Category: Benedict XVI

Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, elder brother of Pope Benedict XVI, was recently hospitalized for heart trouble.  Although he has now been released and is on the road to recovery, the picture above — which I found over at Amy Welborn’s blog — was just too touching not to share. 

… And it might look something like Musum Pontificalis, a parody blog that imagines how Pope Benedict XVI might blog were he a blogger.  (Here is a link to the satirist’s disclaimer.)  Now that the Pope has a blog, so to speak, you might be curious about "his thoughts" on the Harry Potter brouhaha:

"I sure didn’t see this one coming. Sometimes I just want to say, ‘Come on, people; get a life.’

"Obviously, I haven’t reinstated Index Librorum Prohibitorum and placed Harry Potter on it. Believe me, there are any number of Jesuit publications that would make it to the Index before Harry Potter."

GET THE POST.

(Nod to Whispers in the Loggia for the link.)

"For they have set out for his sake and have accepted nothing from the heathen. So we ought to support such men, that we may be fellow workers in the truth" (3 John 7-8).

Since the elevation of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger to the papacy as Pope Benedict XVI, I have been reading several biographies of him. Among them are The Rise of Benedict XVI by John L. Allen Jr., the Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, Pope Benedict XVI: His Life and Mission by non-Catholic Christian historian Stephen Mansfield; and Pope Benedict XVI: A Personal Portrait by Heinz-Joachim Fischer.

One thing that struck me in the various accounts of our new Holy Father is that although his passion for objective truth is like a golden thread woven throughout his life pattern, those who tell his life story remark that he is one of the kindest, gentlest people you could ever hope to meet. He has been known to publicly debate non-Catholics, even atheists, and yet he is acclaimed for acceding to the good points they make. For example, in one such debate, recounted by Allen, before Ratzinger’s election to the papacy, an atheist challenged Cardinal Ratzinger, saying that there was a difference between a "life" and a "person." Yes, Ratzinger acknowledged, that is true and conceded the point by commenting that even a plant is a "life" and that there should be careful distinction between the two terms.

Contrast this generous and humble attitude with that of certain non-Catholic Christians and even some Catholics who appear to be just as passionately concerned for the purity of objective truth, even to the extreme of fashioning faddish "No Compromise" bracelets, but who cannot concede that anyone but they could be right in every detail. A person must either agree with them on everything they declare to be The Essentials, or, quite literally, be facing damnation.

My question then is how passion for objective truth can place one person on the road to sanctity and others on the road to sanctimony.

Perhaps the answer is that there is a difference between a love of truth and a love of being right.

A love of truth can allow a man to be one of the staunchest defenders of Catholic orthodoxy of modern times and yet also allow for him to be personal friends with those who sharply disagree with him. Dr. Fischer, for example, recounts how Cardinal Ratzinger confided in him before the opening of the conclave that he hoped that the new pontiff, whom Ratzinger in no way thought would be he, might choose Ratzinger’s favorite papal name, "Benedict"; yet, at the same time, Dr. Fischer counsels supporters of women’s ordination that they may yet have hope of succeeding in the generations to come. In other words, Cardinal Ratzinger could both be a defender of Catholic orthodoxy and a personal friend of someone whose own views on certain issues apparently are quite heterodox.

On the other hand, a love of being right can allow non-Catholic Christian apologists to bicker viciously among themselves over whether Roman Catholics are Christians and all but excommunicate those they perceive to be Dancing With Roman Wolves. It can also allow certain Catholics to bicker among themselves over whose interpretation of Vatican II is Right and to dismiss as lost in the quicksands of "modernism" any who, for example, attend the standard rite of the Mass or who think Vatican II was a Good Thing.

Perhaps the key to choosing the road to sanctity rather than the road to sanctimony is to understand that we must be servants of the Truth — fellow-workers in the Truth, so to speak — rather than masters of Truth who keep Truth as our personal possession.

