Salem, Ore., Apr 24, 2005 / 22:00 pm
Catholic should be wise and not put their leaders “in a box,” Fr. Gary Zerr told the Stateman Journal, referring to the newly inaugurated Pope Benedict XVI. The Pope has received harsh criticism in the last week due to the reputation that he had developed as a hardliner in his role as prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
"A true shepherd will not be classified so easily,” said the pastor of St. Edward Church in Keizer, Oregon. “A true shepherd will always surprise us.”
In interviews with the Statesman Journal, a number of parish priests expressed their views on the new Pope. Their comments were an effort to assuage any misgivings about the new Pope and urge some skeptical Catholics to keep an open heart and mind.
“At home in Germany he is known as a 'liberal' in the classical use of that term. To the world at large he is usually labeled as a 'conservative,'” said Fr. Zerr.