Papal mission

JP/6/EDIT

The newly elected Pope Benedict XVI has quickly acted to calm the nerves of many people worldwide who were worried he would be less willing than his predecessor John Paul II, to engage in progressive dialogue with other religions, especially Islam.

Agence-France Presse quoted the German national as saying in his first homily as pontiff on Tuesday that he was committed to an "open and sincere dialogue" with the followers of other religions.

Indonesian Muslim organizations, from the world's largest Muslim grouping Nahdlatul Ulama to the smaller hardline Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) expressed high expectations that Benedict would follow his predecessor's footsteps in working for -- in the words of MMI, as quoted by AFP -- "concrete achievements in overcoming conflicts between religions or their followers".

Their expectations are also shared by Catholic and Protestants here; minority groups that often feel undervalued or insecure living in a majority Muslim population. There is no doubt that better relations between these two major faiths will ensure more protections for Christians here.

Continuing good relations with Islam will be a key agenda for the pope when leading his 1.1 billion followers. Other substantial issues he must face are how to deal with the growing dissatisfaction among some of his followers with the church's unbending orthodoxy in a fast-changing world.

Learning from his previous words and deeds, one can make an early conclusion that Benedict's papacy will be as strict as -- if not stricter than -- John Paul II's in defending church dogmas.

It is highly unlikely he will relax the ban on women becoming priests or the requirement that priests and nuns remain celibate.

However, a continuation of conservatism, while it may not please everyone, will ensure consistency in the policies of the church, which is likely to have a stabilizing effect.

While most would agree the church needs to give strong guidance to the faithful, many feel its leadership must also realize it can no longer stick to absolutist teachings.

People in industrialized countries are facing very different problems from those who live in Papua or East Timor. Punishment and condemnation without opening a dialogue with those who are not in line with church teachings will only create more problems. More and more people are abandoning the church in the West because they think it is deaf to their opinions.

Many others in poorer countries reject the church's continued ban on the use of condoms, which they say could have prevented millions of cases of HIV/AIDS and the births of millions more unwanted children.

Benedict's age -- the 78-year-old German is only six years younger than the late John Paul -- means his rule may only represent a short continuation of conservatism that could end up being replaced with a totally new style of leadership.

A new era means different problems and challenges and needs different responses. We do believe that the new pope will be able to guide the 1.1 billion followers in the right direction. When John Paul II was elected to the papacy in 1978 people knew little about him. But only a few now deny his many achievements during his 26-year papacy.

Only time will tell whether the new pope will be able to guide the church better than his predecessor, and whether our world will be more peaceful and safer with his presence.

It is not just Catholics, therefore, who will be watching and hoping.