Truth is Someone, an infinite Someone (cf. John 14:6), and that means that it is outside ourselves and cannot be packed fully into our finite minds. We can have access to the Truth, like the householder who inventories his storeroom and continually finds treasure both new and old (cf. Matt. 13:52). It also means that we may not have the access to Truth that others have. The Church is the depository of all Truth and will be guided into all Truth, but individuals may not see some facets of the Truth that other individuals do. It is for us to accept those facets, "baptize" them where necessary, and discern how they fit into the larger Truth entrusted to the Church. It is not for us to dismiss others, even those of different religions or of no religion, as know-nothings. They may not know it all, but then neither do we.

In short, to be at the service of the Truth is to admit the possibility of being wrong. Without an ability to acknowledge when we are in error — or that it is even possible that we might err — we will never grow in Truth. We’ll have only that Truth about which we are sure that we’re right and no more.

Okay, this is odd . . .

Joaquin Navarro-Valls, Vatican spokesman [said that] Pope Benedict was using his mountain retreat to finish a book he began writing three years ago, the spokesman said.

Navarro-Valls refused to tell reporters what the book is about, but said, "You will find out when it arrives in the bookstores."

However, several Italian papers have written that the book is about the "battle of ideas" and finding a proper balance between faith and reason, truth and freedom, and religion and ethics.

Navarro-Valls said the pope also was working on the speeches he will give during his Aug. 18-21 visit to Germany for World Youth Day and on a first draft of an encyclical that "will come out later." [SOURCE]

It’s interesting that they’d be this cagey about the book B16 is penning. It’s also interesting that he appears to be finishing it before getting his first encyclical out.

It’ll also be interesting to determine what level of authority is to be ascribed to the book. It may not be a papal document and thus may not share in papal authority but instead be a composition of the pope in his private capacity as a theologian.

This would be odd, though not completely without precedent. John Paul II wrote several books in private capacities during his reign. For example, books of poetry.

The situation brings to mind something I was reading about in Ratzinger’s excellent and easy-to-read interview book SALT OF THE EARTH. He revealed that when he was named head of the CDF, he told JPII that he felt the need to retain the right to continue to write theology in his own name (i.e., to produce private theological works separate from his capacity as head of the CDF). At first JPII wasn’t sure about this, but they checked and found that it had been done before, so JPII told him that it wouldn’t be a problem.

Perhaps now that he’s pope, B16 intends to do something similar: To continue to write the theology books he’s wanted to write for so long but keep them as personal, non-papal works distinct from the official documents he will be responsible for as pope.

Time will tell.

Okay, this is odd . . .

Joaquin Navarro-Valls, Vatican spokesman [said that] Pope Benedict was using his mountain retreat to finish a book he began writing three years ago, the spokesman said.

Navarro-Valls refused to tell reporters what the book is about, but said, "You will find out when it arrives in the bookstores."

However, several Italian papers have written that the book is about the "battle of ideas" and finding a proper balance between faith and reason, truth and freedom, and religion and ethics.

Navarro-Valls said the pope also was working on the speeches he will give during his Aug. 18-21 visit to Germany for World Youth Day and on a first draft of an encyclical that "will come out later." [SOURCE]

It’s interesting that they’d be this cagey about the book B16 is penning. It’s also interesting that he appears to be finishing it before getting his first encyclical out.

It’ll also be interesting to determine what level of authority is to be ascribed to the book. It may not be a papal document and thus may not share in papal authority but instead be a composition of the pope in his private capacity as a theologian.

This would be odd, though not completely without precedent. John Paul II wrote several books in private capacities during his reign. For example, books of poetry.

The situation brings to mind something I was reading about in Ratzinger’s excellent and easy-to-read interview book SALT OF THE EARTH. He revealed that when he was named head of the CDF, he told JPII that he felt the need to retain the right to continue to write theology in his own name (i.e., to produce private theological works separate from his capacity as head of the CDF). At first JPII wasn’t sure about this, but they checked and found that it had been done before, so JPII told him that it wouldn’t be a problem.

