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F e a t u r e A r t i c l e
My Friend the Holy Father
A Conversation with Father Joseph Fessio, S.J.
By Tom Harmon
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This Rock spoke about Pope Benedict XVI with Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J., provost of Ave Maria University in Naples, Florida, and editor-in-chief of Ignatius Press, which holds the English language publication rights to all of Pope Benedict’s past and future writings. Fr. Fessio wrote his doctoral dissertation on the theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar under the supervision of then-Fr. Ratzinger at the University of Regensburg from 1972 to 1975. As a member of Ratzinger’s Schulerkreis, a group of former students, Fr. Fessio participated in many of that group’s yearly gatherings with our new Pope.
Fr. Fessio is also one of the founders of Casa Balthasar, a house of formation in Rome under the patronage of now-Pope Benedict. The house takes inspiration from the life and works of two theologians highly regarded by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI: Henri de Lubac, S.J., and Hans Urs von Balthasar. Every year since 1989, Fr. Fessio has traveled to Rome for the annual meeting of the directors of Casa Balthasar, also attended by Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict), Marc Cardinal Ouellet of Quebec, and Christoph Cardinal Schonborn of Vienna.
This Rock: How did you first meet the Holy Father?
Joseph Fessio: I was doing my theology studies in France, in Lyons, and was befriended by Henri de Lubac, who became my mentor. He suggested I do my doctoral thesis on von Balthasar. When I asked him where I should do it, he said Regensburg under Fr. Joseph Ratzinger. So in 1972 he wrote Ratzinger on my behalf because a lot of people were trying to become his doctoral students and he was not accepting many. Because of de Lubac’s recommendation I was accepted, and I went to Regensburg in 1972.
TR: Fr. de Lubac and then-Fr. Ratzinger were part of the same movement in Catholic theology. What was it like to study under two of the giants of the communio school of theology?
JF: It was a great blessing for me. They were wonderful men of the Church. Of course, de Lubac was older and Ratzinger looked up to him.
TR: What sort of man is Benedict XVI?
JF: Well, you probably know by now. He is not the man portrayed in the media, harsh and narrow-minded or severe. He is a very gentle, soft-spoken, gracious person who listens long and well. He speaks very carefully and in a measured way. Everyone around him is impressed by him.
TR: What kind of priest is he?
JF: He’s a diocesan priest. He obviously loves the liturgy. When he celebrates Mass, there is a sense of the sacredness of the rite.
TR: Pope John Paul II described himself as a spiritual Carmelite, and he loved St. John of the Cross. Does Benedict identify strongly with a spiritual tradition in the Church?
JF: I don’t think of him as someone who has any special devotions or spirituality. He’s just Catholic. I think he’s more a homo ecclesiasticus, a "man of the Church." He accepts the whole breadth of the Church’s Tradition, and he celebrates the liturgy in a reverent way.
TR: What was he like as a professor?
JF: When I had him, which was only a very small part of his whole career, it was in German, and there’s a German style for professors who lecture. For the most part students don’t come to class. The professor lectures and someone is there to transcribe what he says, and the students get the transcription later. That’s how they study for the exam. So it’s a little different from the general American style. His lectures were quite well attended. I took his course in eschatology, where he was very impressive. He looked at the back wall during class, almost like he was contemplating while he was talking. I didn’t find those lectures to be in the kind of dynamic class-participation styles you might find in an American classroom. On the other hand, the seminars he led were superb because he sparked conversations and listened very well. Every so often he would sum things up very synthetically and clearly and guide the discussion deeper. It was a great joy to be with him in those seminars.
TR: Do you remember any good anecdotes about him as a teacher?
