April 21, 2005
IT WAS ALL KARL ROVE:
The surge to victory: Cardinal's deft steps (Daniel J. Wakin, April 21, 2005, The New York Times)
Joseph Ratzinger of Germany became Pope Benedict XVI in rapid fashion, rushing to election by a scant four votes over less than 24 hours in conclave. How it happened began to emerge Wednesday once the cardinals who chose him left the secret gathering and were no longer bound by a gag order imposed by Ratzinger the week before it started.Posted by Orrin Judd at April 21, 2005 8:04 AMIt was, several cardinals said, his brilliant performance in the weeks leading up to the conclave that helped make his election more probable than had been expected, several cardinals said Wednesday.
His deep knowledge of the Vatican bureaucracy, linguistic ability and intellectual heft also played important roles, the cardinals said in interviews and news conferences. [...]
In picking Ratzinger, they were clearly drawn to his defense of traditional Roman Catholic doctrine in the face of what he called the "dictatorship of relativism," or shifting winds of belief in a secular society, during the Mass that opened the conclave on Monday.
His choice also indicated that they believed shoring up the fundamentals of the faith was a main priority, despite extensive discussion about the needs of the church in Latin America and elsewhere outside Europe.
But it was also his dignified celebration of John Paul's funeral Mass on April 8; his guiding hand in the cardinals' daily meetings during the interregnum, or period between popes; and the preconclave Mass that helped to convince the cardinals. Ratzinger fulfilled those roles by virtue of his position as dean of the college.
"When one keeps in mind the way in which Cardinal Ratzinger led the funeral mass and also the way he led the cardinals' college when they had their meetings," said Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier of South Africa, "I think he showed great leadership quality, which must obviously have influenced what people thought about him."
My favorite part is when the priest who saw the progressives candidate, the Jesuit Martini, over the week-end said he appeared to be "distressed." Gotta love it.
Posted by: Jim in Chicago at April 21, 2005 10:19 AMThankfully Kennedy & Byrd arrived too late to ensure a full and complete debate!
Posted by: Phil at April 21, 2005 3:04 PMOn the day the old pope croaked, Ratzinger reopened (actually, opened) an inquiry into a complaint by 3 seminarians that they had been raped by a Vatican operative, a complaint that had lain dormant for 7 years.
Now, there are 2 possibilities here.
One is that Ratzinger was a good altar boy who was appalled by John Paul's complicity in child rape and at the very moment he could do so, he took steps to get the church into some semblance of a moral position.
The other is that Ratzinger himself squelched any move to deal with child-abuse until he saw a chance of grabbing the funny hat himself and made a cynical move to distance himself from the church's criminality.
There are no other possibilties. You guys take your pick.
Now that was kind of interesting.
The first time I tried to move the above post, it was intercepted because of 'questionable content,' specifically '-?ape'.
(You supply the 'r')
Whose filter is that, Orrin, yours or your ISP's?
Never encountered it before.
Posted by: Harry Eagar at April 21, 2005 4:28 PMRatzinger is known to be more in touch with the day to day functioning of the Church and in closer touch with what's going on in America. It wouldn't be surprising if he were to focus on cleaning out the gay clergy.
Posted by: oj at April 21, 2005 4:35 PMAre you sure the word that triggered the "questionable content" wasn't "Harry"?
Posted by: Peter B at April 21, 2005 5:04 PMYes, Peter, I'm sure.
So, Orrin, the pope's closest adviser couldn't persuade him that child-?ape was a problem.
You know, nothing I could ever say about the Church is as damning as what the Church and its defenders says itself.
Posted by: Harry Eagar at April 21, 2005 8:15 PMIt's not much of a problem, just the cost of putting adults in contact with children. The Church deals with it better than most any other similar institution and looks particularly good by comparison to the education system. The new Pope realizes it was a PR problem that needs to be made to look as if they're taking it seriously.
Posted by: oj at April 21, 2005 8:27 PMBy the way, the rapes of the little boys in the seminary in question -- the investigation that Ratzinger suppressed -- were not in America, they happened in Rome.
I had never paid a great deal of attention to John Paul, I thought he was just a publicity hound.
It is only now that the dimensions of his hideous immorality are coming out.
Posted by: Harry Eagar at April 22, 2005 3:42 PMHeck, in Europe it's probably not even illegal.
Posted by: oj at April 22, 2005 4:44 PMHarry:
Worry about your own soul and eternal well-being. Leave JPII to God.