One year later

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That day a year ago is impossible to forget. It was thrilling and mystifying. Why were we all so fascinated, even the secular media? I was watching one of the nets and an anchor said, "I'm getting chills" - it's sobering, really, to think about it - that the election of a Pope could produce so much interest in what we thought was such a cynical world.

What was it? The drama was hard to miss, and impossible not to be affected by. A vote, totally in secret, with no exit polls and not a hint of what was happening, by a small group gathered in a chapel in which they Creation and Fall arches above them and the Last Judgment looms above them - as our tour guide in the Sistine Chapel told us, when Michelangelo painted the Last Judgment, no one thought anyone except clerics - the highest clerics in the Church- would ever see it. It was intended for them: Listen to the Lord. Put your own interests aside. There is a great deal at stake here.

And face it: we're talking about the longest-lasting institution in the world, aren't we? Governments, movements, cultures and even empires have come and gone, but the Church has remained, with Peter and his successors at the heart of it, symbolizing unity and continuity.

The drama. The history. The question of who could follow John Paul?

Then came the smoke, and the uncertainty as to its color. Long, long minutes of confusion, and then finally we knew. How did we know? Because of the bells, rung to confirm the vote. Habemus Papam.

Then, most thrilling to me were the people. Streaming into St. Peter's in response to the bells, just as Christians had ordered their lives according to the bells for centuries. They rushed from all over Rome, in this scene that evoked ancient times: they came, not to listen to a radio or watch a film or check the internet - but to glue their eyes to a balcony and see who came out.

And do you remember the announcement? Cardinal Jorge Medina Estevez - the "Cardinale - Ratzinger!" with a lovely, memorable, rolling of that "r."

(Want to relive it? Here's a CNN page with video and audio from that day)

More photos of the day here, from the very excellent site devoted to the history of St. Peter's Basilica

And after a year...what?

I'm actually reluctant to offer an "assessment" of Pope Benedict's first year because it strikes me as awfully presumptuous. Who the heck am I?

So that's not what this is. It's an appreciation.

I will admit to you - no surprise to readers of this blog - that I do love Pope Benedict. I knew next to nothing about Cardinal Ratzinger, only a few of his writings and the assurance that he was unfairly maligned by his enemies and critics.  But in the year since, I have become - odd for me - devoted.

I worry about this sometimes, my feelings echoed in a comment made by someone here a week or so ago. The reader commented that she worried about herself. Was she becoming a "papalotrist?" Was she too attached to Benedict ? Because she couldn't help herself - she was intrigued by practically everything he said.

No, I really don't worry. That was a joke. Sort of.  But like that commentor, I am thoroughly engaged by Benedict's teaching. It is clear, rich and, most importantly and amazingly to me - speaks with precision to the moment at hand. Every moment is a teachable moment for Benedict, and he gets it all - the yearnings and hurts that human beings in the 21st century are enduring, the context in which we live, and the answers Jesus Christ offers.

In a way, he is the teacher I've been waiting for. He's the teacher I can attempt, faintly, to model myself after.

There are enormous problems in our Church and in our world. Some of us wish there would simply be some concerted head-knocking to take care of it all. But Benedict knows history, and he also knows what is at the heart of our problems: we have turned from Christ. Even in our Church, our fundamental problem is that too many of us have argued ourself out of serious, commmitted belief in Jesus Christ, modulating and contextualizing it to the point of emptiness. Too many of us have put ourselves at the center of this enterprise rather than Christ. Too many of us have simply sold out to whatever culture that surrounds us, letting it be our Lord, not Jesus Christ.

 

I have no great statements about his impact on the Curia or the bishops' conferences or liturgical life or diplomacy. What I have heard over and over this year is a wise father gently, surely re-grounding us in Scripture and the witness there, as well as in the voices and art and holiness of Christians through the ages, articulating what we know is true about the strains, temptations and deserts in our lives, weaving it all together and in rather startling simplicity, pointing us to Jesus.

