The beautiful childlike faith
of Benedict XVI
by Luca di Fiore
Translated from
Oct. 21, 2016
On Oct. 20, German journalist Peter Seewald, who interviewed Benedict XVI for the book
Ultime conversazioni, Peter Seewald, presented the book at the Catholic University of Sacro Cuore in Milan, describing it as a "walk through the life of a giant of thought who nonetheless has a contagious simplicity".
"Meeting him today, one has the sensation of being with a man who already lives partly in the next world. When I recently asked him if he looked forward to celebrating his 90th birthday, he answered, 'Oh I hope not!'"
When he talks about Benedict XVI, Seewald, who was a staff member for
Der Spiegel,
Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazine and
Stern in his earlier career, is able to recreate that alchemy of profoundness and lightness that characterizes the person and the discourse of the emeritus Pope.
The presentation at the Aula Magna of Sacro Cuore was the only public presentation in Italy of the book published by Garzanti. It is Seewald's fourth interview book with Joseph Ratzinger - two when he was cardinal, one when he was the reigning pope, and now this one.
At the event which was organized by the Centro Culturale di Milano, Seewald also said that the emeritus Pope had received a message from Casa Santa Marta about the book: "The reigning pope thanks his predecessor and sends his congratulations. But he wishes to point out one error: These should not be the 'last conversations'."
[Rather strange that the note appears to have been written by someone in behalf of JMB. You'd think a handwritten personal note would have been more appropriate.]
Don Stefano Alberto, who moderated the presentation, asked how the book came about. Seewald said that when Benedict XVI resigned in February 2013, he was sure it meant the end of his 'career' as a papal interviewer. But his publisher in Germany insisted that he should carry on 'the Ratzinger theme' with a full biography of Benedict XVI.
[Seewald's earlier books along this line were presented as the information he learned about Joseph Ratzinger in the course of his assignments to write about him rather than as formal biographies.]
And so, he resumed visiting Benedict XVI at the Vatican. The emeritus Pope did not want the biography published until after his death. But, after some insistence on the part of Seewald ["I had a historic document in my hands and I did not think it was right that the world should not know about it"], he agreed to have part of their conversations published now, on condition that Pope Francis approved it.
"I was aware that the widespread image of Joseph Ratzinger and his Pontificate is against historical fact. For instance, that his election as pope was a mistake and that his sudden resignation confirmed this." A misconception that Seewald says is not merely false but also harmful in that it prevents or discourages access to his message.
In Seewald's account, Pope Benedict is seen as a giant of thinking, whose theological work alone before he became pope already earned him a place in history. But his pontificate too, he says, had extraordinary success, and yes, he enjoyed great popularity as well (think of the 'astronomical' printing numbers for his encyclicals and the apostolic exhortation on the Eucharist).
[And I would add, the crowds he drew to St. Peter's which outnumbered those for John Paul II in his peak years. Of course, the first few months of Bergoglio as pope dwarfed all those numbers, but afterwards, attendance for JMB has steadily halved, and halved again, and now the figures are so down that it has been months since the Vatican media have given any at all.]
"It is a very personal book, perhaps too personal," Seewald says. "I did not wish to evoke the magnificent theologian and great intellectual as in the earlier three books. I wished rather to depict this person who is so charismatic, one who makes you think that he can do things no one ever has, while at the same time, remaining very humble". Joseph Ratzinger, says Seewald, never saw his life "as a career but as a journey".
Don Stefano praised Seewald for his courage in calling Benedict XVI 'the Pope of Jesus'. He is, of course, "the first pope ever to have written a book about Jesus of Nazareth, showing us that without a connection to the real presence of Jesus, there is no joy".
Seewald describes Benedict XVI's Catholic faith as "extremely beautiful - both poetic and musical. There is an intrinsic musicality even in his speech which makes his words more pregnant. He possesses an impressive compositional ability: his words do just reach the mind - they touch the heart."
"Anyone who has had the good fortune to meet him as many times as I have will have experienced his holiness which he manifests simply but contagiously. He can be very entertaining, and he laughs a lot".
For his part, Don Stefano remarked that "whoever reads this book will find himself immersed in joy and peace".
Seewald says that "In this last stage of his life, he is still the great thinker and teacher that he is, but he retains the faith of a child, as in the Gospel exhortation that we must be children at heart".
He concluded: "This book is an excursion into the life of a person who is nonpareil and who has brought fulfillment to his faith. Benedict is pure Catholicism. At this historical period in which we do not know where we are going, it is a book we can hold on to. Benedict XVI represents the rock on which the Church of the future will be (re)built."
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 27/10/2016 01:45]