NEWS ABOUT BENEDICT

La révélation Benoît XVI
(The revelation of Benedict XVI)
by Étienne de Montety
Editorial
Translated from






One can only smile re-reading the alarmist commentary that preceded Benedict XVI's visit last week: How good is this man? Is he someone our society can welcome?

The ovation accorded him by the young people at Notre Dame and by the colorful crowds at Invalides and in Lourdes should constitute an answer for all the birds of ill omen.

It reminds us of a passage from Francois Mauriac's Notes exactly 50 years ago about another Pope who had just been elected, John XXIII. The good souls of the time immediately wondered, "Will be a great Pope? Or just a 'transition' Pope?" - exactly what they said when Cardinal Ratzinger was elected.

Mauriac wrote that only one thing is required of a Pope: that he "simply says the words and simply carries out the actions for which he has been called".

Benedict XVI has said those words. And he has carried out those actions.

He evoked secularity with intelligence and a sense of proportion to the President of France. He delivered a brilliant lesson on history and theology to the intellectuals. In Paris as in Lourdes, he fulfilled his mission to "confirm his brothers in the faith".

And all of this without sound bites, without tricks up the sleeve, without a thought for 'communications strategy'. Watching him these past few days, one thought of Victor Hugo's words, "This strength which works..." ['Cette force qui va...']

On Sunday, the Pope addressed the French bishops at length. Fraternally, but firmly.

His benevolent words did not exclude some refocusing: on the need for a solid catechism, the importance of priestly and religious vocations.

He also stressed that charity is required to address liturgical disagreements, particularly with the traditionalists.

More important, he explicitly urged the episcopate to speak out freely (he repeats this deliberately). His argument is simple: strengthened by the message which is the Catholic Church's deposit of faith, Catholics must engage themselves in society and intervene in good times or bad, according to the formulation of St. Paul (a strong personality for whom Benedict XVI professes a 'special admiration') - in matters such as the defense of marriage and the family, the defense of the national identity and its 'own culture' threatened by "being absorbed into others or drowning in a pall of uniformity" - so many complex subjects which he enjoins them to confront without fear of going against the current.

Strong in his universal Magisterium and an independence of spirit which seems to characterize him, the Pope consistently took this line during his visit to France.

Now, he asks the bishops to measure their steps against his. Without fear of displeasing. The challenge is in order, even though some of them have already started the work in their own diocese.

Nevertheless, it would be hypocritical on the part of secularists, not to take part in the Pope's admonition.

The lesson in audacity from Benedict XVI is not addressed only to the clergy - that would be too simple. He addresses all men of good will, encouraging them to disseminate the Church's teaching about man in political, economic, scientific and cultural circles.

In the past, Robert Schuman, Jerome Lejeune, Maurice Clavell and Andre Frossard did. Who is there to do it today?





There's a very good companion piece to the editorial, 'How Benedict seduced the French', but meanwhile, here's one from the Italian media. Contrast the Figaro editorial with the often false premises of someone like Ignazio Ingrao, the Vatican correspondent for the Italian magazine Panorama, who has always had a touch of malice - or more - when writing about Pope Benedict, though even he can't deny that the Pope was a success in France.


The Pope conquers the heart of France
by Ignazio Ingrao
Translated from

Sept. 15, 2008



LOURDES - With his customary calm and kind manner, Benedict XVI has captured the attention of both the Church and the government of France.

In a brief visit with an almost Wojtylian rhythm, Ratzinger [how do these journalists get off, referring to a Pope by only his last name, without any honorific?] visited Paris and Lourdes from Sept. 12-15.

He gave three principal addresses: at the Elysee Palace, in front of President Nicolas Sarkozy, on the importance of a positive secularity which values the contributions of the Church to public life; at the College des Bernardins, before 700 French intellectuals, on the relationship between faith and reason as an antidote to fanaticism and fundamentalism; and in Lourdes, to the bishops of France, to call them to order on the Magisterium of the Church.

The common thread through these discourses was the Pope's strong evocation of the identity of the Church and the Christian faith, united with a call to value tradition, as the only guarantee for the future of Catholics. [That's putting the Pope's message secularly, of course!]

And against all expectation [Against all expectation? Only the skeptical and those who do not wish the Pope well had low expectations!], the success of Benedict XVI was exceptional, both with the public as well as with the media. [I bet, though, that if the public reception had not been so obviously warm, the media could easily have portrayed the visit as a 'failure', at least with French Catholics!]

In the visits of 1996, for the XV centenary of the Christianization of France, and in 1997 for World Youth Day, John Paul II had 'filled
the squares' (more than Benedict XVI) [There, you see, Ingrao can't resist taking a jab - but consider the occasions for those visits, and perhaps more important, the space that was made available for Mass and other public gatherings! The Esplanade des Invalides is not Le Bourget airfield, for instance.], but he was disputed and criticized by secular, rationalist France.