Comments

[Jeff]

Yes, indeed! I DID know Ratzinger and I remember telling my friends that if I had been able to pick any human being on earth to be Pope, it would Joseph Ratzinger.

I remember writing in the first hours to all my friends, saying that he was a good, kind, holy, wise man. That he loved God and he loved people. That he was no Rottweiler or disciplinarian. That he loved the past, but he knew we couldn't return to it and that those who thought he would be a Pius XIII just had him wrong and would be terribly disappointed. And that he would be an even greater preacher than John Paul the Second.

So, I see what I expected to see. And like Amy Welborn, I am very pleased. I trust Joseph Ratzinger more than I trust myself on just about any issue I can name. Let's pray that he will stay healthy and stay with us for many years to come.

[Lickona]

Thanks, Amy. This captures something of my own response to the man.

[rcesq]

With the John Paul II funeral homily and the homily at the inauguration, Joseph Ratzinger captured hearts and minds all over the world. His teaching is so eloquent and rich and pitch perfect that anyone who listens to him or reads his words or sees him in action can't help but be enthralled, regardless of age, education or culture. And, yes, he's going back to basics, reminding Christians of the cornerstone of our faith: love of Jesus. The encyclical and the Compendium of the Catechism appear to be companion works that Benedict wants to use to get Catholics to understand why and what the Church believes. Furthermore, because he isn't as theatrical a personality as Pope John Paul, the "dramatic" gestures he does make have great impact. I, for one, was awestruck at his prostration at the beginning of Good Friday services and thought it telling that he chose to do that, while he did not kiss the tarmac upon arriving in Germany. Like Jeff, I pray every day that the Lord grant him days enough to shepherd His wayward flock.

[L.T.]

Confession: I remember my first reaction was mild disappointment. It seemed too predictable, too, dare I say, preordained. I was hoping the Holy Spirit would surprise us, hand us a curveball of a pope. A year later, I must say, though the conclave did not surprise me, the Holy Spirit has certainly made good with the man. It really is uncanny how Benedict's got the Midas Mouth - everything that comes out of it is gold. Meanwhile, we're being force-fed a steady diet of all these Foot-in-the-Mouths on TV, the radio, and worst of all, the pulpit. Long live Benedict!

[MJ]

Is there one website that collects all of B16's papal writings and pronouncements? I don't mean encyclicals (although that wouldn't hurt!), just the things that Amy provides excerpts from. Maybe that's a stupid question for a reader of this blog ...

Thanks --

[Mary Kay]

Amy, very well said.

[Tim Ferguson]

I was at school, with a group of priests and nuns, many of whom were, shall we say, displeased with the election. At the announcement of the name, there was a pregnant pause. I promised myself not to whoop for joy, but I simply and honestly could not contain myself. I let out a whoop and ran down the hall to my room to call my parents.
I had been a fan of Ratzinger for many years, at least since reading the Ratzinger Report - but it was his theological readings that kept me fascinated with this man: so deep and so human. When he describes the Corpus Christi celebrations in the Bavaria of his childhood I still get chills. As Amy says (more beautifully than I could hope) he's a teacher - the teacher I have admired half a lifetime, and can't wait to hear what he teaches us next. Ad multos annos, Papa!!!

[Maria Ashwell]

Amy you captured my feelings so well...and I would only add Praise be to God!

[Shane MacGowan's Teeth]

Well said! I don't know if it's age or maturity, but I find myself drawn to and engaged by Pope Benedict in a manner I never experienced with Pope John Paul II (for whom my esteem and respect are great). I have this affection for Benedict that walks right up to the line of sentimentality.

Our new pope has been a great inspiration (and I choose that word carefully) to my faith. What a gift of the Spirit is this gentle, loving, and brilliant shepherd.

[TCYM Lounge]

I, too, was quite pleased to hear of his election to the papacy. I knew some of his writings while working under JPII.

