BENEDICT XVI: NEWS, PAPAL TEXTS, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY

I am still rather dysfunctional, I am erratic in my postings, and coping has not been easy, but I must admit I also did not bother to check how the newspapers in the USA reported Benedict XVI's renunciation! -Because I expected them to simply retool the obituary stories they had on hand in case of a papal death and adapted it to the new circumstances, without changing an iota of their cast-in-stone views about this Pope... So I was surprised today to come across this USA Today story dated February 12, which is almost a model of commonsense and even genuinely insightful reporting
- something I have not seen in MSM reporting about the Vatican - and anything in this story that may smack of hyperbole or hysteria is limited to some of the resource persons they approached for reaction. (Laus Deo, they did not turn to Thomas Reese, John Allen and David Gibson - the usual 'go-to' reliables of MSM for 'gotcha!' putdowns of Benedict XVI). And most of all, miracle of miracles, no litany of 'scandals' and 'gaffes' heaped on the snow-white head of the media's sacrificial lamb for far too long (though in keeping away from the negatives, the USA Today writers fail to mention what Benedict XVI has done against the scourge of priest perversions!)... Thank you, anyway, to the journalists who did this story.

Benedict's resignation
transforms Church tradition
by Jabeen Bhatti, Eric J. Lyman and Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY


VATICAN CITY — The act of resigning will be one of the most enduring legacies of Pope Benedict XVI.

As the first Pope in 600 years to step down, Benedict shocked the world Monday. Yet in so doing, the conservative Pope made a progressive statement that the head of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics must be energetic enough to engage forcefully in the moral battles of the modern world, theologians and Vatican watchers say.

It was "the most modernizing decision Pope Benedict has taken," said Michael Sean Winters, a National Catholic Reporter columnist. "In a single moment, the Pope has removed some of the aura of the papacy."

Theologian George Weigel called the Pope's resignation a "great act of humility and self-abnegation" that looks to improving the future of the Church under a new, vigorous Pope. "He wants the Church to be well served," as it faces immense demands, he said.

During his eight years as Pope, Benedict, 85, picked up where his predecessor and friend Pope John Paul II left off by standing fast for core Christian values such as a respect for traditional marriage.

He insisted on adherence to Catholic precepts for Catholic universities and religious orders, oversaw the return of the Mass to more historical roots, and urged secular leaders to follow Christian teachings on morality in their decisions.

Citing age and declining health, Benedict announced in Latin during a meeting of cardinals that he would resign as of Feb. 28. A conclave of cardinals will elect a successor next month. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said he expected a new Pope before Easter.

"After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths due to an advanced age are no longer suited" for the task, Benedict said. "Both strength of mind and body are necessary, strengths which in the last few months have deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me."

John Paul II was a broad-shouldered sportsman of 58 when he was elected pope in 1978. Benedict was already frail when he was elected at the age of 78, the oldest man elevated to Pope since Clement XII in 1730.

And while the charismatic John Paul wowed crowds in St. Peter's Square, the shy Benedict usually opted for public audiences that prompted contemplation among the faithful.

Theologians say it is difficult to predict whom the College of Cardinals will choose as the new Pope, though the Church is facing a number of challenges that might affect the papal conclave's decision.
[Obviously, the cardinal electors must come to a consensus on what are the greatest challenges and priorities for the Church today, and it's hard to imagine that they would be different from what Benedict XVI faced one week ago! They cannot have changed overnight just because he announced his renunciation. In which case, they should elect someone who is most likely to continue the initiatives begun by Benedict XVI but with the physical strength that has been steadily abandoning the latter, and obviously with the spiritual and intellectual qualities that have distinguished the Successors of Peter in the past century or so.]

John Murray, a lecturer in moral theology at the Mater Dei Institute of Education in Dublin, said the German-born Benedict, formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was chosen in part to address rising secularism in Western Europe. "That's still a challenge obviously," he said. [That's a rather limiting look at why they chose him - the most obvious reason being that there really was no other choice who could match the superior spiritual and intellectual qualities of the previous Pope, who had been the latter's closest collaborator for a quatter century, and who knew the Church and the world's bishops as well as he did. Wisely, they chose him for what he is than for any specific missions they had in mind for him.]

As Church attendance in Western Europe declines and fewer men and women enter religious orders, the new Pope may come from a developing country in Africa, Latin America or Asia where the Church is thriving. [I have never seen the logic of such an assumption, unless the Third World cardinals had a preponderance in numbers among the cardinal electors - and they don't have that yet; or at leas that there is plausible reason to believe that besides the Third World votes, any viable Third World candidate could also count on enough of the 'Old World' cardinals to get a two-thirds majority.] Still, many analysts expect continuity similar to Benedict's selection.

"Ratzinger very much followed John Paul, worked for John Paul, so will the next person be of the same mind with those two previous popes?" said Garry O'Sullivan, editor of The Irish Catholic newspaper.

Or will a new Pope have to confront new challenges with new policies? "These are tumultuous times," said Brennan Pursell, author of the biography, Benedict of Bavaria: An Intimate Portrait of the Pope and His Homeland. "You have a society that is rapidly separating itself from its cultural and social roots to the church."

Africa, South and Central America and Asia are likely to take more focus. Church positions that some Western Catholics take issue with — on contraception, divorce, homosexuality — are not of pressing importance in those parts of the world.

Regardless, no one expects big changes at the Church's core values. Benedict approved the appointment of the majority of the church's cardinals, so there won't be reversals on views of homosexuality, women's ordination or abortion, observers say.

