Why Pope Benedict is the Man for the Job

Now that Pope Benedict XVI is officially ensconced as the world's most important religious leader, and he has not come out of his Papal apartments breathing fire as some commentators had suggested he might, it is worth revisiting some of the arguments against his papacy.

Although they differed in factual information, the central line of reasoning against Benedict went something like this. Modern society is moving in a liberal direction, and the Catholic Church, by holding to conservative positions on birth control, celibate priests, gay marriage, etc, is not only stifling its own adherents but dooming itself to irrelevance in the larger world.

As the volume grew louder, particularly on the left, Pope Benedict, then Cardinal Ratzinger, exhibited no signs of bending and instead decried the "dictatorship of moral relativism," that gave us the modern day left in the first place.

It would seem that Benedict and his liberal adversaries are in for a permanent state of confrontation, but missing from the exchange is any challenge to the assumption that modern society is turning liberal.

Evidence would suggest a conservative tide. Public officials, including the president, the former attorney general, the secretary of state, as well as several governors and members of Congress, have all publicly declared a conservative religiosity.

American consumers have made superstars out of openly religious artists like John Grisham and Randy Travis, while turning books like The Prayer of Jabez, the Left Behind series, and the Purpose Driven Life, all based on conservative religious principles, into best sellers.

R-rated movies often receive critical acclaim but little commercial success, with the notable exception of the Passion of the Christ.

Finally, without exception, religious sociologists tell us that churches tend to grow if they preach conservative beliefs and decline as they become more liberal.

None of this proves a conservative wave in America, but it does raise questions about whether the tide of liberalism can simply be assumed.

Liberalism certainly has its corridors of power, most obviously in academia, some branches of government, a few media outlets, and the artistic community, but this is an argument for Benedict to be more conservative not less.

If the church is to stay true to its mission, it must be an agent of change in the culture rather than a passive follower of the latest trends. To do otherwise relegates the church to the role of a country club or community center.

The message of the church has not always been conservative. During the Civil Rights era, it was decidedly liberal as it spoke out against a conservative establishment that sought to suppress women and minorities.

But whether conservative or liberal, the church owes a sacred duty to the culture to speak the truth both when it is convenient and when it is unpopular.

As the leader of the Catholic Church, and the world's leading moral spokesperson, Pope Benedict XVI has a challenge to do no less.