I have to admit, however, that I'm still torn. I miss JPII very much, his personality, his traveling, his style, his love, his outgoing nature and desire that all would come into the fold. . . Sometimes I feel a little guilty that I have not moved on as fully as it seems some others have. Glad for Benedict the XVI, just miss John Paul II.

[Charles]

Best combox pseudonym ever!

[Anne Kadera]

I'm 21, and I guess at the end of what people would consider the "JP2" generation. I remember this day last year....I was writing a HUGE paper and had the little Vatican webcam down on the corner of my screen, and when I saw the smoke, I was at my TV in a flash...and then I cried I was so excited. Not just by who walked on to the balcony, but by the whole thing.
JP2 was the only Papa I had ever known, and I remember being so scared and uncertain after he died, thinking "What will we do? He's gone?" I know it's silly now, but at the time, the process was so new to me. I'd never seen it. I had never waited with my Catholic brothers and sisters during a conclave; that was something of the past. Watching the papal election made me realize...we've done this for 2,000 years. And the Church goes on.
And I remember before World Youth Day, the media saying "they'll never come to see this man..." But we came, and I think that a lot of us youth realized that yes, we loved JP2 so much, but what we really loved is the POPE...the fact that there is one, that we are Catholic...that was the source of the love. So we came to World Youth Day because of that and we encountered this teacher, this holy, and humble man, and fell in love with him too. I am SO PROUD to call him my Papa.

[WRY]

I like Pope Benedict, but he can never outshine John Paul II in my opinion. After one year, I must say there's been a lot less 'drama' than I would have thought from the new pope. I wasn't expecting the papal jackboots so many were either fearing or hoping for, but did think there would have been be a high-profile pronouncement or two by now. I was very encouraged by Pope Benedict's statements on ecumenism and looked for a revival of talks with the Orthodox, but that doesn't seem to have gotten far. Of course it takes two to talk!
I remind myself that however good he is, Pope Bendict is after all an older pope: He just turned 79, the age of my father (a formerly vigorous man who now spends his days in naps). We will probably not have a long pontificate, so we will have to treasure him while we have him.

[Sherry Weddell]

TCYM Lounge:

You're not alone. I miss JP II as well. (And I am very happy with Benedict!) Like you, I miss JP II's more outgoing nature.

I was just meditating this morning upon how John Paul transformed the papacy and changed the Church, enabling a gentle. quiet scholar like Benedict to have an built-in audience in the form of the "JPII" generation and a truly bully platform. Benedict wouldn't have had the same impact, I think, had he followed Paul VI at the height of the craziness.

And of course, I presume that John Paul and Benedict changed and influenced one another over their 20+ years of close collaboration and friendship. So while Benedict is very much his own man, he is also the man that was changed by knowing John Paul II and serving under him.

Gotta love that Holy Spirit!

[c matt]

It is an awe inspiring process to behold. Like many others, JPII was the only Pope I had known for most of my life (vaguely recall JPI briefly when I was about 12/13, pretty much oblivious prior to that). BXVI seems the perfect successor to JPII - JP having been the one to propel the Church back into the forefront of world events, BXVI now building on it steadily and gently. The Church needed a pope like JPII to grab the world's attention again (which he accomplished fabulously), and, now that she has the world's attention....

[Julie]

He affects me the same way. The sweetness of his spirit....Amy, have you considered submitting your beautifully written tribute to Benedict to the NY Times? - or anywhere?

[Gerard E.]

I admired Cardinal Ratzinger. I love Benedict XVI. How absolutely positively to provide some Spirit-led calm after the 27-year roller coaster ride that was the papacy of John Paul II. Much as that ride was loads of fun. And Benedict picked up without missing a beat. Perfect for a musician at heart. The Spirit's music continues to be played.

[Dick Rood]

When I read Julie's comment, I was impelled to re-read your initial post and must say she is onto something. It is a beautiful post and includes almost all of our reactions over the year.
Thank you.

