Interesting and thought-provoking articles have been
popping up all over the Internet this week in the wake of the Holy Father’s
surprise announcement on Monday—as have…shall we say…less-than-well-informed pieces. But skip
those, and read these instead.
— First, if you haven’t yet read Carl’s editorial, posted today on the CWR homepage,
you should. A snippet:
“Our faith is not in the pope,” [Cardinal Arinze] said shortly after Benedict’s announcement, “it is
in Christ… So this event can help all of us to be deeper in our faith. To be,
shall we say, less sentimental.” The last bit is more important than it might
appear initially. Benedict XVI is, by all accounts, a very warm and personable
man, but I’ve never heard the word “sentimental” associated with him. The fact
is, we live not in the Information Age, but in the Sentimental Age, driven not
by good thinking, tested prudence, or treasured wisdom, but by sentiments, feelings,
emotions. Everywhere we turn, there are voices and texts and tweets flooding us
with feelings and opinions.
But what of truth? Of reason? It says volumes (literally, if printed)
that the greatest champion of reason today, the Vicar of Christ, is judged and
mocked as “unreasonable” by a world that scorns reason like a junkie scorns
rehab. Those who deny the transcendent and who wish to make (or re-make) man in
their own image cannot and will not engage with this voice of reason for the
simple reason that they will not stand to be exposed for the charlatans they
are.
— In his editorial, Carl references an article by Father
George Rutler at Crisis Magazine, “Benedict’s Decision in the Light of Eternity.”
It is a moving reflection on what Pope Benedict has accomplished during his
papacy and how his renunciation of the Throne of Peter is in continuity with
what has preceded it:
The verdict of centuries from now will
affirm the spiritual electricity of his Regensburg lecture, and how he spoke to
the French academics in 2010, and, if words be immortal, his undying words in
Westminster Hall. His general audiences
regularly outnumbered those of his beloved predecessor and those accustomed to
spectacle actually began to listen to the crystalline reasoning of what he
said. Before he became pope, any form critic could detect his hand in Vatican
documents when turgid prose suddenly broke into clarity. His first rate mind
did not indulge the tendency of lesser minds to obscure what is profound and to
think that what is obscure is perforce profound.
If he was expected to be a caretaker pope,
he took care very well, proving himself unexpectedly radical in his reform of
reform, which is more difficult than reform itself, for it restores the form
that reformers forgot. So we had the renewal of liturgical integrity in an
ecology of beauty, streamlining of the Curia, greater attention to episcopal
appointments, the overdue beatification of Newman with all its portents for
theological science, the Anglican Ordinariate which may be less significant for
what it becomes than for the fact that it exists at all, and progress with the
Eastern churches. His plans, like all
“the best laid schemes of mice and men” were not completely realized. Not all that Benedict called “filth” was
removed, and we can be sure that a media
eager to affect being scandalized, will point out among those entering the
Conclave, those who bring with them the shadows of what Benedict tried to
dispel. But he continues to dignify in charity even those who may not
understand that “dignitas.” He announced
his renunciation of office in Latin, and by so doing indicated his hope that
even if some of those listening may have mingled astonishment with
incomprehension, his successor will be able to speak the official language of
the Church he leads and the city he governs.
— John Allen has a very interesting piece on the ins and
outs of how the next pope will be elected, titled “A quick course in Conclave 101.” Lots of
fascinating details here; an excerpt:
In truth, what goes on is more
akin to a liturgy than a political convention. In each round of balloting,
every one of the cardinals eligible to vote (117 this time) has to process to
the altar beneath Michelangelo's fresco of the Last Judgment and place his
ballot on a paten, then deposit it in a chalice (though last time, the Vatican
used a specially designed urn). They vow they have voted for the candidate whom
before God they believe should be elected, then return to their seats. The
counting is an elaborate process involving three cardinals, and their work has
to be checked by another three cardinals to ensure it's accurate. All told, one
round of balloting can take an hour or more to complete, so that two ballots
are, in effect, a morning's or afternoon's work.
That's the reality inside the Sistine Chapel: There are long
stretches of time spent in silence and in prayer, with no floor speeches, no
dramatic moments when a kingmaker pops up and swings his support to another
candidate, no concessions and no victory laps.
— As was confirmed earlier this week by papal
spokesman Father Federico Lombardi, a planned fourth encyclical on the virtue
of faith will not be completed before the end of Benedict’s pontificate. Francis X. Rocca writes for CNS about this “missing
encyclical” and its chances for eventual publication:
Father Lombardi has suggested that the
former Pope Benedict might eventually publish the document under his own name,
in which case it would not rank as part of the papal magisterium. But it is at
least as likely that his successor will take up and finish the task.
Popes tend to honor their predecessors'
commitments, which is why everyone assumes that the next pope will travel to
Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day in July. Indeed, Pope Benedict's own first
encyclical, "Deus Caritas Est," was started by his predecessor,
Blessed John Paul II. …
Pope Benedict has been careful throughout
his pontificate to distinguish his personal writings from his papal documents,
by publishing his bestselling series of "Jesus of Nazareth" books
under the name Joseph Ratzinger. The knowledge that the next encyclical was the
work of more than one pope would further underscore its impersonal character
and reinforce the idea, which Pope Benedict has conveyed so dramatically through
his resignation, that the papacy is an office distinct from any individual who
might hold it.
— Finally, if you’re still looking for more to read on,
about, or by Pope Benedict, you could certainly delve into one or more of the
three encyclicals he produced during his eight years as Supreme Pontiff (I'm going through Caritas in Veritate again). You’ll
be light years ahead of any number of those ill-informed members of the media who have felt free to opine on Benedict’s life and
legacy.
Deus Caritas Est (2005)
Spe Salvi (2007)
Caritas in Veritate (2009)