Cardinal Ratzinger Chosen, Takes Name Benedict XVI

At the Vatican, the saying is that if one enters the conclave a pope, one leaves as a cardinal. In other words, the College of Cardinals rarely picks the front-runner. Not so this time. John Paul II's close friend and ideological enforcer, Joseph Ratzinger became pope yesterday having been the leading candidate throughout the non-campaign. As Benedict XVI, he has quite an act to follow.

The new pope secured the 2/3 majority he needed on the fourth ballot, suggesting a certain broad-based support within the narrow range of views within the college. And one of his appeals could be his age. At age 78, his papacy will unlikely rival his predecessor's 26 years, and he may have been cast in the role of transitional figure. Or less reverently, he's going to be JPII Lite. All the speculation now turns to what he has in store for the Catholic Church, and one of the more amusing methods is name interpretation.

Had he chosen John as a name, some say it might signal an acceptance of the Vatican II reforms. Or Pius might mean just the opposite. Benedict was last used by the pope who took office (if that is the correct usage) September 3, 1914 just after World War I broke out. Benedict XV took a neutral line (which during WWI was morally easier than in many wars, such as WWII), tried to broker peace in 1917, and put a great deal of effort into humanitarian relief. He sent so much aid to (Muslim) Istanbul that there is a statue of him there. His pontificate also saw diplomatic relations re-established between France and the Vatican as well as Britain and the Holy See. A man of peace and humanitarianism -- not bad for 2005 either.

Of course, there is also Benedict IX, who according to the Catholic Encyclopedia "was a disgrace to the Chair of Peter." His father, Alberic, put him in that chair in October 1032. The Catholic Encyclopedia also said that Benedict lived a "dissolute life" which allowed other factions to depose him, and an anti-pope (Sylvester III) got the job. Benedict IX deposed Sylvester III, then decided to get married and resigned the position, which resulted in the election of Gregory VI. Benedict changed his mind and tried to depose Gregory. From there it gets messy, but suffice it to say, the former Joseph Ratzinger probably doesn't mean to model his behavior on this guy.

With the answers to the big questions still ahead, there are a few things that do make one grateful. "Conclave" was not a reality TV show. There were no exit polls. Every vote was counted by three human beings, and three more human beings kept an eye on them. There were no postal ballots lost or found. None of the participants got an endorsement or book deal as a result of the meeting. None of the candidates ran a negative campaign (so far as the outside world knows). No one has filed a lawsuit concerning the election. And above all, the winner is not a member of Skull and Bones, or even a Yale man.


© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
Produced using Fedora Linux.

Home