[Brigid]

I have always enjoyed Ratzinger's writing. He is a master at relevance for our culture today.

Benedict's "Deus Caritas Est" is a masterpiece on love. It's the first encyclical I have been able to give to non-Catholics in a long time. Benedict is so aware that his writings need to speak to all, even non-Catholics.

Bring on more!

[Jimmy Huck]

Very nice reflection, Amy. I have come to admire Pope Benedict, too, and have been (to borrow from C.S. Lewis, "surprised by joy." I can't say that I am a devotee to the point where I wonder if I am a "papalotrist" (I'm not inclined in this way regardless); but I do have to admit that, my initial worries and concerns as a "progressive" Catholic were completely misplaced and wrong. I hope that all Catholics who embraced Benedict somewhat reluctantly one year ago, recognize the truth about Benedict and embrace him more fully, willingly, and faithfully.

[Patricia Gonzalez]

Very finely written reflection, and a perfect summary of Pope Benedict's first year. I didn't know too much about him before his election, but when I learned about his love of music (mainly Mozart) and cats, that settled it! Well, not really ... seriously, watching and listening to him in the past year has convinced me that, far from being a "Rottweiler", he is a true "German Shepherd". His gentleness, erudition and dignity are all enhanced by the occasional twinkle in his eyes, and he seems so young at heart despite his chronological age. I have grown to love and admire him. As Gerard E. puts it so well, "The Holy Spirit's music continues to be played." Viva il Papa Benedetto!

[Christine]

As usual, for Brigid he's "Ratzinger" and "Benedict." Titles simply won't do.

Brigid, hope you never get an invite to the White House. I'll bet the words "Mr. President" would simply refuse to roll off your tongue.

[Jimmy Huck]

Christine - Why would you go spoil Brigid's nicely-expressed sentiments about the Pope with a snide remark about her lack of the use of Titles? I imagine Benedict wouldn't mind at all if someone didn't stand on such formalities. And what does Bush have to do with anything here?

[bruce cole]

Christine: as a 70s kinda gal, with space aliens for friends, you kinda suprise me!

[Brigid]

Christine-

I'm not sure why you attack me so. Should I have used the standard in St. Blog's which is PBXVI? Others above have used the same short-hand as me. Why just me on your "proper title" lecture?

Oh, and BTW, you really don't wanna know what would roll off my tongue if I was in front of Bush right now... Lots of quotes from the second-half of "Deus Caritas Est," I suppose...

May you, Christine, have a peaceful, loving day.

Perhaps filled with meditating on "Deus Caritas Est?" Good stuff for when called upon to address the president!

[Dee]

I didn't think at first I'd feel all warm and fuzzy about Benedict like I did about John Paul, but I have developed such a spiritual "crush" on him. I loved JPII and owe my spiritual life to him, but he was so deep intellectually and with my rapidly aging eyesight, it was so hard for me to concentrate and follow his written words. With Benedict, I have been actively seeking out his words because they resonate so deeply in my soul. The gospel of Jesus and God's love back to it's bare bones basics, without all the church law clutter, in speech after speech has been soul quenching. I know we need church issues to be addressed, but for my spiritual life and for world evangelization, he seems the right person at the right time to bring it all back to Christ.

[Christine]

Wasn't referring to Bush at all, Brigid. Merely to the fact that I would honor the office, not necessarily the man who occupies it. It may surprise you to learn that I am *not* a rabid fan of President George W. Bush. Guess it's the difference in the time frames we were raised in. I was brought up in a time when people were a little less "familiar", shall we say.

I think Pope Benedict would know where I'm coming from. We share some very strong cultural roots.

Nevertheless, an apology is in order, I did overreact.

[Christine]

Bruce, easy for you to say. YOU don't have laser beams floating around your head !!

