Feelings of anxiety and trepidation have beset many American Catholics since the ordination of Pope Benedict xvi. The ultraconservative pontiff has already begun asserting his new power over the church in the U.S., and things aren’t looking good for American Catholics.

Rev. Thomas Reese has been the well-respected editor in chief of the influential Catholic magazine America for the past seven years. Today he is not. To the surprise of American Catholics across the nation, Reese resigned from his tenure just a few weeks after the appointment of Pope Benedict.

Peter Steinfel, religious columnist for the New York Times, dispels the suggestion that the timing of Reese’s resignation and Benedict’s election were a freak coincidence. “Was he forced out? There’s no question he was forced out” (cbsnews.com, May 9). Jesuit priests in Italy also confirmed that the Vatican, and specifically Cardinal Ratzinger, orchestrated the resignation of Reese. But why?

“The irritant wasn’t Reese’s own doctrinal views, but articles he published by scholars who took issue with Catholic officialdom” (Guardian, May 12). The Vatican essentially fired Reese because during his tenure as editor in chief he published a number of articles that didn’t fall in line with traditional Catholic teaching, including articles with a more liberal approach to such topics as same-sex marriage and stem-cell research.

Commenting on Reese’s surprise resignation, another American Catholic magazine, the Commonwealth, “editorialized that Reese’s removal leaves the impression that the church is ‘a backward-looking, essentially authoritarian, institution run by men who are afraid of open debate and intellectual inquiry’” (ibid.). Benedict’s conservatism has liberal American Catholics concerned. Many are already anticipating his next move.

Commenting on the extent of Vatican influence in the affairs of its members, the Guardian article quoted Rev. Richard McBrien, a liberal theologian at the University of Notre Dame, “[I’m] astonished because Reese was careful to air scholars’ varying views on contested topics …. [T]he ouster implies that the Vatican and its U.S. allies don’t think it’s possible to discuss both sides.” McBrien’s comments clearly indicate that the Vatican under this pope is decisively conservative and will refuse to entertain thoughts and ideas that contradict traditional Catholic doctrine.

New York Times religious writer Peter Steinfels “says the question now is whether the center can hold in American Catholicism …” (op. cit.). The Catholic Church in America is in a difficult position. While some Catholic Americans are no doubt excited about the potential purging of liberalism from the church in America, millions of moderate and liberal Catholics are extremely concerned about the ramifications of Benedict xvi’s ultraconservatism. Is liberalism about to be thoroughly purged from the Catholic Church in America?

As the new pontiff continues to remove dissidents and purge liberalism from his church, he will increasingly come face to face with his American dilemma. American Catholics are proving to be a real thorn in the side of the Vatican. Adding to the fact that American Catholics are generally more liberal, the recent pedophilia scandals have gone a long way in damaging the reputation of the Catholic Church.

American Catholicism will continue to place this pope in a quandary. It’s likely that Benedict will take further measures to bring American Catholics into line.

Rest assured, however, although liberalism among American Catholics will continue to perturb Pope Benedict, it will not dissuade him from uniting the mother church with its Protestant daughters and establishing Vatican guidance over the growing European superpower.