"It's the Pope's job to stand at the helm, never change its credo," Pursell said. "Adjustments have to be made every day, in every age. But all Popes are conservative. It is their job to be conservative, to preserve the Catholic Church." [Very well said!]

Though a staunch conservative when it came to Church teachings, Benedict has recognized the importance of keeping Christianity relevant to the modern world.

He tweets from an iPad, beams benedictions from a Facebook page and distributes Vatican news from a YouTube channel.

As a cardinal, he was a mighty theologian known for his scholarship.

Among his accomplishments as Pope:

He presided over the restoration of the Mass to historic richness by drawing the prayers said and sung closer to their ancient Latin roots.

He appointed orthodox — and media savvy — bishops and cardinals to steer the Church for years to come. His appointees now outnumber John Paul's in the College of Cardinals. Catholic liberals griped that his appointments were not as concerned about the Church's historic stands for social justice as the liberals wanted.

He stepped up dialogue with the Eastern Orthodox across centuries-old divisions. He raised Catholic-Jewish relations to "unprecedented levels" by speaking out against Holocaust denial, World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder said.

He issued three encyclicals on love and charity including a strong call for a "establishing a true world political authority" with "real teeth" to manage the global economy with God-centered ethics to bring economic justice to the world's poor.

He campaigned for a "New Evangelism" to combat the trend toward secular lifestyles. The focus was on converting baptized Catholics to a deeper, more vital faith.

He aimed the campaign at Europe, where Mass attendance was below 10%; North America, where millions of Catholics are not living by cCurch teachings, and South America, where thriving Protestant missions encroach on the flock.

He was no globe-trotter like John Paul II, but crowds were enthusiastic on his 25 trips outside Italy. At home, he drew more to the weekly audience in St. Peter's Square than his predecessor. Soon, says theologian Weigel, there was a saying in Rome: "People came to see John Paul; they come to hear Benedict."

The leadsership job of preaching, teaching and governing the world's largest non-governmental organization is enormous. The Church had a pastoral pope in John Paul, followed by a deep scholar in Benedict.

Is it time for a manager to bring professionalism to the vast machinery? "We need all three," said James Martin, culture editor of the Jesuit magazine America. [And here again, we have the Pavlov-dog reflex of 'armchair Popes' who really think that the Vicar of Christ should also be a CEO! Do they really think that or are they just spouting their usual mindless cliches? By the provisions of the Lateran Pacts that created Vatican City State, the Pope is the sovereign, i.e., head of state, not head of government. For that, the Pope names a Secretary of State. 'Secretary' in Vatican designations is the #2 man of an organization, so the #2 man in Vatican City State is the Secretary of State which has never been other than an administrative position. The Vatican system makes sense. It's just that the persons named have not always been up to the job.]

The Pope's brother, Georg Ratzinger, said Monday he had known for months the resignation was coming. By 2011, the arthritic Pope was using a cane, the Vatican said. At Christmas services last year, he was stooped, his eyes half closed, his face haggard.

Pursell believes Benedict resigned to tell successors they need not remain in the Vatican if they cannot bring to the position all it requires.

"To serve the Church you have to have all your powers," Pursell said. "He intentionally established a new principle for the post-modern world: Why should a pope stay in office if he doesn't choose to." [Not 'if he doesn't choose to' - but 'he doesn't choose to because he is no longer physically (or mentally or psychologically or spiritually) able to give the best service he can.]

Still, some Catholics were shocked and felt Benedict should have stayed on. John Paul survived two assassination attempts and was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease four years before he died in office. His appearances in public were seen by many as his way of showing the faithful that we possess human dignity and worth no matter our years. [So we know that already from John Paul II. Does the next Pope have to display it all over? Did anyone really 'enjoy' or was even comfortable watching the physical affliction taking its toll day after day on John Paul II? A terrible thoght just came to my mind. What if the next Pope makes a statement in one of his earliest pronouncements to the world that "I pledge to stay on as your Pope for as long as I have breath in me"? You never know.]

"I am quite surprised that he is resigning," said retiree Carla Pensato, 65, in Rome. "It seems weird that a great theologian like him would resign just because he's exhausted." [Being a great theologian or a great anything does not exempt you from the laws of aging. HELLO! Do we have such callousness for or ignorance about the afflictions of age that we would condemn someone who is honest enough to say, "I just can't go on anymore"? Let us hope you live to be 86, Carla, so we can ask you when you are 86 if you felt you were still in physical shape to carry out a day's normal routine, let alone be Pope! Besides, there's a world of difference between suffering the afflictions of old age out of the public eye, and being shown to the world 24/7 as you gradually lose your faculties of walking, seeing, hearing, and worse. Would anyone want his father to be subject to that kind of unnecessary humiliation? Why expect Benedict XVI to inflict not just his personal afflictions on the Church and the faithful but also the possibility that he would increasingly be unable to carry out even the simplest physical actions? Even if he had a Joseph Ratzinger standing by, as John Paul II did - and he most definitely doesn't - he would still have decided to go once he is no longer at the top of his game, as he has always been at whatever he has done.]

Murray said Benedict's announcement came as a surprise initially but recalled statements Benedict made indicating "he was opening the door to the possibility" for Popes to step down when John Paul II's health was declining preceding his death in 2005.

"John Paul was a very fine witness to suffering in old age, and the way he held on until the very end was a real inspiration to us all — and in a way there was no need for anyone else to do that again,", he said. [Oh, finally, someone with common sense!] said. "Benedict plans to go and pray and live out his life quietly. It is a very humble thing to do. He is showing us that nobody is indispensable." [And nobody is, because sooner or later, we die.]