The possible future of dissent under Pope Benedict XVI

With some good planning, Morning Edition on NPR today had a story on the future of dissent within the Roman Catholic Church, discussing how what they termed “one possible successor” Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now chosen as Pope with the self-selected name Benedict XVI might address this issue.

From the summary page to the audio link, the man newly named Pope “seems to have signaled he would take an even stronger stance against dissenting voices.”

The gist of the audio report indicates that even though the writings of Cardinal Ratzinger are very strong against any dissent, there may be little change in actual policy because for the last several years, the Cardinal had essentially free reign over the manner of addressing dissent.

It will be interesting to see if this is the case. For the last several years of the papacy of John Paul II his infirmities required that more and more of the daily operations had to be handed over to those in the Vatican, including Cardinal Ratzinger. This particular choice may be a strong signal that the College of Cardinals is not ready for any changes, radical or subtle.