[kepha]

April 19, 2005

POPE BENEDICT XVI

Catholic League president William Donohue commented today on the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as the new pope:

“Orthodox Catholics have cause for great celebration—the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as our new Holy Father sends an unmistakable message: the College of Cardinals wants a man who will continue the theological legacy of Pope John Paul II. There can be no greater tribute to John Paul the Great than this.

“In 1986, Cardinal Ratzinger wrote a letter to an insubordinate priest, Charles Curran, saying, ‘The authorities of the Church cannot allow the present situation to continue in which…one who is to teach in the name of the Church in fact denies her teaching.’ In 1998, as John Paul II’s enforcer of orthodoxy, he said that the Church’s prohibition against ‘priestly ordination of women’ had ‘been set forth infallibly.’ It is for reasons like these that the New York Times recently called him, ‘the Vatican’s hard-line defender of the faith.’

“Yesterday, in his homily before the men who would elect him pope, Ratzinger said, ‘We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one’s own ego and one’s own desires.’ This is straight out of John Paul II’s encyclical, Veritatis Splendor, one of the most powerful statements on morality ever written. In short, the new pope, like his predecessor, understands the grave danger that awaits a society wherein each individual makes up his own morality. It may not sell in the U.S., but it is nonetheless true that a society that refuses to acknowledge that morality is a social attribute—not an individual one—is bound to culturally implode.

“The Catholic League is delighted. Those who are not need to do some real soul searching.”

I quote Veritatis Splendor in my post "Owning the Truth?"

Ryan, what is your opinion on the origins of relativism?

[Ridley's Own]

Apparently, Pope Benedict is taking this "Christian Unity" thing quite seriously.

Originally Posted by Uwe Siemon-Netto

Almost unnoticed by the world's media looking for sensations at the memorial service for John Paul II, Ratzinger quietly communed Brother Roger Schutz, the Swiss Protestant pastor and founder of the vibrant ecumenical community in Taizé, France.

Benedict XVI, arguably the foremost Catholic theologian of our time, has always been an ecumenist, though never a fuzzy one. If he gives the Sacrament to a member of another Christian church—and Schutz was not the only one—he makes it abundantly clear he consider this person a fellow member of the mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church.

The full article is at Christianity Today. Upright But No Panzer Pope

[eldestofvic]

Originally Posted by Ridley's Own

Apparently, Pope Benedict is taking this "Christian Unity" thing quite seriously.



The full article is at Christianity Today. Upright But No Panzer Pope

I'm afraid I'm rather skeptical about this article (not the overall tone - but certainly this particular detail). Non-Catholics cannot recieve Holy Eucharist- period!!

I'm rather doubtful that the former head of the CDF would have made such a horrific liturgical abuse (at the Papal funeral Mass no less) even in the noble cause of christian unity. It would be out of character for such a staunch defender of orthodoxy and proper liturgy. It would be in direct violation of the dictates of Ecclesia de Eucharistia of which he has spoken of favourably on several occasions. Furthermore, I can't imagine that at a Mass attended by all of his fellow Cardinals and watched by millions of Catholics worldwide that such an action could possibly have been done quietly, "unnoticed".

I'm sorry but something just rings very untrue about this.

[eldestofvic]

Originally Posted by ICTHUS

I thought Ratzinger hated Protestants with a passion?

I think what you are thinking about is his statement that he considers the mainline Protestant church a test case for a liberalized Catholic Church.

[Ridley's Own]

Originally Posted by eldestofvic

I'm afraid I'm rather skeptical about this article (not the overall tone - but certainly this particular detail). Non-Catholics cannot recieve Holy Eucharist- period!!

Actually, Canon allows for it in limited, pastoral cases. When I was about to be deployed in the Peace Corps to Poland, I wrote to the bishop of Knoxville for information on how to receive permission to receive in a Roman Catholic parish near where I was going to be stationed. So long as I affirmed the Real Presence, had no other Anglican church in a reasonable area, and was otherwise in good standing, I was OK. Tony Blair received from JPII at one point, as well, as there is an Anglican parish in Rome, so it's not as tight as I think we all might think it is.

[smashing guitar]

I don't like pope Benidict. There's something not right about him.

[goldenchild]

Care to elaborate? That's the first negative I've heard about him(except from ultra-liberal groups).

