The making of a papacy: Pope Benedict XVI charts a conservative course in his first 100 days.

July 27 marked the 100th day of the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI. As with any transition of power, the first one hundred days are a crucial indicator and opportunity to establish the values and priorities of a new administration. Clear challenges lay before both the Roman Catholic church and the new pontiff as he succeeded John Paul II, yet a careful analysis of the actions and statements of Benedict XVI indicate that there remains much work to be done and there seems to be little will to do it.

Since 19 April 2005, Benedict XVI has:

* Made 117 individual appointments (1)

* Released more than 90 prayers, letters and speeches

* Published a book

* Participated in 150 formal meetings

* Granted just one formal meeting to a woman (2), and he has not individually appointed a woman. (3)

* Not met with a single survivor of clergy sexual abuse to discuss the crisis.

* Not addressed women's ordination, the church's ban on condoms or the shortage of priests.

On 19 April 2005, Cardinal Josef Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI. Upon his election, Benedict XVI inherited a church divided. One of the enduring legacies of the long reign of Pope John Paul II is the tension within the church between men and women, the global north and global south, conservatives and liberals, gay and straight.

After affirming his commitment to Vatican II on the second day of his papacy and during his first mass as pope, Benedict XVI promised on Sunday, 24 April (Day 6), "My real program of governance is not to do my own will, not to pursue my own ideas, but to listen, together with the whole church." By immediately establishing a tone of openness, he gave what could be perceived as a nod to Catholics alarmed by the election of the former "doctrinal watchdog." His pledge suggested a possibility, however optimistic, that he would use his papacy to foster an environment that welcomed Catholics who have been estranged. That he might heal a church battered and bruised by an internationally pervasive sex abuse scandal. That he would address the HIV/AIDS pandemic with courage, compassion and justice. That he might reinvigorate a priesthood of dwindling numbers. Catholics and non-Catholics around the world prepared themselves to wait and watch.

From the moment Cardinal Ratzinger was elected pope, Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC) closely monitored the actions and statements of the new pontiff, his emissaries, the Vatican and the Holy See. Through a website called www.Pope-Watch.org, CFFC reported on the quotidian activities of the new pope.

The past one hundred days reveals profound differences in the worldviews and values that divide many of the laity from the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic church.

As part of its First 100 Days Campaign, CFFC issued critical and easy recommendations that Benedict XVI could and should have done in his first one hundred days:

* Meet with survivors of clergy sex abuse, listen and apologize.

* Promote a culture of life by lifting the ban on condoms to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS.

* Open top curial positions to women and appoint qualified women to 25% of senior positions within the Vatican.

* Reassign 25% of long-term curial officials to parish work or direct social services.

* Integrate currently married priests into official ministries and move towards optional celibacy for all priests and religious.

* Promote intellectual and theological freedom throughout the church, especially in universities and health care institutions.

* Clarify the right of all Catholics, including divorced and remarried Catholics and policy makers, to examine their consciences and determine for themselves their suitability to receive the Eucharist.

* Celebrate the Eucharist with those whom the church has hurt, including married priests and advocates for women's ordination, nuns and young people abused by clergy, theologians who have been silenced by the church and people living with HIV and AIDS.

A full list of the recommendations, as well as daily reports of the activities of the Vatican and its attendant agencies, can be found at www.PopeWatch.org.

None of the recommendations of the First 100 Days Campaign required theological change on the part of the Roman Catholic church. Each of these actions could have been done immediately, and they still should be done for the integrity of the church. These things remain undone not because of doctrinal restriction, but because the Vatican has chosen not to act. While no one expected that every issue could be addressed--nor every problem solved--during that time, there were specific steps that Benedict XVI had the opportunity to take to set a tone for the future of his papacy, to heal fractures within the church and to redress wrongs done under the name of the Vatican.

It is useful to assess the progress of the Vatican on key issues facing the church to understand the impact that Benedict XVI intends to make during his tenure.

The Clergy Sex Abuse Scandal

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE FIRST 100 DAYS CAMPAIGN

Pope Benedict XVI can and should immediately meet with survivors of clergy sexual abuse, listen and apologize.

As one of his first acts as pope, Benedict XVI should appoint a commission to investigate the clergy sexual abuse scandal:

* Benedict XVI should meet with an international group of survivors who have been abused by Catholic clergy.

* Survivors should be granted a public apology and a reconciliation mass in St. Peter's Square.

