Defending the "Mystery Man" Headlines

An interesting debate, of sorts, has been taking place online regarding whether it's appropriate to describe Pope Benedict XVI as a "mystery man" or an "enigma."

It all started with the title of Gary Stern's well-balanced article, which was reprinted in USA Today - "Benedict a Mystery after 3 Years as Pope."

In response to that article, bloggers such as Christopher Blosser, Amy Welborn and Carl Olson cried "foul," saying that he's hardly a mystery for those who attempt to get to know him. The folks at GetReligion then noted, and entered, the discussion.

In their "Pondering the Pope" post, they wrote: "It is this ability to listen from start to finish that is really separating the press corps between the men and the boys. Those who don’t have the facility to listen to Benedict’s complete thoughts are the ones who write the laughably bad stories. Those who are paying attention are able to grasp the full impact of his views."

After receiving some complaints, Stern wrote a reasoned response in defense of why he called the Pope a "mystery." He sees it as neither negative nor derogatory.

"The main point: When talking to Catholics over the last few months, it became clear to me that many people don’t know what to make of Pope Benedict," writes Stern. "It’s not that they’re critical of him. Or overly supportive.

Most people don’t have the time or interest to following papal happenings closely in the Catholic press—what the pope is writing or saying. And this pope is not nearly as prone to the grand gesture as was John Paul II. You have to pay attention to get a sense of what he is about."

There are many, suggests Stern, who haven't paid much attention to Benedict since his election in April 2005.

And Catholic News Service editor, Jim Lackey, wrote in defense of their use of the term "enigma" in the comment boxes, saying that they used the term specifically with reference to non-Christians.

"For many non-Christians, Pope Benedict is an enigma, a man who has visited a mosque and prayed toward Mecca with his Muslim host, yet who repeatedly speaks about the need to proclaim Christ as the unique savior for all people." (From "Scholar, pastor, enigma: German pope defies easy caricature," CNS 2/15/08)

I agree that "for those of us in the Catholic world, he's no mystery" and that many journalists have botched their profile stories on him," wrote Lackey. "But when 17 percent of Americans have never even heard of Pope Benedict (from the poll released yesterday by Carl Anderson), it's not too hard to believe, as our story said, that millions of Americans simply don't know who he is."

So, summarizing the kerfuffle (if we can even describe it as that), the Pope is a "mystery" or an "enigma" to many non-Christians, and those non-Catholics and Catholics who haven't paid much attention to him over the last three years.

Perhaps those of us who work in the Catholic press - and can recall the headlines from the Pope's election - are sensitive to such characterizations. We're always suspect of the way that a headline can characterize a person or a reader's perception of that person.

Update: Kudos to Christopher Blosser who not only provides a response, but also provides the facts on the popularity of Benedict's books, and the increased number of visitors he has received in Rome.

Others have contributed their thoughts to the conversation as well, whether intentionally or not. Delia Gallagher has a piece at Our Sunday Visitor, where she points out that while the personalities of the popes are different, their message is the same.

Sheila Liaugminas over at her InForum Blog has weighed in on the conversation. Liaugminas writes:

"The headline is a giveaway. They don’t know Benedict still, never did, and always held the image of him as the Vatican’s “doctrinal hardliner”, which I recall vividly from all the reporting in the first days of his election to the papacy.

It’s the media’s responsibility to practice sound and truthful journalism, to do their homework and when that requires some extra reading and study and background research, then do that and be prepared to not put Pope Benedict into soundbites. Like they did with his Regensburg address."

Here's why writers might want to use caution in how they describe the Pope. The American Muslim has taken the USA Today headline and used it as its opening salvo in an article examining Benedict, who it describes as "confusing" and "mysterious."

Finally, Sister Mary Ann Walsh, director of the Office of Media Relations for the USCCB, squarely hits the nail on the head over at the USCCB Papal Visit blog site when she writes:

"One of the best things to come from Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States will be that people will get to know him. There's a lack of awareness of who he is for three reasons: He follows Pope John Paul II, who revolutionized the papacy. Before his election, the papacy had basically been a stay-at-home job. When John Paul with his fine stage presence set out globe-trotting, he captured the world's imagination. With telecommunications, John Paul took the office public as no one before him. His is a hard act to follow.

Pope Benedict's 24 years in his previous job typecast him....Many made up their mind about him before his election."

Comments

[Olivia]

Maybe this is all because people have been so used to JP2 and his style and each side knew where they thought he fit. There is a constant comparison being done between B16 and JP2, which is normal. Now JP2 had been there for 27 years and B16 for 3, so people still need some time to figure Papa Ratzi out.
One thing is sure, he is a man of deep faith and knows what his mission is. In one of his speeches after his election, he said the pope must not proclaim his own ideas, but the ideas of Christ.

[Christopher]

I think the "shy, scholarly Benedict" vs. "charismatic rock star Pope" comparison should be retired.

After all, we're now into the THIRD YEAR of Benedict's pontificate, and in that time there is much to suggest that Benedict has developed an appeal all of his own -- and in record numbers, to be exact.

http://benedictinamerica.blogspot.com/2008/03/gary-stern-on-why-we-called-pope-enigma.html