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19th April 2005 Habemus Papam We have a Pope!
What an exciting week to be a Catholic – what an exciting week for the world! More than ever we need to immunise ourselves from what the British press have been saying about the new Vicar of Christ. We don’t have to believe that every pope is personally chosen by the Holy Spirit, but after so much prayer for the Cardinal Electors, I think we can rest assured that Joseph Ratzinger is the one chosen by God. What can we expect him to be like? All the cardinals are surely good and holy and so we know he will be that. He also brings a wealth of knowledge and experience of life, of the Church and of the problems faced by Christ’s Body in the world today. Being ‘another European’ might seem a disadvantage, but I don’t think so. So many of the problems in the world have begun in Europe – they’re some of our worst exports: Marxism, Fascism, consumer materialism. Sadly, many in the Third World envy us not just for our wealth but for our whole life-style and values. A Pope who understands the spiritual and moral vacuum we have created may be able to prevent it from spreading to other parts of the world as they grow in wealth. He will be a great teacher especially for the young. Half his priestly life was spent teaching, either university students or as a pastoral bishop in Munich. And he has already promised to continue Pope John Paul’s ‘dialogue with the young’. He is going to the World Youth Day in Cologne in August. Within minutes of his election, the Italian youth had discover they could chant “Benedetto” just as easily as “Giovanni Paolo”!
But few will envy him taking on
such work at 78. Let us pray fervently for him.
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