* The Holy See must cooperate with local civil authorities investigating abuse.

* The Holy See should renounce the use of diplomatic immunity in sex abuse cases.

* The Vatican and its agencies should fully comply with the UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child.

* The Vatican telecommunications office should schedule a televised series of encounters between bishops and victims.

* Clerics who have abused children and nuns should be denied further access to youth and nuns.

* A publicly accessible database of proven child-abusing clergy and religious should be created and maintained.

* The Vatican should make reparations to victims of clergy sex abuse.

WHAT POPE BENEDICT XVI HAS DONE

The Holy See is accountable to the world community. It is responsible for the sexual abuse and abuse of power by its representatives, employees and leaders. Yet despite the vast and pervasive accounts from around the world of sexual abuse by priests of children, teens and nuns during the last papacy, Pope John Paul II did not meet with a single victim of clerical sexual abuse.

While CFFC proposed a series of steps to investigate clergy sex abuse and implement reforms to protect children, teens and nuns, Benedict XVI has taken the following steps that can only be interpreted as a dismissal of the severity and importance of this issue.

Days 12 & 19: Benedict XVI's first meeting with an American cardinal, followed shortly with a personal visit, was with none other than Bernard Francis Law, archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major. Law once presided over the crisis in Boston, Mass., where it was revealed that he had known about and participated in cover-ups of clergy sex abuse for decades.

Day 25 On 13 May, Benedict XVI delivered another slap to survivors by appointing San Francisco Archbishop William Levada as his successor as guardian of church doctrine. Levada shielded a pedophile in the Diocese of Portland, Ore., for approximately nine years, which helped lead to the bankruptcy of the diocese and earned the wrath of survivor groups for his actions on the Vatican's commission to revise the US bishops' sex abuse norms. He has been criticized by the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) for failing to remove priests accused of sexual abuse from active ministry and for keeping documents about those priests secret.

Day 32: The Houston Chronicle reported that on 20 May, Vatican officials contacted the US State Department seeking immunity for Pope Benedict XVI as a head of a foreign state in a sex abuse lawsuit filed in Houston, Texas. The lawsuit, filed by three anonymous victims, accused the pope, then Cardinal Ratzinger, of participating in a cover-up conspiracy.

Day 35: On 23 May, a spokesman for the Vatican informed reporters that the Vatican would not investigate allegations of abuse against the Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, who stands accused of molestation and sexual abuse by nine former seminarians. While this came from the Secretary of State's office rather than the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), the usual investigative body of sex abuse allegations, the CDF declined to comment.

In the first one hundred days of his papacy, Benedict XVI has made no overtures to survivors of sexual abuse to seek forgiveness, nor has he implemented any reforms that would protect children, teens, nuns and other vulnerable persons from predatory clergy and religious. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has still failed to issue a statement regarding its intentions toward Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado.

The Ban on Condoms to Prevent HIV/AIDS

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE FIRST 100 DAYS CAMPAIGN

Pope Benedict XVI can and should promote a culture of life by lifting the ban on condoms to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS.

Benedict XVI should immediately initiate an inquiry into the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. However, people with and at risk of HIV/AIDS should not need to wait for the results of the commission to be able to protect themselves. The ban must be lifted, and officials of the church must be instructed to stop spreading misinformation about condoms.

WHAT POPE BENEDICT XVI HAS DONE

During the papacy of Pope John Paul II, a Vatican official made inaccurate and irresponsible claims that condoms do not prevent HIV transmission. Bishops in AIDS-ravaged Africa staged condom burnings. Clerics who came forward with progressive and compassionate positions on condom use to prevent the spread of the pandemic were silenced or marginalized.

Instead of embracing condoms as a means to promote a culture of life by stemming the spread of HIV/AIDS, Benedict XVI has reaffirmed the hierarchy's opposition to the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Day 53: At the conclusion of a 10 June ad limina visit of bishops from South Africa, Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia and Lesotho, Benedict XVI described abstinence as the only "fail safe" method accepted by the church. He also asserted that "divorce, abortion, prostitution, human trafficking and a contraceptive mentality" threaten the "fabric of African life," and "contribute to a breakdown in sexual morality."

As of the 91st day of his papacy, Benedict XVI has given no sign that he will provide clear direction to the Catholic hierarchy to tell the truth about condoms' efficacy. Instead, he appears committed to the status quo, despite its grave toll.