Ratzinger, instead, fascinated and aroused the curiosity of the French. Probably because of his CV as an intellectual and a 'maitre a penser' [master thinker].

But above all, what impressed was his clear message - his clear invocation and evocation of the identity of the Church. A message which drew people in - even young people - instead of alienating them. [Hey, after all, even sensible Muslims respect an adversary who stands up for his beliefs.]

He was also a surprise for the French bishops, traditionally advocates of a Church of dialog rather than a Church of identity. [Is that not a false dichotomy? Pope Benedict's stand - that of any reasonable person - is that dialog is not possible, or at least futile, unless one is carrying on a dialog with a sure sense of one's identity; otherwise, what do you stand for?]

For them, and perhaps, for the entire Church in Europe, it means a change in strategy. This seemed to be acknowledged by Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois who, at the end of the Pope's severe discourse [Severe? It was simply straight talk delivered in the most courteous way possible!], could not hide a certain measure of embarrassment, saying "The Pope is not an administrator visiting a subsidiary of his company to dictate guidelines for behavior. But certainly, we must all seek together the styles and modalities that are most appropriate for responding to the challenges today."

He was echoed by Mons. Claude Dagens, Bishop of Angouleme and a member of the French Academy, after the Pope's address to the world of culture: "Benedict XVI calls us back to the roots of Christian faith and Western thought. It is an invitation to start over, from the essentials". [Surely, this is not the first time an academician like Mons. Dagens has heard Benedict invoke these matters, in writing and in countless speeches! It's disingenuous to pretend they are hearing this only now!]

In short, if the Church in France, a model of dialog and openness [Really? They seem to have been open to everyone else, except to the Pope!], even in ethical issues, has been reduced to only 5% of its Catholics who practise the faith and a dramatic crisis in vocations, perhaps it is time to take a new road. [Yes, for a change, it should listen to the Pope and obey the Magisterium instead of disputing it to the point of open defiance and disobedience.]

The Pope wants a dialog with the world of culture, of politics and other religions, but in order to do that, he calls on Catholics to rediscover their own identity. Especially in view of the fear and uncertainty which has permeated Europe since September 11, 2001.

Meanwhile, Benedict XVI in France appeared much more open and relaxed in relating to people, more at ease with the crowds, and happy with the youth. [Hasn't he always been all this, except that media chose to see him otherwise? I never shared the platitude that even most Vaticanistas write, that the Pope's natural shyness means he is uneasy with crowds. What I see in his various public appearances - back to the photos and videos of him as Archbishop of Munich - is someone who responds joyously to the affection of people like any normal human being does: he enjoys it. As the Spanish saying goes, "Amor con amor se paga" - love is repaid with love.]

"He is learning to be Pope", the French media commented. [I'll have to look through the articles in Le Monde, Figaro, and La Croix to find anyone who said that in the past four days - or anything as condescending, for that matter! Ingrao forgets that it was Benedict XVI himself, in Les Combes three years ago, answering a newsman who asked him during an ambush interview how he was doing, who said, not without irony, that he was 'learning to be a Pope'!]

Indeed, it was during his trips to the United States and Australia that Ratzinger appeared more relaxed in his papal robes. [Again, a false because it is a conveniently subjective conclusion to suit the writer's ends!]

He has also been made to feel more secure by the team that surrounds him: Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, his Secretary of State; Mons. Guido Marini, his ceremonial master for liturgies; Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi; and papal trip coordinator Alberto Gasbarri. [They certainly help by doing their respective jobs competently and well, but I'm sure they would be the first to say that it is the Pope who gives them a sense of security, and not the other way around!]





By the way, Luigi Accattoli for Corriere della Sera, Andrea Tornielli for Il Giornale, and the good folks at Avvenire - have of course filed very positive reports about the trip, but these are the ones who have always been sympathetic - yet objective - to Benedict XVI. I will translate them, but I will do Figaro and la Croix first.

Here's the second piece from Le Figaro today:


How the Pope seduced France
BY Jean-Marie Guénois
Translated from

Sept. 15, 2008




The French knew little of John Paul II's successor. In Paris as in Lourdes, they discovered a man who defends his convictions with humility.

The greatest gesture of the Pope's trip was also the most humble. And it took place Monday morning in Lourdes.

[In the programming for the visit], Benedict XVI, the great intellectual, had wanted to prolong his stay in the Marian city by a few hours. Not to deliver yet another discourse but to bend down and caress some of the sick pilgrims. To deliver to them the Unction for the Sick, one of the seven sacraments of the Church. Also, one of the simplest, intended to strengthen those who are suffering.

Humility then was the trait that crowned this visit to France. A humility that was noted by everyone, for or against him, believer or not, much impressed by the Pontiff's demeanor.

They were disarmed by someone they had thought of as the Panzerkardinal, based on his caricature and label from the past. And his decisive weapon was precisely his humility.

