VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider
Many of those who voted for Benedict XVI in April 2005 believed his would be a transitional papacy. They were wrong. Here is a review of Joseph Ratzinger’s seven years on the Chair of Peter
Marco Tosatti
Rome
I am curious, in a way that might come across as slightly malicious, about one thing. I wonder how many of those who voted for Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in April 2005 expected the Bavarian Pope to still be here among us seven years on. Despite his brisk baby steps which are made all the more uncertain by the problems he has with his hip and his right knee, Benedict XVI is still here and retains his eagerness to do things. Unfortunately it is a difficult question to ask let alone respond to sincerely. What many cardinals expected to be a transitional papacy is in fact turning into something quite different. It is turning into a foundational kingdom, created by someone who seeks to work silently, persistently and deeply.
How? Not many are aware of the fact that a great deal of Benedict XVI’s time and effort is spent on mysterious work which does not and should not attract the media’s attention but is fundamental to Church life: this is in order to prevent giving the media any negative reasons to start focusing on it any time soon.
Benedict XVI is adamant that the strength – and weakness – of the Church is found first and foremost in the dioceses, in local Churches. During John Paul II’s pontificate, the choice of bishops was often left to presidents of Episcopal Conferences, to nuncios and to other components of the central and local Churches. If what is told to us is true, – and we have no reason to doubt it is so – the Pope has, in recent years, been reluctant to sign anything. John Paul II delegated; he trusted those he worked with, sometimes unsuccessfully, as history has shown us.
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