Women in the Church

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE FIRST 100 DAYS CAMPAIGN

Pope Benedict XVI can and should open top curial positions to women and appoint qualified women to 25% of senior positions within the Vatican.

Benedict XVI should establish a Pontifical Academy on Women's Rights in the church:

* The pope should open top curial positions to women.

* A registry of qualified women candidates for eligible positions should be created and used when filling posts.

* Women should be appointed to at least 25% of senior posts at the Vatican.

* The pope, in conjunction with the Academy, should convene a forum on women in the church for the College of Cardinals to better understand the lived experiences of Catholic women.

WHAT POPE BENEDICT XVI HAS DONE

In the first one hundred days of his papacy, Benedict XVI has made more than 117 appointments. No women have been personally appointed by the pope, and he has engaged in only one serious, dedicated meeting with a woman: the President of the Republic of Latvia, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, on 30 June 2005 (Day 73).

Not only has the pope failed to open additional curial posts for women, but he has neglected to grant women opportunities that exist, choosing instead to reinstall John Paul II's team and promote those who have demonstrated loyalty to the pope.

Day 30: Bishop Maximilian Aichern OSB of the Diocese of Linz, resigned under Canon 401, para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law, which reads, "[section]2 A diocesan Bishop who, because of illness or some other grave reason, has become unsuited for the fulfillment of his office, is earnestly requested to offer his resignation from office." It was reported that he has committed "liturgical abuses," such as encouraging women to wear liturgical vestments and lead ceremonies and that the bishop was part of a conference of theologians who discussed the possibility of giving women a "temporary assignment" to act as priests.

Day 59: The closing of the Regina Mundi Pontifical Institute, the only pontifical university for women, delivered a blow to women's theological study and the advancement of women within the church. Regina Mundi trained religious and lay women for fifty years.

School directors cited a decline in enrollment and financial difficulty as factors influencing the decision.

In his first one hundred days, Benedict XVI has not demonstrated much interest in women, their roles in the Vatican or the institutional church, or their experiences as Catholics. It took 73 days for the pope to actually have a planned meeting with a woman, while all other encounters have been in passing or relegated to other staff.

Curial Officials

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE FIRST 100 DAYS CAMPAIGN

Pope Benedict XVI can and should reassign 25% of long-term curial officials to parish work or direct social services.

In order to ensure that the Vatican and its attendant offices remain in touch with the lived experiences of Catholics from around the world, the pope should reassign long-term curial officials to the ministry and social services in regions where prelates are needed most.

WHAT POPE BENEDICT XVI HAS DONE

While the First 100 Days Campaign suggested reassigning 25 percent of long-term curial officials to parish work or direct social services, instead Benedict XVI reappointed or promoted all those who served under John Paul II "donec aliter provideatur" (until otherwise provided) as one of his first acts as pope. Many of these officials have served in administrative capacity for a long period of time with little or no interaction with the Catholic people who are most affected by the decisions they make. This has enormous ramifications on policies ranging from my prevention to contraception to annulment.

A Married Priesthood

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE FIRST 100 DAYS CAMPAIGN

Pope Benedict XVI can and should integrate currently married priests into official ministries and move towards optional celibacy for all priests and religious.

* Benedict XVI should instruct the bishops to restore already married priests to official ministries.

* Pension rights should be immediately restored to married priests.

* A group should be convened to analyze the implementation of an optional celibacy policy for all priests and religious.

WHAT POPE BENEDICT XVI HAS DONE

Under Pope John Paul II, married priests were denied both dispensation from their vows and the right to minister. According to CORVUS, a US-based association for an inclusive priesthood, close to 50 percent of parishes worldwide are without a resident priest. Additionally, as churches across the United States are closing, more priests are covering multiple parishes.

At the same time, more than 14,000 married deacons and 30,000 married women and men serve as lay ministers in Catholic parishes and institutions.

Day 68: During a meeting with the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands on June 25, Benedict XVI told the bishops that among their duties to bolster the priesthood is "to ensure careful selection of candidates ... and to provide regular program of ongoing formation so necessary for deepening priestly and religious identity and enriching joyful commitment to celibacy." It would appear at the end of his first one hundred days as pope that Benedict XVI is not willing to consider the church's current position on celibacy in the priesthood, nor does it seem to be a priority to bolster the ministry.