[Denise]

I too have marvled at Benedict, the Teacher. I admit that I am still caught off guard sometimes when I hear us pray "for Benedict, our pope" in the Eucharistic prayer. I do still miss John Paul II. However, I feel very at peace and secure with the solid leadership and scholarship of Pope Benedict XVI.

[Gashwin]

Oh a year already! Amy -- that was beautifully put and right on. I remember the day clearly ... I was at a meeting with area church workers. "It must be Ratzinger, if they've decided so early!" I said as the meeting was inerrupted with the announcement that there was white smoke. And as soon as Cardinal Medina Estevez said "Dominum Iosephum" I gave out a whoop of joy. The rest wailed like banshees. I was also on the phone with some of the students at the campus ministry, who had all clustered around a TV set. Most of them had never heard of Ratzinger ... but they were overjoyed at being Catholic, of being part of the Church at this historic moment. It was surreal. Those two reactions are etched in my mind. The groans of the mid-level church workers I was with and the enthusiastic joy of the college kids. A little vignette that illustrates, to me at least, so clearly where the Church has been, and where she is going, God willing.

As to this past year? I'm thrilled. And I've been reading everything he says and writes in a way I never did think of doing with his beloved predecessor.

[Ellen]

I remember the pictures at World Youth Day when some of the young people got to meet Pope Benedict. He was holding their hands and they (and he) were glowing with happiness. Pope Benedict may not have the overwhelming charisma of JPII, but in his own quiet way he is most impressive. I have been in awe of his reverence when celebrating the Mass.

[mrp]

The joy of Cardinal Ratzingers election was matched only by the thrill of listening to Cokie Roberts as she ripped apart her microphone with her bare teeth.

Ok, she didn't rip apart her microphone with her -bare- teeth. But she was angry, very angry. And disappointed.

[Brigid]

Mea culpa accepted.

Peace to you these 50 glorious Easter days!

-Brigid

[aortic]

I, too watched with a number of my fellow teachers, Catholics-over-50, who were visibly displeased with the choice of Ratzinger. Immediately before the announcement one of my friends turned to me and said, "If it's Ratzinger I am going to be sick."

I have always been amazed at how many Catholic school teachers I have met who disliked JPII so much, and who thought that electing Ratzinger would be a further descent into some sort of medieval backlash for the Church. I am 30. I know many people my age and younger who feel exactly the opposite. Why the difference??

Reading this, I realize how true it is for me that the life of the intellect can be make a kind of chasm in the soul if one is not careful: thinking about Christ and the Church replacing a radical encounter with Christ in the sacraments. Thanks for the reminder, Amy. And maybe I just partially answered my question above, at least for teachers.

[Christine]

"Peace to you these 50 glorious Easter days!"

Thank you, Brigid, may it be yours as well!

[Bender]

I remember vividly my reaction exactly one year ago:

The smoke started, and the commentators were unsure, but I thought it clear -- the smoke was white! Whatever happened to the bells, the smoke was white! And then the bells started to move, not yet sounding, and the confirmation others needed did send a thrill through me.

A joy, a total joy, without even knowing who was chosen, who was called. And then "Habemus Papem!" And the crowd cheered, again, even without knowing who. We had a Pope! We have a Pope.

Deo gratias.

[Francesca]

I've definitely got an over-identification with Benedict problem. I was in a department store planning to buy a sauté pan, and there was a superb one for 49.99 pounds. I started to think, 'would Benedict spend 50 pounds on a sauté pan?' I didn't buy it :) Either I have to get over this or live with using frying pans
when the recipe books specify a sauté pan.

Francesca

[Lee]

I remember as well the election of Pope Benedict. I will always miss John Paul the Great. He is the Holy Father I grew up with, and the one I turned to as I returned to the Catholic Faith 5 years ago, the one I saw at World Youth Day in Toronto. But I am very fond of Pope Benedict, his gentle, quiet style.

