Habemus Papam! (We Have A Pope!)

[tagryn]

I was extremely happy to hear that Cardinal Ratzinger had been elected as Pope Benedict XVI today. He was very close to John Paul II in belief as well as temperment. He's an accomplished theologian, and speaks ten languages. And, as Relapsed Catholic put it, "Ratzinger's election will annoy all the right people." That's always a nice bonus to throw in. The main negative is that he's 78, so probably won't be around for decades, but that may have been a factor in his election - the cardinals not wanting to have to wait another quarter-century before getting to elect another Pope. I'll be interested to see if any rumors about who *else* recieved votes leaks out, oath of secrecy notwithstanding. But after only 2-3 days of voting, it's clear Ratzinger was the overwhelming choice.

Comments

[erikred.livejournal.com]

Interesting. You're the second Catholic friend I have who's reported being "extremely happy" with his election. In the interests of hearing all sides, would you care to elaborate on the qualities of the new Pope that make you happy to see him elected?

[tagryn]

Hi Erik,

Here's some reasons that come to mind:

- I am generally happy with the direction JPII took the Church during his pontificate, and Ratzinger is very much in line with JPII's theology. I don't agree with the position that the RCC needs to "adapt" itself as society changes; to my mind, what you wind up with in that case is a church that just moves with the tide, with nothing firm to which to hold to. There are plenty of other churches that take that stance (as I understand them) if that is what one is looking for, the RCC doesn't need to be one of them. On the contrary, I believe the RCC needs to hold fast to truth as it understands it, no matter how unpopular it may be in the world. Any change in set traditions should be very gradual, and only after much consideration and debate, as is appropriate for a centuries-old institution such as the church. From everything I know about him, I think Ratzinger believes that as well.

- He's reputed to be generally easy to get along with, but with also an extremely sharp mind and very defined viewpoints. He'll tell you exactly what he thinks, but do it in a nice way.

- Ratzinger was a leader, if not *the* leader, in the fight against liberation theology in the Church. Given that I consider Marxism one of the great scourges of recent human history, and liberation theology's roots are firmly in Marxism, I was happy to see it defeated as a major movement in the church. I'm also opposed to moral relativism, and Ratzinger was a principal speaker against that in the RCC. I recommend the book The Ratzinger Report for those who want to get an idea of his theological viewpoints.

- As a fellow who has a reputation as a disciplinarian, he may be just what the church needs as it tries to recover from the devastating abuse scandals. Depends how this manifests itself, though - a reformational disciplinarian who requires stricter adherence to higher standards would be great, while a reactionary who tries to defend the Church against outside criticism while preserving the processes which enabled the abusers to stay in pastoral positions would be bad. Which we have in Benedict XVI remains to be seen, but I'm hopeful.

- If you want to check out the other side, I recommend Andrew Sullivan's blog. AS considers the election of Ratzinger an unmitigated disaster; some of his current stuff is a little on the hysterical side, but the shock probably hasn't worn off yet. I'm sorry that he is so agonized, but it couldn't be helped; given the current makeup of the College of Cardinals, I doubt there was any possible electable Pope who would have made Sullivan satisfied.

[erikred.livejournal.com]

Thank you for taking the time to tell me. I really appreciate it.