Intellectual Freedom

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE FIRST 100 DAYS CAMPAIGN

Pope Benedict XVI can and should promote intellectual and theological freedom throughout the church, especially in universities and health care institutions.

Benedict XVI should reestablish positive relations with liberal theologians, progressives and bishops punished for exercising intellectual freedom.

* Benedict XVI should move forward on the canonization of Archbishop Oscar Romero.

* Benedict XVI should meet with Sister Yvonne Gebara of Brazil, a leading ecofeminist theologian who was penalized by John Paul II for her views on women.

* Benedict XVI should grant amnesty to all theologians stripped of honors and jobs for their challenge to the former papacy.

* Catholic writers and professors, including Hans Kung, Charles Curran and Edward Schillebeeckx, should have their teaching authority restored and be reinstated to their former positions.

WHAT POPE BENEDICT XVI HAS DONE

As head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), Cardinal Josef Ratzinger was known for his enforcement of ultra orthodox positions within the church. Under his stewardship, the CDF became best known for silencing or excommunicating theologians, pressuring religious orders to suspend those out of line, banning books, rewriting liturgical translations and limiting the power of the bishops.

Day 18: Within the first month of Benedict XVI's reign, Jesuit Rev. Thomas J. Reese resigned his editorship of America magazine, reportedly under orders from the Vatican. According to the New York Times, "The order to dismiss the editor ... was issued by the Vatican's office of doctrinal enforcement--the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith--in mid-March when that office was still headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger." The reason, credited by the Times to "several Catholic officials in the United States," was "because he had published articles critical of church positions."

Day 19: As he was officially inaugurated as Bishop of Rome, Benedict XVI reiterated his commitment to orthodoxy in the church. In his first homily as pope, Benedict XVI rebuked theologians: "The Church does not present anything different or new next to Christ; there is no pneumatic revelation next to that of Christ, as some believe, there is no second level of revelation."

Day 72: Before 7,000 guests at a "Party for the Pope" at the Vatican on 29 June, Benedict XVI exhorted those in attendance to adhere to his teachings, stressing the importance of praying for the pope and acting in unity with him.

With his emphasis on unity and a single vision or interpretation of gospel, Benedict XVI has exacerbated the sense that intellectual freedom is being severely circumscribed by the church. While the Reese ouster may have been put in motion long before Benedict XVI became pope, by allowing it to occur, the Vatican has revealed an enormous weakness. According to a 20 May editorial by the National Catholic Reporter, "This was not an act to defend truth, for truth was never in danger in the pages of America. This was an act fearful that the truth cannot withstand the challenges that come its way. It's a debilitating fear for a church to exhibit."

The Eucharist

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE FIRST 100 DAYS CAMPAIGN

Pope Benedict XVI can and should clarify the rights of all Catholics, including divorced and remarried Catholics and policy makers, to examine their consciences and determine for themselves their suitability to receive the Eucharist.

The pope should make clear that participation in the sacramental life of the church is the right of all Catholics.

* Benedict XVI should instruct the bishops that there is no basis in modern church law or theology for denying communion to policy makers who support the right of individuals to choose abortion.

* Benedict XVI should instruct the bishops that canon law does not allow for a sweeping prohibition of the reception of communion.

* While a bishop or the pope has the authority to restrict the rights of and take punitive action against individuals, Benedict XVI should use the opportunity of the Year of the Eucharist (October 2004-October 2005) to establish a climate that invites more Catholics, including divorced and remarried Catholics and policy makers, into full sacramental participation in the church.

WHAT POPE BENEDICT XVI HAS DONE

In 2004, Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, announced at a Vatican press conference that prochoice Catholic politicians were "not fit" to receive communion.

A handful of US bishops followed suit and issued communion bans against prochoice policy makers, and some even threatened to withhold the Eucharist from individuals who voted for politicians who support a woman's right to make conscience-based decisions about continuing a pregnancy.

The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) clarified that Catholic policy makers have the freedom to follow their consciences--even when they disagree with church teaching--when voting on specific legislative measures.

Day 80: On 7 July, as part of a document that will be used at the Eleventh Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the pope stated communion should be denied to Catholics "living in sin," Catholics who divorce and remarry in a civil ceremony and Catholics who support prochoice politicians. Benedict XVI says Catholics engaged in those activities who take communion are "committing an act of grave personal dishonesty and causing scandal."

At this point in the papacy, it appears that the pope's tenure will be marked by actions and statements that reject the reforms of Vatican II, alienating and estranging even more of the laity.