JF: Here’s one: It was after I got my degree. He would meet every year with his former students for a weekend, usually in a monastery. We would pick a theme and invite a speaker or two and have some recreation together. One time the theme was ecumenism. Toward the end of the day one of his former students (who is now a professor of theology at a German university) said, "I think the time has come for a reunion of the Catholic Church and the Lutheran church," and Ratzinger said, "Well, yes, if there were a Lutheran church." That was very pregnant with meaning: They have no magisterium, so who represents the Lutheran church? That’s kind of an intellectual anecdote. He has a wonderful sense of humor, but it’s always understated and usually has an intellectual component to it.
TR: It’s widely reported in the press that he is an accomplished pianist and has affection for Mozart. Is there anything else among his private occupations or hobbies that are interesting?
JF: I know he loves classical music and fine art, but his great desire is to reflect and write, which he sacrificed for the good of the Church.
TR: It was reported that he was praying that he would not become pope.
JF: I think he honestly did not want to be pope.
TR: Why not?
JF: Well, he never really wanted to become prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, either. He loves to read and write and preach. But he accepted the burden.
TR: Could you give a short summary of his thinking? What will he be remembered for as a theologian?
JF: It’s hard to do that because his education is so wide-ranging and his interests are so wide-ranged. But I think his abiding love is the liturgy. I think it’s significant that in the years he was prefect and archbishop of Munich, he really couldn’t write a book as a book. He would give talks, lectures, and homilies that were gathered together as books, or he would give a long interview over a weekend that would became a book. As far as I know the only actual book he produced was The Spirit of the Liturgy. He addressed the topic with great love, and I think it’s a little masterpiece. He was born and baptized on Holy Saturday, and he feels that his whole life is marked by the liturgy of the Church.
TR: How does that affect him?
JF: He’s a man of great symbolism. In his homily at his installation Mass, he basically focused on the symbolism of the pallium and the ring. When he gave his first address at the beginning of his pontificate, when he got down to the content of what he wanted to do, he said it’s not a coincidence that he was named pope during the Year of the Eucharist. The Eucharist will be the center of his ministry. So I think he sees God’s providence in the signs of the times and symbolic events, and I believe that he recognizes that his own life has been touched by that, by his being born both naturally and supernaturally in the Easter season.
TR: Let’s turn then to another bit of symbolism that he’s employed. What do you think his choice of the name Benedict portends?
JF: I think it’s full of meaning. Obviously there may be some reference to the previous pontiff of that name. I think that’s secondary, although I should mention that in his short reign, Benedict XV was a pope of peace and reconciliation. But I think St. Benedict—who transformed Europe not by violence or political means but by prayer and worship—is a model for Benedict XVI. I think the Pope believes that this is the last chance for Europe to regain its vigor by regaining its soul. That means that the kind of renovation Benedict brought about before needs to be replicated in modern Europe. So I would say that the liturgy is at the heart of what he wants to do, along with the renewal of culture through the liturgy.
TR: Would you talk a little about what he would like to do with the liturgy?
JF: He made it clear in his address on April 20 that, according to John Paul II, future generations will continue to draw from the riches of the Second Vatican Council. I interpret that to mean that he does not think we need another council. Then in the next paragraph he says that he is committed with great strength to pursuing the implementation of the Council—which implies that it has not yet been implemented, or at least, not fully so—in faithful continuity with the Church’s 2,000-year Tradition.
That is to say that one should interpret the Council—including what the Council has to say on liturgy—not as a call for some radical change or break but as something that is in continuity with the branch from which it grows: Tradition. I think he’s going to move toward a rereading of the Council and, just like his book expresses, I think he has a great love for the traditional Mass that’s come down to us. I think he’d like to see the Novus Ordo more in continuity with that. He’d like to see a Mass facing East, the first canon used more frequently, and more Gregorian chant.
TR: Has he said anything about translations of the liturgy?
JF: I was actually involved with him on one of the translations of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. He made sure the translation was accurate and not tendentious.
That experience with the Catechism had an overflow to Bible translations, because once it was done, the draft translation for the New Revised Standard Version, which had some questionable translations in it, was done. Through his office and the Office of Divine Worship, it was determined that the NRSV could not be used for liturgy or catechesis. He is very much in favor of faithful translations.
