Post by Séamus on Jan 2, 2023 12:14:47 GMT
Memories,over many years, of progressive Catholics who eagerly awaited John Paul's demise, expecting a replacement who would have made the current pontiff seem conservative and tame...
When John Paul did pass there was an outpouring of respect...for many who weren't Catholic, as well as many uninvolved Catholics it was the first time they'd heard of Ratzinger- I can recall someone who notwithstanding having worked in a chancery,was 'seeing' him for the first time and remarking on his warmth during the funeral period....
The press decided that it was Cardinal Martini of Milan or Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. According to people who lived in Rome at the time Martini's hand was already showing outward signs of Alzheimer's,but we weren't told that... The eventual outcome was a surprise to me...
I can recall the first day- traditional Catholics happy,some expecting a universal indult for use of the old missal- his eventual declaration that the traditional mass had never really been suppressed was a step further. I can remember also the happiness of people that I recognised as being members of so-called 'new movements' who may have feared a double-barrelled shotgun after John Paul's death also.
Some that day were hoping for a return of the papal tiara. I was satisfied with the return of traditional heraldry- symbols of his old diocese and Sts Augustine and Corbinian- nothing against his predecessor's big M,but glad that Francis also has followed Benedict's shield rather than his shoes...
Where would the Church be today without this quieter man standing almost as a buffer-zone between two stronger and immensely hardheaded personalities?
It so happened that Croatia took up the Euro currency a day after the retired pontiff's death. Their EU membership had been confirmed during his papacy, causing him to address the Croatian people on the subject- with some hope that the more-religious or -ethical Union members may be salt for the others.
RIP Benedict XVI
When John Paul did pass there was an outpouring of respect...for many who weren't Catholic, as well as many uninvolved Catholics it was the first time they'd heard of Ratzinger- I can recall someone who notwithstanding having worked in a chancery,was 'seeing' him for the first time and remarking on his warmth during the funeral period....
The press decided that it was Cardinal Martini of Milan or Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. According to people who lived in Rome at the time Martini's hand was already showing outward signs of Alzheimer's,but we weren't told that... The eventual outcome was a surprise to me...
I can recall the first day- traditional Catholics happy,some expecting a universal indult for use of the old missal- his eventual declaration that the traditional mass had never really been suppressed was a step further. I can remember also the happiness of people that I recognised as being members of so-called 'new movements' who may have feared a double-barrelled shotgun after John Paul's death also.
Some that day were hoping for a return of the papal tiara. I was satisfied with the return of traditional heraldry- symbols of his old diocese and Sts Augustine and Corbinian- nothing against his predecessor's big M,but glad that Francis also has followed Benedict's shield rather than his shoes...
Where would the Church be today without this quieter man standing almost as a buffer-zone between two stronger and immensely hardheaded personalities?
It so happened that Croatia took up the Euro currency a day after the retired pontiff's death. Their EU membership had been confirmed during his papacy, causing him to address the Croatian people on the subject- with some hope that the more-religious or -ethical Union members may be salt for the others.
RIP Benedict XVI
