At this time, Peter Seewald is probably the only journalist in the world who still has a thought for Benedict XVI, and he makes it clear in this interview with Corriere della Sera that Benedict XVI opened the way for Pope Francis to pursue renewal of the Church, even if no one else seems to see that now. The media and the chatterati have either laid the entire blame for the perennial problems of the Church and its 'current crises' on the Pontificate of Benedict XVI; or just as bad, they talk as if nothing good had been accomplished at all in the past eight years - so better to say that the new Pope has to start from zero, that he's the man who will do 'the job' Benedict XVI could not do at all, either because in their eyes, he does not have the great gifts Pope Francis has in overflowing measure, or because he was simply too weak and incompetent. That has been the subtext of all the media reports and commentary since the election of a new Pope.
Election of Pope Francis
is a milestone for which
Benedict XVI opened the way
Interview with Peter Seewald
by Paolo Lepri
Translated from
March 16, 2013
BERLIN — Peter Seewald is convinced that there is a precise line that joins two reform-minded Popes.
The German journalist and author, biographer of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, says his thoughts have been occupied in the past few weeks by sadness over the farewell of the German Pope and "gratitude for all that he has done".
Today, with the election of Benedict XVI's successor, he looks to the future with the hope of a man of faith.
He says Pope Francis will follow the path of renewal that has been marked out by his predecessor. "Benedict XVI has purified the ship of the Church and left instructions for its crew. Francis will activate the motors to make it proceed through the ocean of our time", says Seewald, who interviewed Benedict XVI in July 2010 for the book
Light of the World, in a telephone interview with
Corriere della Sera.
[The media will attack Seewald for claiming that 'Benedict has purified the ship' because by 'ship', they will only understand 'the Curia' and not the mission of the Church, which was always and only to announce Christ and his salvation. That is done by bishops and priests in the local churches and missionaries around the world, not by the Curia, no matter how excellent it is. To claim that inefficient and 'corrupt' bureaucracy in the Vatican - the total number of persons employed in the Vatican is just about over 2,000, in a Church of 1.2 billion members - is an impediment to the mission of the Church in the world, as someone like George Weigel repeats ad nauseam, is truly irresponsible and senseless. It shows a total lack of perspective and proportion that completely distorts the eye of the beholder, whether it is about the Roman Curia or about perverted priests. And what exactly, Mr. Weigel, was the state of the Curia in the 26 years that preceded Benedict's Pontificate?]
What did you think of the Conclave's outcome?
Their choice could be seen as a surprise, but at the same time, not really. Something new will begin. For the Church, but also for the world. A new era will open with this pastor of high spirituality. The decision of the cardinals is the greatest indication of this epochal milestone.
What do you think were the reasons the cardinals converged on Bergoglio?
From his first gesture as Pope, the prayer for Benedict XVI, the new Pope has indicated that he will follow the path begun by his predecessor. Even his choice of papal name confirms it. After Benedict
in the 6th century, there came Francis in the 13th. Both were the true great reformers of the Church, each in his own time, each according to his own way.
[Thank you, Mr. Seewald, for pointing out the obvious, that everybody else, including men of the Church, seem to have forgotten in the euphoria of the moment. Without St. Benedict, there may not have been a Church - much less a civilization - for St. Francis to reform.]
In fact, true reform cannot be measured through earthly criteria, as most of the media seem to think today. It comes from the faith of the Church itself.
Joseph Ratzinger was a great admirer of St. Francis, who was radically opposed to the spirit of his time. In 2000, he told me during our conversations in Montecassino for the book
God and the World, that at a time of great crisis,
St. Francis had done something decisive: to remain on the side of the Church.
[Some comments I read today in MSM reports about Pope Francis's statement that he wants 'a poor Church and a Church for the poor' reveal that their awareness of Francis of Assisi remains at the level of 'poor mendicant friar' and advocate of universal peace (they make him sound like a vapid beauty contestant).
They see the Pope's statement as a denunciation of Vatican 'pomp and grandeur'. But Francis of Assisi went to Rome to seek the Pope's approval of his order - and didn't tell Innocent III to leave the Vatican or give up papal traditions. He returned years later to attend the Fourth Lateran Council, where met St, Dominic who would found the Order of Preachers, and did not say everyone ought to follow the Franciscan way. He understood that the Church is
catholic and has room for all charisms.
In his January 2010 catechesis on St. Francis, Benedict XVI made the following observation about the dream of Pope Innocent III in 1207, two years before he met Francis at the Vatican and approved his order of 'minor brothers':
In it, he saw the Basilica of St John Lateran, the mother of all churches, collapsing ,and one small and insignificant religious brother supporting the church on his shoulders to prevent it from falling.
On the one hand, it is interesting to note that it is not the Pope who was helping to prevent the Church from collapsing but rather a small and insignificant brother, whom the Pope recognized in Francis when he later came to visit.
Innocent III was a powerful Pope who had a great theological formation and great political influence; nevertheless he was not the one to renew the Church but the small, insignificant religious. It was St Francis, called by God.
On the other hand, however, it is important to note that St Francis does not renew the Church without or in opposition to the Pope, but only in communion with him. The two realities go together: the Successor of Peter, the Bishops, the Church founded on the succession of the Apostles and the new charism that the Holy Spirit brought to life at that time for the Church's renewal. Authentic renewal grew from these together.
The name Francis is, he said, a program in itself. He said that
the Church in Francis's time needed a charismatic renewal from within, a new flame of faith, and not just good administration and good political order. This is valid even for today.
Was this a defeat for the Italian cardinals?
It is not about victory or defeat or the dominance of a particular bloc. The cardinals needed to find the best person for the most difficult job in the world. They had to elect a Successor to Peter.
The choice of Bergoglio, who is of Italian ancestry, was intelligent and wise. I see in him, among other things, a reference to the land of his parents, to Italy and its proud Catholicism, to the city of Rome without which we would not have the Vatican as the earthly 'homeland' of all the Catholics of the world.
What are the differences between Bergoglio and Ratzinger?
In his first and quite measured appearance to the world, Pope Francis made clear that he would follow the work of his predecessor, but with his own style and with his own personal charisms, which include the humility and simplicity that we have seen in Benedict XVI. I think it is now possible to better understand the historical import of Benedict XVI's renunciation.
What do you think will the new Pope's priorities?
Pope Benedict prepared the ground and opened the way, Pope Francis will continue the work, with a priority for the new evangelization, to the proclamation of Christ's message of love and brotherhood.
One might say that John Paul II maintained and stabilized the ship of the Church during a storm. Benedict XVI began to purify the ship, gave instructions to the crew and brought it back on course. Francis will get the motors going to let the ship sail on amid the ocean of our time. And it won't be an easy task.
Have you spoken lately with Benedict XVI? Will he still contribute towards the future of the Church?
The last time I spoke to him [December 2012],
he thought of himself as both the end of the old and the start of the new - so to speak, he has constructed a bridge.
Certainly, his retirement will not be one devoted to gardening. "I am not coming down from the Cross", he has said. With his faith, his meditation, his prayers, he will provide an example of what the Church and the world are much in need of these days. And even if he remains 'silent', let us not forget hat sometimes silence can be quite eloquent and emphatic.
How will that help the new Pope?
I was very impressed that at his first appearance on the loggia of St. Peter's, Pope Francis seemed to have conveyed the same signals so well. Prayer and profound silence in prayer.
I see this Gospel passage like a prologue for this Pontificate, when Jesus said: "My Father is always at work, so I too am at work" (Jn 4,19).
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 17/03/2013 00:53]