TR: What would he say about gender-inclusive language?
JF: He made that very clear in his work on the Catechism—by excluding it.
TR: How familiar do you think the Holy Father is with the problems specific to the Church in America?
JF: I think he knows probably as much as anyone in Rome and more than a lot of people in the United States. I see him virtually every year, and early on I would try to mention to him two or three good things happening in our country and two or three bad things as well. But I could rarely complete a sentence because he would know about it already.
TR: Some of the members of the U.S. bishops’ lay review board have said that then-Cardinal Ratzinger was exemplary in his handling of the sexual abuse cases. Is that your impression?
JF: I don’t know how he handled them, but I can say that one of his great traits is transparency. He’s very open. He’s very willing to speak clearly about what he really thinks. He wants to do the right thing. As Cardinal Schonborn said in an interview on television, "The new Pope has great interior freedom, and therefore, he’ll be surprising sometimes." He’ll do things that just have to be done.
TR: His election has been called a vote by the cardinals for a continuation of his predecessor’s policies and teachings. In what ways will Benedict differ from John Paul II?
JF: Well, he’s starting twenty years older, so he won’t be jumping barriers to kiss babies. He’ll still kiss babies, but he’s not going to be as spry.
TR: The babies might have to come to him?
JF: Right. Clearly, someone who supported and worked with John Paul II for twenty-four years in Rome is not going to suddenly introduce new policies and new ways of operating. But he’s a different person. I think John Paul II was more of an actor on the stage of the world out there proclaiming God’s word to anyone who’d listen. I think in some sense Benedict will do that too, with his gentle demeanor and his pleasantness. I think he recognizes that that Church needs some attention on the internal side, though. He will probably dedicate more time to that. Plus, he’s not going to travel as much as John Paul II did.
TR: Benedict has talked about the importance of small, creative communities of Christians. Do you think he will encourage such communities during his papacy?
JF: Well, I think that’s what the Church is: a small, creative community. Jesus basically had twelve apostles; St. Benedict started with a handful; Ignatius with seven. That is the typical pattern in the life of the Church: A group of people come together with great fervor and zeal to pray and give glory to God, and they find from that vocation a mission to go forth and share what they’ve received. They go out and the process continues. Clearly what he said in his April 20 talk is that the Eucharist is the center from which we draw strength. From that comes a desire for ecumenical work, charitable work, service to others, and openness to the world. The liturgy is the center.
TR: What was your personal reaction to his election as pope?
JF: I was waiting in St. Peter’s as it started to rain and the umbrellas came out. Then all of a sudden the sun burst through, and the curtains opened. I see this fellow come out and I think, "Oh my gosh, it’s [Jorge] Cardinal Medina Estevez, someone I’ve known longer than Ratzinger! Is that the Pope?" That would have been pretty good, actually. Then I realized he was the one who was announcing the Pope. Estevez has a tremendous sense of humor. He’s almost like an imp, always cracking jokes. There he was out on the balcony before the whole world, straight-faced and playing that dramatic role, drawing it out.
When he said "Joseph," I was very joyful, partly to see someone I know and have spent time with out there on that balcony. To know he’s Pope, that’s an amazing feeling. But knowing the kind of person he is also is a great consolation, because I know that he will be wonderful for the Church.
TR: Is there something we as Catholics can learn at this particular moment from the fact that this particular man has been elected pope?
JF: We can learn that in the midst of the very sinful world we’re a part of—including often uninspiring leadership in the Catholic Church—when the time comes at a distinctive point in history, the Holy Spirit guides men to elect someone who is very holy and very competent, someone who, by every measure we have, has the best qualifications for the position.
Tom Harmon is a researcher for the Cardinal Newman Society in Manassas, Virginia. In addition to This Rock, he has written for Our Sunday Visitor, the National Catholic Register, Labor Watch, and the Catholic Northwest Progress. He writes from Spokane, Washington.
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