To write that is not to flatter him but simply to remark on the first success of this tenth trip of Benedict XVI outside Italy.

The Pope did not use seduction but he was able to seduce a people, the believers as well as the indifferent. They looked at him befpre his visit, from afar, darkly. They will see him leave France today with respect, that's for sure.

Of course, the Pope has not reversed a trend [in the Church of France]. Sunday afternoon, Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, introducing the Pope's meeting with the bishops of France, cited St. Paul: "Beset on all sides, we are not crushed; we have been struck down but not finished off". [My translation, as I do not have the chapter-and-verse citation to look up the official translation].

The situation is not desperate, but the Church of France feels within itself the painful changes brought on by time. Thus, the gentleness of this visit, proportionate in its moderation, to the present reality in the Christian communities.

He brought to Paris as in Lourdes a climate of peace, of calm, of profound joy - the best state of mind, in short, to face times of trial.

And that was the second lesson of this trip: to a Church that doubts, the Pope made no promises.

His only prophet-like quality was not in announcing anything but in simply 'being'. Sometimes motionless, carried away by an interior joy, as Saturday night at the end of the torchlight procession in Lourdes.

"To be"* is probably his most powerful charism.
*[in the sense of being himself]

{This writer just so gets it, Deo gratias!]

And let's say it: It was far from the triumphalism for which some often reproached John Paul II. After the conqueror, 'Benedict the peaceable' is reassuring.

Starting with that which legitimately brought disquiet upon the equilibria achieved by secularity in France. Without engaging in a political debate, the Pope demonstrated - and this is the third lesson of this trip - that the Church poses no danger to secularity.

The Pope picked up the challenge from the President of the Republic, proposing to give a content, a 'new way' for 'positive secularity'.

What he proposes is not to corner parts of the market for Catholics, but simply a request: "Placing into evidence the Christian roots of France will allow each of the inhabitants of this country to better understand where he comes from and where he is going."

In the context of secularity, which he accepts as fact, he asks more of Catholics than from the State - for them to reflect and revisit their roots in order to be able to contribute the wealth of the Christian humanist patrimony to the collective edifice of the nation.

He is also a peacemaker within the Church. The anticipated liturgical war did not take place. "He" is going to change the Mass. He will give Communion on the tongue to kneeling communicants. Three of the thousands of priests at the Invalides Mass wore the traditional chasuble of Barroux, the traditionalist monastery.

Indeed, the Pope touched on this sensitive subject in minor key. On the plane to Paris, he asked for 'an act of tolerance' from those who do not accept his decision, which came into force exactly one year ago, on Sept. 14, to allow as an 'extraordinary' rite the celebration of the traditional Mass in Latin according to the Missal of John XXIII. [Wow! I am impressed - one of the few journalists who stated this correctly!]

In his homily at the Invalides Mass, he suggested that "the greatest signs of honor" be given to him, who, according to the Catholic faith, is really present in the consecrated Host.

And in front of the Bishops on Sunday in Lourdes, he said: "Everyone has a place in the Church. Every person, without exception, should be able to feel at home, and never rejected."

It is a difficult road, certainly, he acknowledged explicitly to the bishops, but "satisfactory solutions" must be found so that "Christ's tunic may not be further torn apart".

Once again, more than with his words, it has been by example that Benedict XVI has sought to defuse the thorny question of liturgy - in trying, for example, to restore the sense of the sacred to those who have lost it.

Last but not least: the questions he posed to intellectuals and artists at the College des Bernardins on Friday afternoon.

It was a daring proposition: The Pope showed that the freedom of debate and interpretation in the philosophy of the Enlightenment owed a direct debt to the nameless monks of the Middle Ages.

His argument: In systematically debating the texts of Scriptures and
by applying a monastic rule where 'the work' of transforming the world was a sacred duty: they created a culture - the basis for European culture - that was the foundation of humanism and a bulwark against fanaticism.

It pays to be daring! And many appreciated his points, even if the text - one that requires to be read all over - may initially not be accessible to everyone.

And finally, a constant element on this trip, the effect of which will require years to assess, was his appeals to the youth, his appeal for vocations in the very heart of what one may now call 'the Benedict XVI generation'. [I have news for Mr. Guenois. Youth of many nations in Cologne immediately called themselves the "Benedict Generation' back in 2005.]

It is a generation very much like the Pope we have seen in the past three days: not politics above all, not even the Church above all, much less the "Catho' appearance, mode or style, but a true belonging. An active, silent and very interior belonging to Christ.


That such an editorial and such a commentary can appear in Le Figaro - bastion of French secularism (yes, the -ism itself, not just the -ity) in this year of God and the third millennnium after Christ, is a phenomenon in itself. But it is striking proof of Benedict's insistence that the Christian faith must and can be defended with reason, because, after all, as Prof. Marion of the Sorbonne memorably said the other day, "Reason is one of the names of God".