The 'Francis effect' sprung out
of Benedict XVI's renunciation
by Cristiana Caricato
Translated from
April 16, 2013
When one is reposing with God, nothing else matters. But I am sure that today Benedict XVI is happy. Perhaps much more than we could imagine.
But not because his voluntary retirement shields him from that massive public attention which is such a contrast to his natural modesty but because he can celebrate 86 years of existence in humility and hiddenness, in keeping with his temperament, free to carry in his heart everything that he brings before Jesus in his daily prayers.
His conscience, which he stripped bare with an unprecedented decision, will not bear much examination. Nor a settling of accounts. Saints do not do that. They do not need to, because they know that in a sense, they have won their earthly battles.
But from the human perspective, one must say that if there is a player who has scored best in recent history, it would be Joseph Ratzinger. The latest confirmation to such a thesis - my personal own, clearly - comes in the results of a survey presented yesterday by CESNUR, the Turin-based study center on new religions.
It was carried out by a socialist and observer of contemporary religions, its director Massimo Introvigne, who is above suspicion, and who, with scientific interest and doctrinal security, wished to verify all that has been said with great satisfaction in the past month in Catholic sites and newspapers. Namely, about a great springtime for the faith, with the return of many Catholics to the pews and to the confessionals...
They call it 'the Francis effect', with the following premise: "The new Pope is very likable, the people adore him, and they understand his message of a merciful God, so the lost sheep are coming back to the flock".
This had to be verified, and CESNUR did so through a questionnaire it disseminated through the social networks. The results from limited sampling confirm that more than half of Italy appears to have undergone an increase in Church=going and confessions lately.
53% in a sample of 200 priests and religious claimed to have experienced an increase in religious practice among their parishioners over the past month. 43.8% of this increase was described as 'consistent' for at least 26% of the returnees. Not bad at all.
To the skeptics who may be suspicious of the honesty of the respondents (at the very least, the sample is biased by the interest of the respondents), Introvigne presents the results of a survey among 500 laymen, among whom 41.8& said they were aware of the 'Bergoglio phenomenon', though they seemed to be less enthusiastic about it.
Thus the reliability and concreteness of the general perception of a "Francis effect' appear to be confirmed with figures, even if to a limited extent, and surely, there will be those who will exploit it for their own purposes. Such as pastors whose own jurisdictions have been mismanaged, impoverished priests in parishes where they are forced to multi-task, the Francis fanatics who have sprung up spontaneously
[Hey! I wouldn't put them down, speaking as a spontaneous instantaneous Benaddict!], the a-critical and ardent exalters of anything new for the sake of putting down the old. And Massimo Introvigne is certainly none of the above.
He has always been precise and prompt in his analyses, and is wise enough to underscore that the phenomenon is a double one, that it must be considered a 'Benedict/Francis phenomenon'.
His survey, through its carefully designed questionnaire, also shows that the wave of renewed sympathy (or interest) in many things Catholic that had been previously rejected began with Benedict XVI's renunciation of the Papacy.
What had initially provoked questions, opened many eyes, interpellated consciences, and aroused expectations among fallen-away Catholics, was the emotional reaction to Benedict XVI's abysmally humble and profoundly Christian gesture of renunciation. This all came first chronologically.
{Also logically. Because a new Pope could not have been elected if Benedict XVI had not resigned! It was his renunciation that made it possible for Francis to become Pope at this time.]
So now we get back to the happiness that Joseph Ratzinger must feel on his 86th birthday. Does anyone think that a man who flung down from the bastions of history the power [and the prerogatives] that had been handed to him by the Holy Spirit, for the sake of what he perceived to be the good of the Church, would want anything else but the good of the Church?
And that is why I can be sure he is serenely content. Many people thought he had made a huge gamble. But for others, he simply placed all his trust in God by carrying out a risk that only an unshakable faith could have sustained.
And it seems things could not have turned out better, with his decision to 'climb the mountain' so that with his prayers, he could help propel Peter's boat forward.
Now we have Pope Francis, with a reactive Church that seems more alive than ever, following a quiet program of reform that the German Pope nurtured and prepared for years, with palpable and visible hope based on faith in the Risen Christ.
It is a moment of grace for the man who blew out 86 candles today. His gift? The CESNUR survey.
And so, best wishes on your birthday, Padre Santo!
And the first badge of honor and loyalty in the 'decency test' for cardinals goes to...
Cardinal Comastri:
Benedict XVI's prayers sustain
Pope Francis and all of us
Translated from the Italian service of
April 16, 2013
Benedict XVI may be hidden from the world, but the world, and especially the Church, has not forgotten him. So it is not surprising that so many - VIPs as well as the simple folk - have been sending him best wishes for his 86th birthday today.
Best wishes that go with gratitude, says Cardinal Angelo Comastri, Arch-Priest of St. Peter's Basilica, and the Pope's vicar for the Vatican, in an interview with Alessandro Gisotti:
CARDINAL COMASTRI: Pope Benedict closed out his Pontificate with a great act of humility which opened the way for the Pontificate of Pope Francis and his evangelical simplicity. On his 86th birthday, my heart feels compelled to express my gratitude to Pope Benedict for the service he has given the Church and which he continues to give. As he said, "I am not abandoning my service to the Church but continue to serve her in prayer, in silence and out of sight."
For us believers, prayer is a great help. I am convinced that Pope Benedict's prayers help sustain the work of Pope Francis, that his prayers are particularly effective for the Pontificate of his successor and for the whole Church.
This dimension of prayer is something extraordinary, because Pope Benedict has called himself a pilgrim on the mountain, praying for the People of God, even as the People of God pray for him...
It is they mystery of the Church - the Church as communion, When God is in our midst, he creates communion, because God is love. Just as Pope Benedict cannot forget us, we cannot forget him - our faith in Jesus unites us all, in a spiritual kinship defined by the blood of love. So even if Pope Benedict is out of sight, he remains part of us.
At his last public statement in Castel Gandolfo on February 28, he said that now he was undertaking the last stage of his life as a pilgrim, but it is a pilgrimage that he makes alongside all of us. We are all pilgrims towards the same destination, with the same faith, the same lamp that illuminates our way.
So many are expressing their best wishes to Pope Benedict today, from simple tweets to prayers and Masses, as a sign of love that has not faded because he retired, and may have even grown because of it...
It is a love that has been transfigured. I feel special gratitude to Pope Benedict for the lucidity of his Magisterium: We live in an age of fog, an age of great confusion, in a spiritual void - and Pope Benedict gave us the extraordinary teaching to cope with all this.
He reminded us in thousands of ways - using a language that I would say was always theologically perfect but also immediately understandable to everyone - that Jesus is the hand of God who takes us out of our prison of selfishness, and therefore, rescues is from our disquiet, uneasiness and sadness.
How many times did he say, in direct continuity with John Paul II, "Do not be afraid of Jesus - he does not take away anything, he gives everything".
In find it admirable that Cardinal Comastri did not feel compelled to 'balance out', as others might have, his words for Benedict XVI with words in praise of Pope Francis, since the interview was, after all, specifically about Benedict XVI and his birthday today.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 16/04/2013 21:24]