I was at work when the election of Benedict was announced. One of my managers turned to me (the resident Catholic) and asked if he was a good man to be Pope. I answered, 'In my opinion, he's the best they could have chosen'. I have not been disappointed. His style is different than John Paul's, but may be what we need at this point in history. God does indeed guide His Church.

-Lee

[Mike Hayes]

Nice job, Amy...well put.

[tony c]

Oh Francesca! Surely after living in Italy so long the Pope would suggest getting good pots and pans. Especially if they were German made!

And $50 for a good pan ain't bad.

Look at it this way: Catholics respect God's creation. Food is part of that. You can give glory to God through something as ordinary as buying good tools, including kitchen tools, and doing your work well.

Although my Polish babci made eveything in a giant cast-iron pan over a coal stove. (and she knew the trick of not using soap, just boiled water and maybe coarse salt to clean it. gotta respect them tools.)

Your motives are certainly honorable.

But this was about Benedict...
I was at lunch last year and got back to the rectory office and checked Bettnet and saw one word: Ratzinger!!!!!!!!!

I did a little dance and went into the rectory parlor. I was so enthusiastic I didn't notice the reactions around me. But I got laid off a few months later. Hmm....

And a year later I can say: Deo Gratias! I got 2 gifts.

[Christine]

"This is a man who has been seized by the truth of Christianity as a very young man, and he wants to give that to the world,” Wilkins said."

This comment by John Wilkins, former editor of the Tablet, really resonated with me. I think the Holy Father has many gifts to unfold for the entire Christian world.

[noe]

tony c, I wish that £50 = $50!!!

[James]

Well said indeed. When he was elected I was very happy, but only really because I was afraid that we might get someone less...well "solid" shall we say. I was relieved and happy because I knew that someone who so enraged certain groups inside and outside the Church would keep us on the right track. Beyond that I knew little of the man and had no thoughts as to what sort of Pope he would make.
And what has emerged for me, entirely I must say through the hard work you do, Amy, to post it all on this site (for which many sincere thanks), is the teaching. Our Pope is quite simply a wonderful preacher. (Would that each parish priest would once a month read out one of the Pope's sermons in place of his own).

[Anon]

As the originator of the "papalotrist" comment, (a comment made in my merlot-stoked mental meanderings, or I think I would have spelled it differently,) may I say that I was joking as well?
But only in the sense that while it may be true, I am not in the least worried about it.
In fact, I'm thrilled.

And may I also claim that, judging from these comments, I think I may have known it was Ratzinger before you all seem to have?
I haven't heard anyone else mention this, but my husband reminded me recently that when the curtains on the balcony fluttered I said, "Did you see that hair?," he said, "What?" (or more accurately, WHAAAAA??!?@??#?$???" thinking I had gone bonkers.) I said, "That hair! There's someone back there with a really thick shock of white hair, so if Ratzinger doesn't come out to make the announcement, it's because he's pope."
And he got out only, "What in the world is a 'rottsi....'?" when I started whooping and yelled, "I have to run down to church and start the bells!"
Which I did.

But seriously, didn't anyone else catch a glimpse of him before the actual announcement?
If it were just me I'd blame the recollection on the merlot (or whatever chateau boite de carton I was imbibing 12 months back,) and fanciful thinking, but my abstemious mate remembers it the same way, and he had no idea who Joseph Ratzinger was at the time.

What's the Bavarian toast wishing someone 100 or 1000 more years? (All peoples have one, haven't they?)

[Ken]

Then came the smoke, and the uncertainty as to its color. Long, long minutes of confusion, and then finally we knew. How did we know? Because of the bells, rung to confirm the vote.

Over Easter weekend, CNN had a retrospective about the death of John Paul II and election of Benedict XVI. Included was an interview with a Cardinal who gave the reason behind the "long, long minutes of confusion":

Murphy's Law.

1) The much-watched chimney developed an obstruction when the time came; before they were able to clear the flue, the smoke had backed up, filling about 1/3 of the Sistine Chapel.

