The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec), August 11, 1994, Thursday, Pg. D11, "Papal politics; Knighthood for Waldheim reflects debate over future of Catholicism in Europe" by Bernard Kaplan

PARIS- Pope John Paul II's surprising decision to award Kurt Waldheim a papal knighthood stems from an increasingly heated debate within the Vatican over Catholicism's future in Europe, according to experts on church affairs.
These analysts say the pope knew that honoring the former United Nations secretary-general and Austrian ex-president would stir strong condemnation because of Waldheim's record as a officer who lied about belonging to a German army division that committed atrocities in Yugoslavia during World War II. But the pope "bowed to the argument that he had to make a gesture to conservative Austrian Catholics who are the church's greatest bulwark," said Pierre Boisdeffre, a French Catholic writer with close ties to the Vatican. "For a large number of Austrian Catholics, Waldheim remains an eminent figure, even something of a hero because of what they consider the unfair treatment he has received from foreigners. And, of course, he is a devout churchman," he said. The pope's decision to bestow a papal knighthood on Waldheim was a victory for those who fear the church has been steadily losing ground since the end of the Cold War in the traditionally staunch Catholic countries of Central Europe, he said.
Aware of the controversy that would ensue, the pope arranged for Waldheim to receive his knighthood at a low-key ceremony at the papal nuncio's residence in Vienna last month. News of the event leaked out last week.
Boisdeffre describes John Paul as "embarrassed" by the episode. But he said: "Don't forget, the pope is inevitably a politician as well as a man of God. Every pope must seek to balance the incessant political pressures placed on him. This pope is no different, except that he has been more successful than most in performing that kind of juggling act." The French specialist said the Waldheim award could have been "partially in exchange" for the recent establishment of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Israel. For more than four decades, church conservatives opposed recognition of Israel for fear of offending the Arabs, including Arab Christians. "Those elements within the Curia (the Vatican's highest-ranking administrative body) who were least enthusiastic about recognizing Israel are also those who most favored honoring Waldheim," Boisdeffre said.
George Schwartz, a Swiss expert on Vatican affairs, referred to the Waldheim award as "part of a much wider debate currently going on about the Catholic church's position in Central Europe since the end of the Cold War." The end of communist oppression has led to an erosion of church influence and support in countries like Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic where previously the Catholic hierarchy was regarded as the champion of national independence from Soviet domination. "Now, the church is seen as pursuing its own political agenda which isn't necessarily in accord with popular aspirations," Schwartz said. "In Poland, for example, church efforts to maintain a virtual monopoly over education have provoked opposition even among many Catholics. The churches are no longer as full as they were in communist times. The priest is no longer the figure to whom all turn." The situation has strengthened those inside the Vatican who want Catholicism to revert more than ever to its most conservative traditions as a way of preserving the core of its support, according to Schwartz. Honoring Waldheim was a gesture to conservative Catholicism in a country whose geographic position and historic cultural role makes it an important factor in central European religious affairs, he said.