Reasons to love the Pope (by an apparent non-Catholic blogger)

It's not clear who the "Heresiarch" is (as he/she is an anonymous British blogger), though it seems safe to say he is not a Catholic. Nor am I very familiar with his blog, "Heresy Corner". But his recent post, "Ten Reasons to love the Pope", has some good points, notable since they come from a non-Catholic and make some observations that should be familiar to all Catholics, although, alas, such is not the case (spend a few minutes reading National "Catholic" Reporter for evidence):

3. His intellectual brilliance. John Paul II was a crowd-pleasing figurehead who spoke (and indeed wrote) in platitudinous soundbites, which may explain why he was so popular. I once picked up a copy of his bestseller, Crossing the Threshold of Hope. It might as well have been written by Poulo Coelho, frankly. Benedict XVI writes proper books. There's no doubt he's the brains of the organisation. His refusal to dumb down, to compromise his message to make it more palatable to the shallow and fashion-obsessed mass media has been his undoing on more than one occasion, but it gets my respect.

4. His clarity. You know where you are with the pope. You can disagree with him if you like, condemn him as an obscurantist reactionary, but at least you know what he thinks. What a contrast with our own Rowan Williams, who may well be very clever but whose thoughtscape is so profoundly complex that it can often seem that even he doesn't quite understand what he's saying.

5. His age. Well into his eighties now, he continues to travel the world, make speeches, write learned commentaries and encyclicals and otherwise keep up a hectic schedule. It's typical of the youth-obsessed culture of today's world that his venerable years are held against him. Surely we should be celebrating the fact that someone well past the usual age of retirement can still make such a huge contribution. In an era of demographic stretch and shrinking pensions, he is an example to us all.

9. His moral courage. Not for Ratzinger the easy way out, telling people what they want to hear so as to gain cheap popularity. Instead he witnesses to the tradition that has been entrusted to him. If it offends members of other religions or other churches, feminists, the gay rights lobby or the Guardian that is no reason to tone down his message. He would be betraying not just his faith but his integrity if he trimmed to the times as some other religious leaders have done. Instead he stands firm. Unless there's a really big row, of course, as there was when he was rude about Islam. That same fearlessness now carries him to the geopolitcal epicentre of the culture of death. Tony Blair, by contrast, won't even turn up to his own book launch, so scared is he by the prospect of a few unfriendly placards.

Read the entire post (ht: Luke Coppen).

Comments

[Dolly]

What a refreshing assessment of Pope Benedict XVI! And it takes a non-catholic to clearly portay him. He may not be a charismatic pope like John Paul II, but he indeed has those qualities mentioned above. I am not an intellectual but I have enjoyed reading his books. I just wish that some priests would emulate him when it comes to clarity and moral courage. Some do not address issues at all, but rather, stay on the safe side by giving abstract or general ideas in their homilies so as not to offend people and be acceptable, as when they make a stand on issues.
I think St. Augustine says it best: " Now whoever feeds Christ's sheep as though they were his own and not Christ's proves that he loves himself, not the Lord. Christ warned us against such people; of them the Apostle Paul says that they seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. The Shepherds of Christ's flock, then, must not be lovers of self, nor use for personal gratification those for whom Christ shed his blood" (from the Commentary on John).
Thank God for Pope Benedict the XVI, a true Shepherd of Christ!

[Bender]

John Paul II was a crowd-pleasing figurehead who spoke (and indeed wrote) in platitudinous soundbites

Sorry, but these are the words of a fool. Venerable John Paul the Great all too often wrote in the manner of a Ph.D. dissertation -- far, far, far from dumbed down platitudes. If you are really smart and well-versed in philosophy, I would think that he would be easier to read, but his writings are hardly written at a level "for the masses."

[Gregory Williams]

Honestly, I found some profound thoughts in JP2's "Crossing". I never thought of him as anything but brilliant. I similarly think of B16 as brilliant.

[Howard]

It takes some chutzpah to call someone a fool while at the same time putting John Paul II in the exclusive company of Leo the Great and Gregory the Great. In an age in which religious indifferentism is one of the most serious problems facing the Church and in which Christians are being systematically "cleansed" out of the Middle East, no pope who kisses the Koran can be "the Great". That doesn't mean John Paul II wasn't a saint, but there have been MANY saintly popes. It just means he was not one of the top 5 of all time.

John Paul II excelled more as a pastor than as a philosopher.

For example, saying that executions should be "rare" makes sense from a pastor, but from a philosopher it is seriously deficient. Surely some later pope will flesh this out in much greater detail.

[Becky Harmon]

I am not Catholic but believe in spiritual fathers of the faith, (especially in this day and age of feminizing the church). I loved this part.

His clarity. You know where you are with the pope. You can disagree with him if you like, condemn him as an obscurantist reactionary, but at least you know what he thinks. What a contrast with our own Rowan Williams, who may well be very clever but whose thoughtscape is so profoundly complex that it can often seem that even he doesn't quite understand what he's saying.

Made me snort laugh as I thought about leadership I have been under in the past that communicates in such a theologically complex way, I had to have my husband explain to me what the message was about when it was over. Which makes you scratch your head and wonder how people can come to know Christ if it is that complicated...the purpose of Spiritual fathers are to guard the faith, model and communicate Lordship. Doesn't take a nuclear physicist. Just a heart of devotion:) just sayin....

[Magister Christianus]

I am not Catholic...yet...but watched eagerly the election of Cardinal Ratzinger and have followed his writings and speeches since then. As the Lord draws me closer to Rome, I can only hope that Benedict is still the Pope if and when I finally cross the Tiber. He is a magnificent man. We must pray for a long papacy and for his like to succeed him.