2) The key to unlock the bells was in the pocket of one Cardinal, who'd either forgotten he had them or was the last guy to get the word. They went to the bells, found they were locked, then that the key wasn't where it was supposed to be. Everyone ran around in circles 15-20 minutes looking for the keys before they found them and were able to unlock and ring the bells.

[Fr. Stephanos, O.S.B.]

Clayton Emmer's doxaweb.com has the following
http://www.doxaweb.com/ratzenfreude.htmlthat'll let you hear the "gaudium magnum ... Cardinalem Ratzinger" all over again.

-

[Fr. Stephanos, O.S.B.]

correction

http://www.doxaweb.com/ratzenfreude.html
.

[mcs]

Amy, you put so well what so many of us feel! I agree completely with what you wrote, particularly when you say,"...he is the teacher I've been waiting for."
I recall saying to my husband before the conclave started, after hearing so many nasty comments about then-Cardinal Ratzinger in the Canadian media, that I would feel so sorry for him were he elected. I figured that, not only would he have the most difficult job in the world, he would have to do it with little or no appreciation for his efforts. I'm so glad to have been proved wrong on this count. Long may he reign!

[Passing By]

Amy you said:

***But in the year since, I have become - odd for me - devoted.*****

Hmmmmmm.....

"Personality cults usually characterize totalitarian, authoritarian, or one-party states, especially those with a strong revolutionary consciousness. The reputation of a single leader, often characterized as the "liberator" or "savior" of the people, elevates that leader to a near-divine level......

A personality cult is also characterized with many images and representations of a leader in public places, including statues, billboards, posters, signs, paintings, and vast murals. In many cases the leader is portrayed in various types of garb (indicating many roles) and in heroic positions. This is meant to emphasize the greatness and wisdom of the leader. The leader's slogans and other quotes cover massive spaces, and books containing the leader's speeches and writings fill up bookstores, libraries, and schools. The level of flattery can reach heights which may appear absurd to outsiders.

hmmmmmmm...very interesting....

[Thomas Flynn]

No need to go to the CNN site. You can still get (even download) video (no dubbing, no subtitles) of the mourning for John Paul II and election of Benedict XVI here:

http://www.vatican.va/news_services/television/multimedia/archivio_en.html

[Alfredo]

Thanks so much for the reflection, Amy.

After the election I was eating up the "interview" books, which were engaging and insightful but, as is the case with interviews, a bit choppy.

I really started to appreciate BXVI as a thinker when my pastor, a young theologian, offered an evening class during Lent on Introduction to Christianity. We averaged 35 or 40 people for five Monday night sessions. I was deeply moved and impressed by this book. The man is without doubt a first-rate theologian.

But what's even more impressive is his evident holiness. Just before the conclave started I was sharing an elevator with a Nigerian priest-theologian. I said to him, "Well, Paulinus, it looks like we might get a third-world pope. Wouldn't that be something?" He looked me in the eye and replied, "I don't care where he's from, as long as he's very holy." That wish seems to have been fulfilled in spades.

[Maureen O'Brien]

First off, personality cults are almost never grassroots and "from the bottom up". They are imposed by propaganda (Stalin). Even regular advertising doesn't seem sufficient for a real personality cult; totalitarian imposition seems required.

Second off, there's a big difference between loving someone, or even being a fan of someone, and being part of a personality cult.

Thirdly, if there was a personality cult in force, trolls like Passing By wouldn't dare post for fear of the secret police. As many folks in North Korea would be glad to testify if they could only get on the Net. (Or indeed, get electricity or food, or get out of the gulags.)

[Maureen O'Brien]

Forgot to say that the imposition is probably so important because cognitive dissonance comes into play. (The person doesn't want to do something but is forced to do it without saying anything to object. The brain feels intolerable conflict, and sometimes resolves it by making the person think they really do want to do it -- in fact, makes them enthusiastic about it. Stockholm syndrome is also due to cognitive dissonance.)