Word: vatican
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Although the modern papacy has its script, Pope John Paul II showed that moving the world means sometimes letting yourself be moved. Benedict's late decision to accept an invitation to the Blue Mosque meant Vatican aides and their Muslim hosts would need to work out in advance the basic details of the encounter. Several hours beforehand, word had spread that last Thursday's televised visit would include a moment for silent prayer or reflection. Still, when Istanbul's top cleric, Mustafa Cagrici, told the Pope it was time for a "moment of serenity," Benedict looked for an instant...
...watershed in a papacy that just two months earlier had nearly drowned in a speech critical of Islam. Benedict, long doubtful of different faiths praying together, got lost in the moment. Don't expect such papal adventures to happen often in the future, but as an old Italian Vatican hand put it last week: "Traveling changes people...
...Turkey trip will be hailed as a great success of Vatican diplomacy, and the Holy See's new Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, can take a chunk of the credit. The softer tones on Islam, the visit to the mosque, openly warm exchanges with Benedict's Orthodox counterpart, the Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I - and no major glitches - means the Pope returns to Rome with a new dose of what he sorely needed when he left: consensus. The Regensburg speech, and the risk it might incite violence, divided many Catholics - even those who may have instinctively agreed with...
...West debate. But how can he stay relevant? Most Church insiders agree that ultimately this Pope's greatest gift is his intellect rather than his showmanship. This means that his next big act on Islam will likely be with words rather than gestures. But no one in Vatican circles I've spoken with can imagine how he can pick back up where he left off in Regensburg, directly questioning the historical and philosophical foundations of Islam, without setting off another backlash. In Turkey, he repeatedly spoke about religious liberty, but made sure never to specifically cite Islam. The risk...
...chats with clerics might have actually helped him improve the speech - and shielded him from accusations of being anti-Islam. On the other hand, it's possible that he wouldn't have even visited the Blue Mosque if he hadn't had Regensburg damage to repair. Similarly, the Vatican seemed to momentarily reopen the celibacy question with an impromptu meeting of Cardinals last month, which was just as quickly closed by a public statement saying that the current policy stands. Now Hummes, the Brazilian Cardinal about to take over the Congregation for the Clergy, has reopened it again...