he became only the second Pope to visit an Islamic holy site when he visited the Blue Mosque in Istanbul and joined the Muslim clerics in silent prayer. He continued to serve as a bulldog for traditional Catholic positions on the celibate priesthood, abortion, euthanasia and gay marriage. In response to the abuse scandal, Pope Benedict XVI issued a formal apology in July 2008 to the world’s bishops assembled in Sydney. Additionally, he took the faults of the Church in addressing the sexual abuse claims upon himself and called for the abusers to face justice. He issued more apologies to the victims, clarified the policies surrounding the bishops’ mandatory reporting of abuse and made it easier to remove priests from office who had been accused of the abuses. In addition, Benedict XVI sought to address issues that had previously fallen to the wayside, including the defense of human rights, protection of the environment and the fight against poverty and disease.

When Pope Benedict XVI issued his formal resignation, it was because he felt he could no longer meet the demands placed upon the Pope because of his old age. It is not, as some suggest, because of the abuse scandals or other problems facing the Vatican or the Papacy. Since 1997, Pope Benedict has had a strong desire to write and to live a quieter life, in accord with his quieter nature. After a lifetime of servant leadership in highly demanding roles, this man of God has earned his retirement. We should all take note of his humility, striving to make ourselves  servant leaders in Christ.

Bob Burkett is a big ol’ bear. Contact him at rburkett@nd.edu.