I have posted commentary a couple of times before by this writer who submitted the following essay to Lella's blog.
The 'simplicity and hiddenness'
of the Ratzinger Pontificate
by Roberto Pepe
Translated from
Dec. 28, 2009
I, too, was there in St. Peter's Square, seated near some young Mexicans who had positioned themselves opposite the central Loggia of St. Peter's basilica one hour earlier, singing and waving flaglets - and we were there to see our Grande Papa, after that violent attempt to 'embrace' him the night before, but above all, to hear his words to the city and to the world, on the day of universal love.
"All about there was darkness, while in the cave there shone the true light “that enlightens every man” (Jn 1:9). And yet all this took place in simplicity and hiddenness, in the way that God works in all of salvation history. God loves to light little lights, so as then to illuminate vast spaces".
Such are the clear words that distinguish the Pontificate of Papa Ratzinger. "Simple and hidden'- words that may first seem like feeble lights, though attention-getting for those who immediately perceive what they mean - and then, as needed, the light expands, and enlightens with unprecedented power.
"Today too, on behalf of a human family profoundly affected by a grave financial crisis, yet even more by a moral crisis, and by the painful wounds of wars and conflicts, the Church, in faithful solidarity with mankind, repeats with the shepherds: “Let us go to Bethlehem”, for there we shall find our hope... inviting its people to abandon every logic of violence and vengeance, and to engage with renewed vigour and generosity in the process which leads to peaceful coexistence".
At this point, the Pope, taking up his previously expressed clear advocacy in defense of Christianity and the Catholics of the world, argues that many times, in the past, because of the pragmatism of 'international political relativism', there has been silence - in order not to hurt the 'otherness' of non-Christians, or because of the unacknowledged fear of appearing like the stereotyped evangelizers in conquered countries...
Benedict XVI has in the past openly denounced the dangerous attempts at violent Islamization in some zones of Central Africa that had been shamefully abandoned after forced decolonization by Soviet and Latin American guerrilla armies singing hymns to secular Marxist thought, then replaced after its ideological dissolution by Islamist fundamentalist terrorism....
The Pope, thanks to the simplicity and linear logic of his own limpid thinking - that is above any political order and is not aimed at any interference in national affairs - has the right to condemn the evil they have perpetrated on their own fellow Muslims as well as the faithful of other religions around the world.
Therefore, he spoke up 'humanly' and 'religiously' in behalf of the 'tiny flock of Christians' who live in tribulation in Iraq not to mention the persecuted Churches "in Sri Lanka, the Korean peninsula and the Philippines..."
For the African continent, he has tirelessly called for an end to every aggression in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; he asks the citizens of Guinea and Niger to respect human rights for everyone and to engage in dialog; to the people of Madagascar, "to overcome their internal divisions and to accept each other reciprocally".
Speaking to the West, particularly Europe and North America, he underscores the need "to overcome selfish technological mentality, to promote the common good, and to respect the weakest members of society, starting with those who are yet to be born".
And for Latin America, he reiterates the commitment of the Church to help Honduras "resume its institutional way". Indeed, he says, in all of Latin America, the Church is an identifying factor that represents the fullness of truth and charity that no ideology can replace.
We can be sure that his subject of evangelization and the defense of the Christian-Catholic identity, will be the 'substantia' that will dominate thinking in the Vatican, insistently and tenaciously - without that hesitation dictated by clamorous forces extraneous to religious apologetics, but which unfortunately clutter up the minds of many grim thinkers who, however, lack the simplicity and reserve in this Pope which can kindle those indispensable little lights that may be feeble at first but tenacious.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 30/12/2009 17:33]