N.J. Catholics "Shocked" at Pope's Resignation; Some Call It Positive Move for the Church
By Eunice Lee
The stunning announcement of Pope Benedict’s resignation left Catholics in New Jersey with mixed reactions ranging from utter disbelief and sadness to optimism for the future of the church. “I was shocked, literally,” said Miguel Martinez as he left Mass at St. Lucy’s in Newark and headed to work this morning. Martinez, a 36-year-old Montclair resident, and a handful of others braved the rain and left mass at 8:30 a.m., just hours after the news broke. As one group left, more people quietly filtered into the subdued cathedral to celebrate mass. “I was hoping he’d continue to lead the church for a very long time,” Martinez said. But not all Catholics share his view. Rev. Luigi Zanotto, pastor of St. Lucy’s, said he was surprised at the resignation announcement but called it a positive move for the future of the Catholic church. Pope Benedict XVI announced today that he would resign on Feb. 28 because he was simply too infirm to carry on — the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years. The decision sets the stage for a conclave to elect a new pope before the end of March. The 85-year-old pope announced his decision in Latin during a meeting of at the Vatican with cardinals this morning. He emphasized that carrying out the duties of being pope — the leader of more than a billion Roman Catholics worldwide — requires "both strength of mind and body." Bishop David M. O'Connell, Bishop of the Diocese of Trenton, said he feels a "genuine closeness" to the pope who appointed him to his position. In a written statement, O'Connell said Benedict "had an incredible ability to make the most profound and intense aspects of our faith clear and accessible not only to Catholics, but to all people. Pope Benedict XVI helped the world understand Catholicism." Diane Mayer, a five-year member of St. Catherine of Siena Church in Farmingdale, said she believes the pope made a good decision to resign if he felt he was physically unable to perform his duties. Mayer said she is looking for a pope who is “a little younger, stronger, a little more flexible.” Considered by many to be a deeply conservative Catholic leader, Pope Benedict had a much different personality from his predecessor John Paul II, who Zanotto said was gifted with the common touch. Martinez, an institutional research specialist at the Rutgers’ College of Nursing, added that the pontiff was “definitely an academic.” “He was not a man of the street,” Zanotto, 72, said of Pope Benedict. He learned of today’s announcement from a friend’s text message at 6 a.m. “I think it was a wise decision,” he added. The significance of the event was not lost on Rev. Paul Donohue, parochial vicar at St. Lucy’s, a 600-member church in Newark. “I think it’s one of those historic moments,” said Donohue, 67, a lifelong Catholic. “I lived to see a pope resign.” Both Donohue and Zanotto agree that Pope Benedict’s election in 2005 by the College of Cardinals was widely seen as a conservative reaction to the more liberal stance of the Second Vatican Council. For Zanotto, the future of the church lies in its ability to address current global challenges like the friction between Muslims, Catholics, Protestants and other faiths as well as environmental issues. However people need a pope that’s not stuck in an ivory tower of academia, Zanotto said. He contrasted the pope’s duties to the biblical example of Jesus feeding crowds of thousands. “It’s not his duty to give bread to people," Zanotto said, "but the people can feel the pope is with them.” Donohue added that the viability of Catholicism rests in “transmitting faith to the younger generation.” Events in recent years, like the much publicized criticism by Catholic bishops against a nun who wrote a book about God alienates people from the church, he said. A committee of American Roman Catholic bishops said in the past that the book does not uphold church doctrine should not be used in Catholic schools and universities. “The days of imposing the way people are to think are gone,” Donohue said. “If you want to lead them, you must enter into dialogue with them…otherwise you are not a leader — you are just there,” he added. The next pope is a hotly debated topic in scholarly circles but will likely have a small impact on the daily lives of Catholics, Zanotto believes. “The common people, they come to mass like before, they go around like before,” he said. Molly Jacob, a lifelong Catholic, said she was "shocked" when she heard the news of the pope’s resignation on the television while getting ready for work this morning. "I had to listen again to make sure it was coming from a reliable source," said Jacob, 51, a nurse practitioner at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark. Jacob, an East Hanover resident, attends morning mass five days a week at St. Lucy's and said she spent time praying this morning for the monumental transition awaiting the Catholic church. "That's the future of the church," she said of its head leader. The sudden announcement with few details released immediately left Catholics like Jacob at a loss. Pope Benedict, she said, will be sorely missed. "I really love him — he's really holy (and) knowledgable," said Jacob. Martinez said that he wasn’t ready to see the pope depart. “I will definitely pray for him more,” Martinez said. “It could be God’s calling for him to do something more for the church.”
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