(Vatican City) As he approaches the third year of his reign, Pope Benedict XVI is hardening into the kind of pontiff that liberals feared and conservatives hoped for.
Elected April 19, 2005, to succeed his dear friend John Paul II, the leader of the world's Roman Catholics slid smoothly into his job as pastor of an enormous flock. He reached out to dissidents, other faiths and countries long hostile to the church.
But recently, as his 80th birthday approached, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has drawn a tougher line. He has rebuffed calls, including by bishops in his native Germany, to let divorced Catholics who remarry participate fully in the church. He has warned Catholic politicians who must decide on such issues as abortion, euthanasia and marriage that the faith's values are "not negotiable." And he has closed the door on any relaxation of the celibacy requirement for priests.
Benedict's persistent defense of the "traditional family" based on marriage between a man and a woman has emboldened Italy's bishops, who are waging a fierce battle against the government's proposal to extend some rights to unmarried couples, including same-sex unions.
But Benedict has struggled to roll back the tide of secularism. He lost in predominantly Catholic Spain, which approved gay marriage, and now he has now turned his sights on his own backyard.
The debate has been particularly shrill in Italy, where the pope's words - he is also bishop of Rome - have immediate impact in the media. After Italians voted down a Vatican-backed attempt to overturn Italy's liberal abortion in 1981, John Paul II basically kept out of Italian politics.
Benedict seems willing to revisit social issues.
Elected April 19, 2005, to succeed his dear friend John Paul II, the leader of the world's Roman Catholics slid smoothly into his job as pastor of an enormous flock. He reached out to dissidents, other faiths and countries long hostile to the church.
But recently, as his 80th birthday approached, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has drawn a tougher line. He has rebuffed calls, including by bishops in his native Germany, to let divorced Catholics who remarry participate fully in the church. He has warned Catholic politicians who must decide on such issues as abortion, euthanasia and marriage that the faith's values are "not negotiable." And he has closed the door on any relaxation of the celibacy requirement for priests.
Benedict's persistent defense of the "traditional family" based on marriage between a man and a woman has emboldened Italy's bishops, who are waging a fierce battle against the government's proposal to extend some rights to unmarried couples, including same-sex unions.
But Benedict has struggled to roll back the tide of secularism. He lost in predominantly Catholic Spain, which approved gay marriage, and now he has now turned his sights on his own backyard.
The debate has been particularly shrill in Italy, where the pope's words - he is also bishop of Rome - have immediate impact in the media. After Italians voted down a Vatican-backed attempt to overturn Italy's liberal abortion in 1981, John Paul II basically kept out of Italian politics.
Benedict seems willing to revisit social issues.
