Benedict: Year One

John Allen has a thoughtful (and lengthy!) analysis of the first year of B16’s reign. It’s worth reading as a whole, but I wanted to call attention to this one point, in which Allen is describing the reaction many had to Benedict’s election:

[I]n the immediate aftermath of his election, most commentators fell back upon tried-and-true labels: "archconservative," "authoritarian," "hard-line."

Probably the best expression of all this came in an editorial cartoon in L’Unità, the newspaper of the old Communist Party in Italy. Understanding the cartoon requires a bit of background. In Italy, perhaps the most revered pope of modern times is John XXIII, know as il papa buono, "The Good Pope." One treasured memory of John XXIII is an evening in October 1962, the opening of the Second Vatican Council, when the Catholic Action movement organized a torchlight parade that finished in St. Peter’s Square. The pope was not scheduled to address the crowd, but when it arrived, John XXIII wanted to speak. He said something burned into the consciousness of most Italians, repeated endlessly on television and radio. Smiling down on the crowd, he said: Tornando a casa, troverete i bambini. Date una carezza ai vostri bambini e dite: questa è la carezza del Papa. It means, "When you go home, you’ll find your children. Give them a kiss, and tell them that this kiss comes from the pope." It summed up the legendary love of the man.

Thus the L’Unità cartoon showed Benedict XVI at the same window, saying, "Tonight, when you go home, I want you to give your children a spanking, and tell them that this spanking comes from the pope."

ROFL!

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Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

14 thoughts on “Benedict: Year One”

  2. Yes, Pope John XXIII was well loved. His passing was one of those events in my life, when I will forever remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news.

  3. A minor quibble, but wouldn’t “carezza” be a caress, rather than a kiss?

  4. I believe that’s what we call a dynamic translation.
    Few English-speaking persons would say they “caress” their kids goodnight.

  6. I believe that’s what we call a dynamic translation.
    Few English-speaking persons would say they “caress” their kids goodnight.
    So *that*’s what I should be calling those. Often, I want to translate something for somebody but I tell them, “I know what it means, but it doesn’t make sense translated to English!” and I have to search my brain for colloquial equivalents.

  7. I am still waiting to see what kind of Pope Benedict will be. I am wondering if He will be a leader or a manager. I really havent noticed anything in the first year. Now there are rumblings about the Latin Missal and the SSPX coming back into the fold. The Church seems to make a gesture (even a Cardinal saying they are not Schismatic). Will This be a highlight of his Papacy?..I understand he is not JP2. I understand that JP2 came to us as a young man. I just wish I could see him do something other than red shoes and sunglasses. Pax Bonum

  8. I think John Allen summarizes what is pretty evident. Pope Benedict doesn’t want to be president and isn’t pursuing it.
    Seeing Allen’s commentary makes the decision to drop Patriarchate of the West quite understandable. Instead of directing the African bishops, he is holding an African Synod. Those bishops that thought they had difficult jobs are going to find their jobs more difficult as Benedict forces them to take leadership on local and national issues rather than passing the buck to Rome.

  9. “I really havent noticed anything in the first year.”
    Have you read Deus Caritas Est?

  10. “I really havent noticed anything in the first year.”
    “Have you read Deus Caritas Est?”
    Or heard about World Youth Day? Or his daily messages? Or… ? Don’t rely on mainstream media to get your info about the pope (if you were) – Benedict doesn’t get the same headlines as JPII. Subscribe to the Vatican Information Service or some reputable Catholic news organization 🙂

  12. Africa not look to Rome?..Letting Bishop’s (look at The LA diocese or the American Bishops!) run their own courses is what the problem is. Rome is is the Seat of Peter. If we cannot turen to Rome for Guidance…where do we go?

  13. When are Catholics going to stop referring to Pope John XXIII as the “good pope”? This seems to imply that those who preceeded him were in some way not good. In 2000 years, while there were some popes involved in personal scandal, all of our popes have always upheld the faith through the protection of the Holy Ghost, therefore all popes qualify as good popes. Catholics especially should realize how unCatholic it is to even subtly pit a pope against his predecessors.

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