Perhaps now that he’s pope, B16 intends to do something similar: To continue to write the theology books he’s wanted to write for so long but keep them as personal, non-papal works distinct from the official documents he will be responsible for as pope.

Time will tell.

GET THE STORY.

Sigh.

That’s what I need. . . . . a vacation.

Not sure when I’ll be able to get one, though (more than a day or two here and there).

Doesn’t stop me from looking, tho. Just this weekend I was looking at web pages for guest ranches in Texas and Arizona for a possible, someday vacation. Horseback riding, sleeping under the stars, cabins, that kind of thing.

Unfortunately, the Arizona ones (which are closer) tend to only be open from November to May.

That’s Arizona for you.

GET THE STORY.

Sigh.

That’s what I need. . . . . a vacation.

Not sure when I’ll be able to get one, though (more than a day or two here and there).

Doesn’t stop me from looking, tho. Just this weekend I was looking at web pages for guest ranches in Texas and Arizona for a possible, someday vacation. Horseback riding, sleeping under the stars, cabins, that kind of thing.

Unfortunately, the Arizona ones (which are closer) tend to only be open from November to May.

That’s Arizona for you.

Actually, a lot of us knew.

Ratzinger is and always has been a cool guy, but the media’s lust for portraying every story in terms of conflict and hyperbole has led many to view him as a theological "rottweiler." The media and the secular intelligentia still view him in that light, but many–including many of the faithful–have been won over by his humble, gentle manner now that he’s pope.

HERE’S SOME INTERESTING ANALYSIS FROM SANDRO MAGISTER OF B16’S GOVERNING STYLE IN HIS FIRST THREE MONTHS IN OFFICE.

Actually, a lot of us knew.

Ratzinger is and always has been a cool guy, but the media’s lust for portraying every story in terms of conflict and hyperbole has led many to view him as a theological "rottweiler." The media and the secular intelligentia still view him in that light, but many–including many of the faithful–have been won over by his humble, gentle manner now that he’s pope.

HERE’S SOME INTERESTING ANALYSIS FROM SANDRO MAGISTER OF B16’S GOVERNING STYLE IN HIS FIRST THREE MONTHS IN OFFICE.

Last week I pointed out that LifeSiteNews.Com has been waging an anti-Harry Potter campaign based on a thank you note written several years ago by Cardinal Ratzinger or an assistant of his. LifeSite presented the story under the headline "Pope Benedict Opposes Harry Potter Novels"–which was problematic for REASONS THAT I EXPLAINED (ALSO HERE).

In one of the posts, I wrote:

Some of the people seeing the LifeSite-inspired headlines on this
subject will be non-Catholic fans of Harry Potter, and in their
estimation the Catholic Church will have the Church’s credibility
lowered one more notch.

Thanks, LifeSite.

"It is written, ‘The name of  God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you’" (Romans 2:24).

Now, some might be dubious of this, but it’s no joke. On this matter, let me point to what the Pontificator has written:

I know this news is going to make life a lot harder for the papists in
the Pontificator household. The lone Episcopalian holdout in our home
is the Pontificator’s Greatest Progeny (PGP). She also just happens to
be one of the world’s great experts on Harry Potter. No doubt
Ratzinger’s recently published two-year old, non-authoritative,
private, and perhaps uncritical comments will be noted in her diary as
one more reason why she should not convert to Rome. Friends, I think a novena and all that other good Catholic prayer stuff may be in order
here [SOURCE].

Amen.

And I hope LifeSite meditates on the scandal that will be caused by their opportunistic manufacture of this "story"–just "coincidentally" timed with the release of the latest Harry Potter novel.

Now, before I forget, let me issue THE BIG RED DISCLAIMER: I am not
a fan of the Harry Potter novels. In order to be able to comment
apologetically on the Harry Potter phenomenon, I read the first novel
and watched the first two movies. I was not at all impressed with them
as literature, and I recognize that they can have a harmful spiritual
effect on some readers, especially among the young. I also recognize
that they are not an apologia for paganism and that a reader who is
secure in his faith will not be magically turned into a neo-pagan by
reading them.