Pope Benedict XVI Still Unnerves the Media

True to form, CNN, Reuters, and other media outlets used the announcement of Pope Benedict XVI's retirement to dwell on ancient sex scandals, opposition to gay marriage, and a host of other things the media have never liked about a Pope who would not hew to whatever worldview the chattering classes embraced at the moment.

"As a Catholic, I'm not buying this," tweeted hysterical chatterer, Piers Morgan, a "modern world" Catholic by his own lights. "Popes don't just quit because they're tired. What's going on here??" I am not sure I know either, but I am pleased to see the Pope unnerve the media once again.

I have had an unusual perspective on this. On April 19, 2005, I was in Paris to attend an international conference on TWA Flight 800. I remember the date without having to look it up. It was Patriot's Day, the tenth anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, the twelfth anniversary of the massacre at Waco -- not that our media reflected much on the tank assault that left seventy-four Christians dead, more than half of them racial minorities, twenty of them children.

Having arrived that morning in Paris, I had a day to kill. I had expected to reach Notre Dame about four hours earlier, but I took the wrong Metro and ended up at the Eiffel Tower, hung around there for a while, boated down to Notre Dame Cathedral, and arrived at an historic moment.

In one of life's more providential moments, I walked unsuspecting into Notre Dame roughly thirty seconds before the Vatican announced that Cardinal Josef Ratzinger was the new pope, Benedict XVI. At first I had no idea what was going on. The center section of the cathedral, which was "reserved for the faithful," was actually full of faithful.

Seek and Find, this was an excellent find!

OK, speculations are rampant, so I'll add mine to the soup:

From the moment he was elected, Pope Bneedict made it clear that he hadn't wanted to be Pope: he said that the announcement was "like a guillotine blade coming down."

Knowing that at his age he'd only have a few years, and knowing all the sotto-voce skulduggery that goes on in any big institution, including the Roman Curia, I'm betting he has been planning for his successor from Day One back in April 2005.

He's a patient man. He's planned 15 moves ahead, putting the chess pieces in place. Now, announcing RIGHT before Lent, he's basically forcing the Cardinals to wrap it up quick, because none of them wants to be out of their Diocese for the whole Holy Season, and certainly not for Easter.

Plus, with Benedict still being alive, they can each of them come in to consult with himn, personally, if they want, about who he has in mind as a good successor. And he can undermine the plotters (yes, I think there are plotters, too.) This --- I hope --- is the long-term architecture of the thing. I think Benedict's moves are wise, Spirit-guided, brilliant.

Then, Benedict says he is going to retire to a life of intense prayer in a monastic setting.

Something big coming up.

Really big.

People: pray, pray. pray.

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