Pope Benedict XVI has been in office long enough now that his public image has already softened significantly.  I don’t remember who first said it, but it is as apt as ever.  When this pope was chosen, he was often thought to be a sort of Rotweiler or Pit Bull; but it turns out he’s a German Shepherd.

As the most published pope in history, it remains to be seen how long he will live and how many encyclicals he’ll write.  But if he lives long enough, I’m sure he will produce some outstanding documents to supplement his many books.  John Paul the Great had a lot more charisma and certainly had a flair for the dramatic gesture, as this article in the New York Times notes, but Benedict is indeed a more balanced and widely read theologian.  In his lucid prose and his faithful, courageous defense of orthodoxy he makes ++Rowan Williams look pathetic in comparison.  Like readers of T19 who were present at the so-called Plano event in Dallas in the fall of 2003, I will never forget the stunning impact of hearing his letter of encouragement read aloud to us.  Of course, he was still just Cardinal Ratzinger then, but everyone knew he was the Pope’s right hand man, the #2 in the Roman hierarchy, and his warm words of firm support for us were immensely heartening.  God bless him.

David Handy+

*sigh*  I wish *we* had someone like that.

Interesting…the Holy Father has always seemed courageous in promulgating the Truth but he always delivers his message in a thoughtful and civil manner.

Here’s an excellent article on by Peter Steinfels, also from the NYT. While the Goodstein article isn’t that cliched, the Steinfels is fun and relevant to reporting on the pope’s visit.  A sample:

Breathlessness is always a problem with papal visits. The trouble with melodrama is that it displaces genuine drama. Caricature replaces character.  There are at least five dramas built into this papal voyage.

There’s a good work-over on Get Religion of this article, and several other posts to meet your papal visit needs.

NYT Fears Pope’s Image Will Be Softened Regardless

I have great admiration for Pope Benedict.  He’s both patoral and intellectual, traditional but engaged with the real world.  I agree that we on this side of the Tiber need someone of his stature.  Although my theology and ecclesiology are thoroughly Lutheran (if not, I’d make the swim),  I often lament the fact that Protestants seem to think that deep matters of faith and doctrine can be decided by a vote.  What happened to consensus fidelum?