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The World Meets Benedict
BY The Editors April 27-May 3, 2008 Issue |
Posted 4/22/08 at 1:21 PM
Months ago, when we planned to go all out for the U.S. papal
visit and World Youth Day, we dubbed our coverage “The World Meets Benedict.”
But before long, that started to seem a little presumptuous. After all, the
Pope himself dubbed his visit “Christ Our Hope.”
As we launched Pope2008.com, our blogsite covering the papal
events; as we put together stories for the Register; as we planned features for
our sister publication, Faith & Family magazine, as our own Circle Press
published the book Benedict of Bavaria; one thing became very clear: The world
already knew Pope Benedict XVI.
After all, he had been Pope since 2005 — nearly the
equivalent of a full presidential term. Before that he headed the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith for decades. We already knew that the old canards
about him weren’t true. He was caricatured as a stern figure hurling anathemas.
That wasn’t him.
We already knew him, from his first encyclical, as a deep
thinker about love, and, from his next, as the “Pope of hope.” We already knew
him as the brave Christian witness who traveled to Istanbul in the wake of
Muslim fundamentalist riots. And we already knew him as a lover of the liturgy
who wanted nothing more than to deepen Catholics’ worship.
But there were some things we didn’t know. We had to see him
for ourselves, in our churches and on our streets, to learn them.
We didn’t know that he had a profound pastoral touch. As we
followed the Holy Father around Washington and New York, we kept finding people
who were moved by their encounters with the Pope. He would lock eyes with them,
touch them gently, and communicate peace wordlessly.
We also didn’t know that Benedict’s deep concern for the
victims of abuse was such that he would want to make it the centerpiece of his
visit. He mentioned it in formal remarks at least six times on his trip, and
his visit with victims of abuse — a seventh instance of the theme — caught
almost everyone off guard.
We also didn’t know Benedict’s immense, “John Pauline” optimism.
The previous Pope spoke of great things to come. He promoted the New
Evangelization, which for him was nothing less than the re-Christianization of
the Western World. He organized the Great Jubilee for the whole Church. He told
us to prepare for the new springtime of the faith.
But Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had predicted a chastened,
smaller church. When he became Pope Benedict, we felt a bit as if our high hopes were a dream we once had, but had outgrown.
We didn’t know Benedict would come to us and revive them
all, calling us once again to the New Evangelization in a “great jubilee” for
America to prepare for the new springtime of the faith.
We also didn’t know how much Benedict loves America, though
we could have known it. It was there to read in more than one interview. But
all of that seemed abstract — until we saw him bound down the airplane stairs,
delighted and eager to be here.
Throughout his stay, one of the most common observations
commentators made was that Benedict was clearly glad to be here. He never
seemed tired in public; the reports of those who witnessed the last event of
each day matched those who witnessed the first: He was a sprightly, alert and
engaged man.
He was very forthright about his feelings for America, also.
When he spoke at the White House, he praised America’s
founding principles. At each of his Masses, he reminded us that the Church’s
presence in America is the result of the Holy Spirit’s efforts. At Yankee
Stadium, he even gave Americans our marching orders: Build the Kingdom of
Christ in the world.
First: Build the Kingdom in business, media, science,
education; everywhere. “Praying fervently for the coming of the Kingdom also
means being constantly alert for the signs of its presence, and working for its
growth in every sector of society.”
Second: Build the Kingdom first in yourself, through a
passionate love for Christ that looks at the Church supernaturally. “It means
facing the challenges of present and future with confidence in Christ’s victory
and a commitment to extending his reign,” he said. “It means not losing heart
in the face of resistance, adversity and scandal.”
Third: Build the Kingdom through an integral, authentic
life, not a compartmentalized one. “It means overcoming every separation
between faith and life, and countering false gospels of freedom and happiness,”
he said. “It also means rejecting a false dichotomy between faith and political
life, since, as the Second Vatican Council put it, ‘there is no human activity
— even in secular affairs — which can be withdrawn from God’s dominion.’”
“The World Meets Benedict” suddenly seems to fit after all.
We did meet Pope Benedict XVI in a new way this year.
But for that meeting to be more than just a touching memory,
we need to take up the Pope’s challenge. We need to do as he says, to make sure
that the world meets someone far, far more compassionate, wise and brave than
Pope Benedict.
Next, the world needs to meet the one his visit was named
for: Christ our hope.
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