Media Contact: Michelle Ringuette, +1 202 986 6093 +1 202 550 1321 mobile

For Immediate Release
8 June 2005

First Half of Pope’s First 100 Days Reveals “Business as Usual” at Vatican

Pope Benedict XVI’s actions—and non-actions—tracked on www.Pope-Watch.org,
a project of Catholics for a Free Choice.

WASHINGTON, DC—As with any transition of power, the first 100 days are a crucial indicator and opportunity to establish the values and priorities of a new administration. As we reach  Day 51 of the papacy of Benedict XVI, Catholics for a Free Choice’s Pope-Watch reveals that the new pope is squandering that chance.

Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC), through its First 100 Days Campaign, defined those public and the steps necessary for Pope Benedict XVI to heal fractures within the church and to redress wrongs done under the name of the Vatican. The recommendations of the First 100 Days Campaign are easy. They do not require theological change. Each of the recommendations could and should be done immediately. These things remain undone not because of doctrinal restriction, but because the Vatican has chosen not to act. Among the requests:

CFFC president Frances Kissling noted, “The first 100 days of any leadership post signals to the world the values, priorities and style of the leader. While not every issue can be addressed—nor every problem solved—in this time, the initial steps of any administration sets a tone that both predicts and guides future work.”

However, instead of taking steps forward in the church, the new pontiff has focused his energies on ensuring that things are “business as usual” at the Vatican: reappointing Pope John Paul II’s leadership team, attacking the separation between church and state and making divisive statements.

On Day 18, a prominent Jesuit editor of a Catholic magazine resigned his position under pressure from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, formerly headed by the new pope. On Day 35, the Vatican declared that there would be no investigation into the allegations of abuse against the Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, founder and head of the Legionaries of Christ. On Day 48, Pope Benedict XVI reiterated his opposition to homosexuality, which he once called “a more or less strong tendency ordered towards an intrinsic moral evil,” and condemned same-sex unions at a conference on families at the Diocese of Rome. As part of his screed, he also strongly spoke against contraception and divorce.

As we pass the mid-point of this critical period, CFFC has launched a new website to monitor the actions of Pope Benedict XVI and evaluate what he is and is not doing to address the needs of Catholics—and non-Catholics—around the world.

www.Pope-Watch.org

As part of the First 100 Days Campaign, www.Pope-Watch.org will provide a daily update on the actions and statements of the new pontiff, his emissaries, the Vatican and the Holy See to call attention to the steps that the institutional church will make—or not make—toward addressing the most pressing issues of concern to Catholics and non-Catholics today.

Catholics for a Free Choice both hopes and strongly urges Pope Benedict XVI to use the second half of this critical interval to embark upon the essential work that must be done to ensure that the Roman Catholic church symbolizes justice and compassion throughout the world.

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Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC) shapes and advances sexual and reproductive ethics that are based on justice, reflect a commitment to women’s well-being, and respect and affirm the moral capacity of women and men to make sound decisions about their lives. Through discourse, education and advocacy, CFFC works in the United States and internationally to infuse these values into public policy, community life, feminist analysis and Catholic social thinking and teaching.
www.catholicsforchoice.org