April 20, 2005

There's been much thoughtful commentary on the election of the world's newest, and Rome's 265th, Pope (and there's been more than a bit thoughtless and irresponsible criticism from the Leftist MSM, too), but Canadian Catholic thinker David Warren has one of the better responses to welcome Pope Benedict XVI:
Jubilate Deo
I knew virtually nothing about Cardinal Ratzinger until I watched him conduct Pope JPII's funeral mass on TV.
I like his face and he conducted that mass, even though it was going out live all over the world to 2 billion people or more, such that it was a moving, spiritual and even intimate experience--no small thing to accomplish, especially given the fact that he was stepping into John Paul's giant shadow quite literally.
I've since learned of his early history as a teenage boy growing up in Nazi Germany--joining the Hitler Youth by force, being made to join the Reich's Army by force, which he deserted.
As a priest and Vatican official, he's written some important works on the Faith on his own and he contributed significantly to many works issued by Pope John Paul, with whom he was also a close friend.
As far as I can tell, he is a pious, godly and prayerful man and as President Bush remarked, " a servant of God."
Even though I'm a Protestant--although I'm taking a serious look at the Church of Rome these days, particularly since the Episcopal Church chose to make itself irrelevant of late--Pope Benedict is a wonderful choice who will work to promote the Culture of Life and who will indeed be a stalwart Defender of the Faith.
I love it that he's pretty tough on Islam.
And I also love it that he's German;
his visibility, work and moral force as Pope may be the last great hope for Western Europe's Christian salvation before it helplessly succumbs to being EUrabia, a cheerless world without hope in which the whites will be agnostics or atheists and the citizens of color will all be Muslim.
God works in mysterious ways and He is still at work in the 21st Century and in His one, holy and catholic [Note: lower case "c"] Church.
This is true for us all, but not the least for whom it is true than Pope Benedict and the cardinals who elected him.
Let's continue to pray for the Holy Father and for all us wretched sinners saved by Grace!