Theologian Pablo Blanco. PHOTO: Manuel Castells

On the occasion of the seven years of Benedict XVI's Pontificate and his 85th birthday, the professor of Theology at the University of Navarra, Pablo Blanco, gave an interview to 'El Mercurio' of Chile. In it he reviewed some current issues about the Pope and the Catholic Church.

Pablo Blanco Sarto has a doctorate in Philosophy and in Theology and graduate in Philology. He is currently a professor of Dogmatic Theology at the University of Navarra. He has published essays, articles in journals of his specialization program and monographs. On the life and work of the German theologian he has written Reason and Christianity (2005), Life and Theology (2006), Benedict XVI, the German Pope (2010), the most complete biography at Spanish; and The Theology of Joseph Ratzinger. He has also created the programs of study "Joseph Ratzinger" Forum.

The Vatican observes that the faith of those who call themselves Catholics has declined, could this be one of the reasons for proclaiming a Year of Faith?
Perhaps there could come a nostalgia towards supposed and hypothetical past times. I think that this position is not correct, at least not entirely. In some respects (not few), the Church is better off than it was a few centuries ago. There is more freedom and more conviction staff. With his Pontificate we are witnessing a true rebirth of faith, especially among the young.

The Year of the Priesthood has been one of the hardest for the Church; don't you think that the devil is on the loose more than ever, trying to attack the so-called "Guardian of the Faith"?
Pope Benedict XVI has been clear and has said that the greatest enemy was sin within the Church. The Church also needed purification after the cases of pederasty. That is why John Paul II and Benedict XVI began what journalists have called 'Operation Clean Sweep' in the Church. The paradox then arises that even the action of the devil ends up being beneficial for the Church of Christ.

Little is said about the Anglicans who have adhered to Rome. What has the Church learned from this experience?
It is an experience that has been growing little by little. This Easter Sunday another two hundred Christians from Anglicanism joined the Catholic Church. I think the Church has learned not to be in a hurry and to realize that it is God who acts. When no one was expecting it, suddenly a not small group of Anglicans has overtaken from the right.

After the Regensburg affair and the clarifications of the case, do you consider that the Church's relationship with the Islamic world has been strengthened?
They say so themselves. There has never been more official dialogue with Islam than at the present time. After 167 Muslim leaders (mainly muftis, leaders and intellectuals) subscribed to the speech of Regensburg with their own signature, there has been a whole series of debates in which reason is appealed to, as the Pope did on September 12, 2006 in Regensburg. It was Benedict XVI's response to what happened on September 11, 2001, just five years and one day earlier.

Some Austrian priests have been characterized for having positions very much at odds with the faith of Rome. Is this a simple misjudgment or is it also a way to attack and cause headaches to a German Pope?
All this is due to a church model whose origin is more ideological than theological. The good intentions of many of these priests are unquestionable, but it seems to me that the Pope's proposal at the Chrism Mass had a fully Christian logic: in the face of the 'call to disobedience' proposed by these Austrian parish priests, Benedict XVI recalled Christ's obedience to the Father. The contrast is interesting...

Cuban dissidents have been very critical of the Pope, to what extent was it necessary to renounce attending to some Cuban dissidents in order to balance and obtain such important conquests as the re-declaration of Good Friday as a holiday on the island?
The last two popes have been able to be in Cuba, which is a discreet victory. There is more and more religious freedom in Fidel's island, although obviously there are still many political and democratic freedoms missing. I think that everything will come. For the time being, Good Friday has been a holiday -said a Cuban woman on television- thanks to the Pope and the Revolution, she added as if making a face as if she was forgetting something. Let's hope that this process goes ahead, and we have a free Cuba, and also a Christian one.

To what extent have the Pope's books published during his pontificate, such as "Jesus of Nazareth", brought him closer to the faithful? Or have they merely reached a more educated public?
Jesus of Nazareth is not a book for knowledge dissemination: it is a book for specialists and for educated Christians. Benedict XVI wrote it because he thought it was one of his duties as Pope. His main duty is to speak about Jesus Christ. For him it is also a crucial topic : to speak of the divinity of Jesus Christ in the present moment is something fundamental. That is why he dedicates his free time to this work of synthesis. It is the book of his life.

How do you explain, after John Paul II, that Benedict XVI is so well received by young people?
It is curious, because he does not have a stage or media personality. His words are clear and luminous. He also has those images that he uses, they are like flashes, flashes of light, flashes? But above all I think that young people see in him someone who wants their happiness and tells them the truth, without seeking flattery or easy enthusiasm.