Reconciliation

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE FIRST 100 DAYS CAMPAIGN

Pope Benedict XVI can and should celebrate the Eucharist with those whom the church has hurt, including married priests and advocates for women's ordination, nuns and young people abused by clergy, theologians who have been silenced by the church and people living with HIV/AIDS.

Benedict XVI should welcome back Catholics who have been estranged from the church. In the spirit of forgiveness and healing, the pope should celebrate the Eucharist with those who have been hurt most by policies and practices originating from the Vatican. The pope should make special recognition of and invitation to women, gays and lesbians, theologians and bishops, the sexually abused, the poor and marginalized and others who have felt excluded from the church.

WHAT POPE BENEDICT XVI HAS DONE

As we reach the conclusion of the first one hundred days of this new papacy, Benedict XVI has met with approximately 500 individuals in 150 meetings. He has given 32 public addresses and he has released 59 speeches, statements, letters and messages. (Since 19 April 2005, Benedict XVI has made statements at 11 general audiences, and he has delivered 13 Angelus and eight homilies.)

Despite an initial tone of welcoming, Benedict XVI has demonstrated that reconciling with estranged Catholics is certainly not his priority. It remains to be seen if it is even his interest.

Setting the Stage: Benedict XVI's First 100 Days

While just three months have passed since Benedict XVI became pope, it would be misleading to suggest that he has not had time to implement reforms. On the contrary, a quick inventory of the daily activities of the Vatican and its attendant agencies over the past ninety-plus days indicates that Benedict XVI has set a very aggressive tone with this papacy.

From the earliest days of his papacy, Benedict XVI has demonstrated his keen interest in affairs of state and the Vatican's role as a political entity, playing an active role in diplomatic relations and commenting on legislative initiatives in various countries. He has met with policy makers from all over the world, including all the ambassadors to the Holy See, the heads of state of Italy, Bulgaria, Macedonia, the Slovak Republic, El Salvador and seven African nations, as well as influential Jewish leaders and other prominent religious figures. He has publicly condemned same-sex marriage and civil union bills from Spain to New Zealand to Canada, and he has interfered in an Italian referendum on medically-assisted fertility treatment. Benedict XVI has ardently asserted the "Christian roots of Europe," and he has encouraged some countries--and challenged others--on membership in the EU. He has courted nations that have not yet established diplomatic ties with the Vatican to do so, and he has made multiple overtures toward the Jewish community and the Orthodox church. He has reached out to Africa, Latin America, Europe, China, Buddhists and the World Council of Churches. He has promoted the "evangelization" of the church and the importance of missionary work.

Benedict XVI has also used these first days to advance his ultra orthodox agenda, railing against abortion, "divorces and irregular unions," "non-traditional" families and secularists. He used the opportunities of both his homily at his 8 May installation mass (Day 20) and his first published book as pope to articulate his opposition to legal abortion and euthanasia. In a working draft of a document on the Eucharist being prepared for October, Benedict XVI accused Roman Catholics of failing in their practice of religion and behaving "scandalously" for receiving communion despite their support of the right of a woman to choose abortion. He has insisted that the church must assert that only the life-long union of a man and woman can serve as the basis of the family (Day 47), and he complained at a conference on the family held by the Diocese of Rome that "free unions, trial marriages and ... pseudo-matrimonies by people of the same sex" are "expressions of an anarchic freedom" (Day 49).

Perhaps the most striking indicator of the new pope's intentions comes less from his actions than what he has not done. In his first one hundred days, Benedict XVI has participated in 150 formal meetings, met with highly influential leaders from around the world, issued more than 91 public statements, published a book and released a new Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

He has not held serious meetings with women, sex abuse survivors, gay and lesbian Catholics or reform groups.

Despite initial hopes, it appears that this papacy will not only operate as a true heir to the philosophy and agenda of John Paul II, but also one that reinforces and advances hard line positions against many of the reforms sought by Catholics throughout the world.

(1) Some of the appointments made were reappointments of existing Curia positions, making the true count of individuals appointed number in the hundreds.

(2) Wives of heads of state have been present in meetings, but the pope has only formally met with the President of the Republic of Latvia, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, on 30 June 2005 (Day 73).

(3) A handful of women appointed by John Paul II were reappointed through a general statement "until otherwise provided."

MICHELLE A. RINGUETTE is director of communications at CFFC.