[IesusDeus]

Cardinal Ratzinger (then) prayed to God not to be pope.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=701040

Pope Says Election Was Like 'Guillotine'

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press Writer
The Associated PressThe Associated Press

VATICAN CITY Apr 25, 2005 — Pope Benedict XVI said Monday he felt like a "guillotine" was coming down on him when it appeared he might be elected pontiff, saying he prayed to God to be spared but that "evidently this time he didn't listen to me."

Benedict's playfulness during an audience with German pilgrims offered the first insight into what may have been going on in his mind during the secret conclave that elected him leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics.

It also underscored that the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger known as the stern German guardian of the Vatican's conservative doctrine has a sense of humor, knows how to work a crowd and seems to be winning over fans.

"As the trend in the ballots slowly made me realize that in a manner of speaking the guillotine would fall on me I started to feel quite dizzy," the 78-year-old Benedict told his countrymen in his native German, smiling and chuckling. "I thought that I had done my life's work and could now hope to live out my days in peace.

"I told the Lord with deep conviction, 'Don't do this to me. You have younger and better (candidates) who could take up this great task with a totally different energy and with different strength.'"

"Evidently, this time he didn't listen to me," Benedict joked.

He said that during the secret deliberations, a fellow cardinal wrote him a note, reminding him of the sermon he delivered during the funeral Mass for Pope John Paul II, in which he referred to a biblical passage where God tells the apostle Peter to follow him.

"My fellow brother wrote me: 'If the Lord should now tell you, 'Follow me,' then remember what you preached. Do not refuse. Be obedient. …This touched my heart. The ways of the Lord are not comfortable, but we were not created for comfort, but for greatness, for good."

"So in the end, all I could do was say yes. I am trusting in God, and I am trusting in you, dear friends."

Benedict was elected the first German pope in centuries on April 19 after four rounds of voting one of the fastest conclaves in 100 years. While he was a leading candidate going into the conclave, he was considered old to be elected pope.

Benedict officially began his pontificate Sunday during a solemn installation Mass that drew about 400,000 people to the Vatican area, including many world and religious leaders.

The pope met Monday with the religious leaders who had attended, and told Muslim representatives in particular that he wanted to continue building "bridges of friendship" that he said could foster peace in the world.

Benedict noted that the world is now marked by conflicts but said it longs for peace.

"Yet peace is also a duty to which all peoples must be committed, especially those who profess to belong to religious traditions," he said. "Our efforts to come together and foster dialogue are a valuable contribution to building peace on solid foundations."

In the homily Sunday, Benedict specifically mentioned Jews but not Muslims and reached out to other Christians, calling several times for full communion of Christians.

Among those at the Mass were Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams; Metropolitan Chrisostomos, a top envoy for Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Christian Orthodox Church; and a senior representative of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Kirill.

On Monday, the pope told ecumenical leaders he fully supports the need to work toward uniting Christians and said their presence at his installation was a good sign.

Williams said afterward that he was "encouraged by the way Pope Benedict went out of his way to underline the commitment to ecumenism."

In Moscow, the head of Russia's Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexy II, said a visit by Benedict to Russia would be possible only after the two churches resolve longtime differences.

Later Monday, Benedict visited a packed Rome basilica, St. Paul outside the Walls. There, he read a biblical passage from the apostle Paul to the Romans to show his connection to the city of Rome, where he is bishop. He also prayed by the place where Paul is believed to have been buried.

"He has a different kind of charisma from John Paul," said Anja Tartarini, a 31-year-old actress who lined up to see the pope. "He says he feels inadequate like a child, but with unbelievable humility he accepted this task."

Benedict received a rousing welcome by his fellow countrymen during his audience Monday. He shook hands with pilgrims and blessed a child handed to him but then quickly got down to business.

He apologized for being late, explaining that the meeting with religious leaders had run long. "The Germans are used to punctuality," he joked. "I'm already very Italian."

Benedict was interrupted several times by applause and cheering from the crowds. "Benedict sent from God!" they chanted. In German, the chant rhymes: "Benedikt Gott Geschickt."

"I was quite prejudiced against him at first," said Maria Theising-Otte, a teacher from a Catholic grammar school in Handrup, Lower Saxony, who attended the audience. "But now that I've seen him, read about him, I've changed my mind. I think he came across quite human, very modest and decent."

Associated Press reporters Daniela Petroff and Vanessa Gera contributed to this report.