Posted on 04/25/2005 6:00:12 AM PDT by JustaCowgirl
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Grinning and cracking jokes, Pope Benedict on Monday shed the stress of his election and inauguration for a jubilant audience with several thousand fellow Germans at the Vatican.
The 78-year-old Bavarian seemed almost overcome by joy and stagefright as he strode down the aisle of the Paul VI audience hall waving to the crowds amid flashing cameras and pilgrims straining to shake his hand or kiss his ring.
A shy man thrust into the limelight by his election last Tuesday, he drew laughter and applause when he apologised for arriving late from an inter-religious meeting.
"Germans are known for being punctual -- it seems I've become a bit of an Italian," he joked.
He also recounted with a sly smile that he had begged God not to make him Pope as successive ballots in the secret conclave showed it was likely that "the guillotine would fall" on him.
"God clearly didn't listen to me," he remarked with a sigh.
The former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger celebrated his inaugural Mass on St. Peter's Square on Sunday in Latin and Italian according to Vatican protocol, disappointing some of the many thousands of Germans who had come specially for the day.
STILL A BAVARIAN
Remarking on all the Bavarian flags he saw in the audience hall, he reassured them he had kept his roots despite 23-1/2 years working as the Vatican's doctrinal authority in Rome.
"I've stayed a Bavarian, even as Bishop of Rome," he said.
The crowds loved it. "He was less hard then before," said Rolf Croisier, a Latin teacher from Freiburg who took 75 students to the audience. "He was good, making jokes."
Earlier on Monday, Benedict held a more formal meeting with leaders of other religions who had attended his inauguration.
Renewing calls made from the start of his papacy, he urged other Christian churches to work with him for unity. He also mentioned Muslims for the first time, praising dialogue with them as a valuable contribution to true peace in the world.
Later on Monday, the Pope was due to pay homage at the tomb of St. Paul the Apostle in the southern suburbs of Rome.
The pilgrimage to the 4th century Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls will be the first time the new Pontiff has made an official foray outside the tiny Vatican City state since his election on April 19.
APPEAL TO YOUTH
Benedict entered last week's conclave as one of the presumer frontrunners, but he told the Germans:
"As slowly the balloting showed me that, so to speak, the guillotine would fall on me, I got quite dizzy. I had thought I had done my life's work and could now hope for a peaceful end of my days.
"So with deep conviction, I told the Lord: 'Don't do this to me! You have younger and better men, who can do this work with a very different verve and strength'. In this situation ... the Lord clearly did not listen to me."
At the same time, he said another cardinal slipped him a note reminding him that, in his sermon at John Paul's funeral, he had quoted Jesus Christ telling St. Peter -- the first pope -- to follow him.
"Remember what you preached and don't refuse," he quoted the cardinal as telling him. After a well-timed delay, he added: "So in the end, I had no choice but to say yes."
Benedict assured youths in the audience he would attend the World Youth Day Catholic jamboree scheduled for August in Cologne, Germany.
In an apparent reference to his reputation as a stern defender of Catholic orthodoxy before becoming Pope, he then asked for their trust.
"I appeal for your indulgence if I make mistakes, like any person does, or if some things that the Pope has to say and do on the basis of his conscience or the conscience of the Church seem hard to understand."
Amazing reading -- an elderly and gentle man heeding the call of the Lord. (Thank you for posting this.) The comparison with the hate-mongers of the Left is mind-boggling. NPR was fulminating the other morning that the coverage of the late Pope's death and the election of Benedict XVI had been excessive and overly reverential.
Beautiful article and it's hard to believe it's from Reuters!
LOL. Doncha just love this guy?
He is a true inspiration, and I believe will become more beloved by Catholics and non-Catholics as the purity of his faith, gentleness, and obedience to God's will becomes ever more apparent.
Isn't it though? I could hardly believe my eyes when I read it, I guess I expected another hit piece.
I love that! Just noticed it in your tagline.
And what does the idea of "peace" look like from a Muslim's perspective?
The more I read about him the more I love him! Benedict XVI is a wonderful choice. God has smiled on His church.
ping!
We have become so skeptical (with plenty of reason), that it is really so rare that Reuters has something that isn't liberal and a hit piece on the Church or the Pope. Wonderful article to give some background and insight into the humble holiness of this Pontiff. May God bless and guide him.
For anyone familiar with the Vatican, even remotely (someone like me), I have known who Ratzinger was for years. He has always written books and newspaper articles & given media interviews. He has always been one of the most accessible personalities in the Vatican. Very open and approachable.
Did he want to be pope? Well, reading this thread and knowing that he asked to retire three times in the past 15 or so years, I'd say no.
In this photo made available by the Vatican daily L'Osservatore Romano, world religious leaders applaud Pope Benedict XVI, in white, during a meeting in the Sala Clementina at the Vatican, Monday, April 25, 2005. Benedict told ecumenical leaders on Monday that he fully supported the need to work toward uniting Christians divided by schism. (AP Photo/Osservatore Romano)
Thank you, Holy Father, for saying "yes"!
Catholic Ping - Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list
Three bodies can be seen around a blown up Jerusalem bus as rescue workers inspect the area. As Israel seeks a peaceful solution with the Palestinians, Islamic Jihad and Hamas have declared that their objective is the total destruction of the State of Israel.
"Peace" from a Muslim perspective.
Where the heck do they get that information? No one knows how many votes Ratzinger got except the Cardinals. I am sick of their political speculations.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
The College of Cardinals is a highly political institution.always has been, always will be..and Pope JP II was a master politican...I believe he favored Ratzinger, and let his wished becoem known in the last years of his Papacy..
Certainly every one of them is aware that they may one day become pope but I wouldn't go so far as to say every one of them wants to be pope.
Seems to me that you are completely leaving out the Holy Spirit.
..and Pope JP II was a master politican...
I agree but I don't think we are thinking along exactly the same lines... the pope has to be prudent and yet radical at that same time while proclaiming and spreading the Faith. Poland was a perfect example of how JPII did this. Liberate the masses from communism so they could live in freedom to worship God. Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan wanted the liberation from communism in order to stamp it out and eventually have it topple in Russia, but the dimention of living in freedom in order to worship God wasn't part of their agenda.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.