The Papacy: His Church

After nearly 14 months in office—a longer time than any of his 20th century predecessors waited—Pope Paul VI last week issued his first encyclical.* It was, as one Vatican official put it, "pure Paul." For Paul VI is an intellectual who likes to consider things long and hard from both sides, frequently has difficulty in making up his mind. And so it is with Ecclesiam Suam (His Church, meaning Christ's), the first two words of the encyclical, which by church custom become its title. In paragraph after paragraph—and Paul himself suggested...