"I was once a staunch Protestant with strong anti-Catholic convictions...
One day while rummaging through a shelf of theology books in a used bookstore, I picked up Introduction to Chritianity by somebody named Joseph Ratzinger. Quite honestly, I never heard of him before. (My evangelical seminary professors paid scant attention to Catholic theologians and then only to the more maverick figures like Hans Kung and Edward Schillebeeckx. Back then I preferred it that way.) I noticed the publisher was Seabury, which markets mostly Protestant titles (Ignatius Press now carries the book), and it was translated from the German; so I figured Ratzinger was probably Lutheran or Reformed. It never occurred to me that he might be Catholic.
Whatever his denomination, I knew after reading the first few chapters that Ratzinger wrote clearly about some of the most profound but neglected truths of Christianity...
I seized the opportunities [to talk to Dr. Andrew Hoff, a Grove City College Professor and friend with whom he often lunched], fearing only that he might pick up on how Catholic-sounding more and more of my findings were--a fact I tried to hide from myself.
One day I brought Introduction to Christianity to lunch and read some sections to Andy. We started to discuss it. "Andy, don't you think he overturns the shallow individualism of modern theologians who confuse the God of faith with the God of philosophy? I mean, he shows how faith comes to us through the Church so believers share solidarity as members of God's family through Christ's divine sonship! Isn't that what 'covenant' really means?"
[Hoff:] ... "What's that author's name again?"
[Hahn:] "Joseph Ratzinger."
[Hoff:] "Never heard of him."
[Hahn:] "Neither have I. He's German, but I don't know if he's Lutheran or Reformed."
A few days later I walked into Andy's office for lunch. He gave me a rather suspicious look and handed me a copy of Time magazine. "Turn to the Religion Section."
So I did just that. There was a picture of a silver-haired man wearing the red hat of a Catholic cardinal. Underneath, the caption identified him as "Cardinal Ratzinger, the New Inquisitor".
[Hoff:] "What did you say that author's name was?"
I felt my throat constrict. "It may have been Ratzinger. Yeah, that's right, Joseph Ratzinger--but not Cardinal Ratzinger. This guy's a high-ranking Vatican official in the Roman Church. It can't be the same Ratzinger."
[Hoff:] "Check and see."
Later I went back to my office to check. Just as I feared, the two were one and the same. I never did get around to telling Andy, and fortunately he never asked.
So, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, a man Time described as 'ultraconservative' and 'reactionary' was now the Prefect of Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. I put the book aside.
Within a matter of days, I ran across Ratzinger's name in two other titles that I picked up in another used bookstore. The first book, Faith: Conversationss with Contemporary Theologians, was edited by Teofilo Cabestrero, a Spanish priest-journalist on assignment in Paraguay. A compilation of interviews with some of the most influential figures in contemporary theology, it was published by Orbis Books, which I knew to be the main North American purveyor of Liberation Theology. The title page listed controversial names like Hans Kung, Edward Schillebeeckx, Karl Rahner, Gustavo Gutierrez, Juan Luis Segundo--and Joseph Ratzinger?
What was Joseph Ratzinger's name doing on that list? After all, there were no other 'ultraconservative' types featured, much less the Grand Inquisitor himself! Then I noticed that the book was published in 1980, shortly before Ratzinger was appointed Prefect. How would the book portray Ratzinger before his rise to inquisitorial power?
Here are the words of Cabestrero to introduce Ratzinger:
They say that Joseph Ratzinger's reputation as a theologian has risen a great deal in this postconciliar period because of his moderation. For that very reason, they say, Ratzinger is one of the theologians most trusted by even the most centrist bishops in CELAM (Episcopal Council of Latin America). They also say that his 'balance' earned him his rapid rise to the arbishopric of Munich and to the cardinalate--very significant promotions at the end of the papacy of Paul VI. I know his name has become well known in the last few years. I know about the spread influence of his writings and the expansion of his teaching. But I don't know whether, in all the talk about his moderation, the truth has been clearly spoken. ... I know only that his answers in our conversation, without being exactly outspoken, seemed to me of a tone that I would not dare to describe as 'moderate', because of its realism and openness. Alert in mind and word, this man shows a great mastery of current philosophy and of history, and he knows today's problems well. I did notice an extreme moderation in his voice, in his gestures, in his face, and in his own manner, so much so that I could not avoid the contrasting image of Rahner. Certainly Ratzinger did not seem to me to be German, because even the harsh German language was soft on his lips (147-48). [CTR note: Quote reproduced exactly as Hahn wrote it.]Ultraconservative Inquisitor, Time magazine? Ratzinger was back on my "safe" list.
Scott Hahn, "Forward" to The Meaning of Christian Brotherhood (San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 1993), ix-xii.
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