April 13, 2008
Who Is Benedict XVI?
An Introduction To The Pope On His First Papal Visit To The U.S.
-
Unlike his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI is not known for grand gestures. But his first papal visit to the U.S. will offer Americans an opportunity to see the leader of the Catholic faith up-close — and those who know him say he is bound to surprise. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)
-
Play CBS Video Video Pope's First U.S. Visit Pope Benedict XVI plans to share a message of hope and encouragement with American Catholics on his first visit to the U.S. Priya David reports.
-
Timeline Pope's U.S. Itinerary Daily events on the Pope's itinerary during his visit to the U.S. April 15-20.
-
Interactive Pope Benedict In America The pontiff makes his first trip to the U.S., with stops in Washington and New York.
Benedict the XVI, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was elected pope three years ago, but he'll arrive in Washington Tuesday, for his first official visit to the U.S., as the pope Americans know practically nothing about. He is most notable for not being John Paul II.
"I think from the very beginning it was seen that he wasn't as big a media draw as John Paul had been, said. CBS News Vatican consultant Father Thomas Williams.
"Pope John Paul II was a born actor, he was a great communicator, and not only by his humor, but by a lot of symbols, by gestures, by grand gestures," Father Williams said. "And Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, is not that sort of man. He is much more a teacher, more professorial, but he's not as good at the grand gestures. He's not as charismatic as Pope John Paul II was."
More than half-million people spilled out of St. Peters Square on the day of John Paul's funeral. One of Benedict's first acts as Pope was to fast-track his predecessor for sainthood.
Benedict was a reluctant pope. He has said he prayed not to be selected, but on April 19, 2005, the white smoke appeared and Joseph Ratzinger emerged. The choice was a shock, even for longtime Vatican watchers like David Gibson.
"I'm supposed to be one of those people who know how to pick, who's gonna come out on that balcony in St. Peter's Basilica dressed in the white cassock, and I didn't expect it to be Joseph Ratzinger," he said.
Gibson has written a biography of Benedict, "The Rule of Benedict: Pope Benedict XVI and His Battle with the Modern World" (HarperOne). In matters of doctrine, he says for more than two decades Cardinal Ratzinger was Pope John Paul's enforcer.
"It was a great, dynamic duo: John Paul II, the globetrotting pastor with a smile and the charisma, was the good cop of Christendom. Meanwhile, back in Rome, Joseph Ratzinger, the German theologian, was something of the bad cop," Gibson said.
Conservative Catholics were ecstatic that the man known as God's Rottweiller was now in charge. Reform-minded Catholics were distraught … but he's surprised everybody.
"He's moving the center of gravity of the Catholic Church to the right, to a more traditional view, no doubt about it, but he's doing it in a much more deliberate and quieter way than a lot of people on, let's say, his right flank would've wanted or hoped," Gibson said.
"People will often say, oh, well now, as pope he's so much more soft and fuzzy, and likeable," said Father Richard Neuhaus, who has known the pope for many years. "He was always - not soft and fuzzy, by any means, but he was always likeable, always gentle, a great listener."
Father Neuhaus describes him as very private, but ready to joke about his very German discipline.
"He started describing his day and what he does and meetings, boom-boom-boom-boom, and then he says, 'I go play the piano for 30 minutes.' Exactly? 'Oh no,' he pauses and he says, 'Sometimes 37.'"
Joseph Ratzinger was born April 16, 1927 (he will turn 81 this week), and grew up in Bavaria. Although his father was vocally anti-Nazi, he was forced to join the Hitler Youth, and then at the age of 17 was drafted into the German Army. The pope's past proved moderately controversial, more so the speech he gave in September 2006, at Regensberg, the German university where he once taught.
Whether he was naive or trying to be provocative, when he quoted a 14th century Byzantine emperor who claimed that Islam was inherently violent, millions of Muslims were outraged. There were riots; people were killed. Pope Benedict has been working to repair the damage ever since; his trip to Muslim Turkey helped.
In fact, he comes to the United States with a high approval rating. Of the people who know who he is, more than half like him; among Catholics, nearly three-quarters (although Pope John Paul II's numbers were higher, at 76% of Americans).
In Kaitlin Karcher's religion class at Our Lady of Grace School in the New York City borough of Queens, they're praying for the pope.
At Divine Mercy Academy, Christopher Jordan's school not far away, they're studying what a pope does.
Ten-year-old Christopher and 13-year-old Kaitlin were stunned to learn they'd been chosen to present flowers to Pope Benedict when his plane, the Shepherd One, arrives in New York on Friday morning.
"My jaw just fell, and I said, 'Wow,'" said Christopher.
"It's something that will be with me for the rest of my life," said Kaitlin, who admitted it was a little scary.
The band from Xaverian High School in Brooklyn will be on hand for his arrival, too. Wondering about protocol, their band leader asked if they would be expected to kiss the pope's ring, and was told no. "He's not that kind of pope."
So what kind of pope is he?
For 67 million American Catholics, that's a complicated question. Nearly 1 out of 3 Americans raised Catholic has left the church. Masking those defections is the fact that immigrants, overwhelmingly Hispanic, have taken their places.
Troubled by the priest sex scandal, the shortage of priests, the role of women, birth control and abortion, American Catholics will be looking for common ground with a pope who believes the creeping secularism, the so-called "Cafeteria Catholicism" they've been accused of, is unacceptable.
"He's got to address some of these problems," David Gibson said, "and if he doesn't, there's going to be a certain degree of disillusionment, there's going to be a certain degree of erosion."
American Catholics will be parsing Benedict's words, seeking in his itinerary something so they can connect personally with him the way they did with Pope John Paul II.
For Kaitlin Karcher's father, Robert, a disabled fireman, it's the scheduled papal visit to Ground Zero.
"It means a lot to me that he's going," Karcher said. "I feel that's hallowed ground, it really is. I lost six members of my company there, and they're still there"
Last year Christopher Jordan served as an altar boy at the Vatican alongside Pope Benedict. For Phyllis Jordan, having her son chosen to present him with flowers is beyond a connection.
"This is the greatest honor that anyone could have," she said, tearfully. Because? "Because of our Catholic faith."
At the Vatican, Augustinian monks who serve as papal valets wait for orders about what to pack for Pope Benedict's trip. Which of the world's most extraordinary hand-me-downs will cloak him in their history and their symbolism? One made for Pope John Paul II (Benedict wore it for the first month of his papacy). A take-apart travel staff given to Pope Pius IX in 1877. And the papal crest … his calling card … as he sets out to discover America.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Add a Comment See all 48 Comments
- Thanks for your reply Damned,
--------------------------------
"What they need is a little sacrosanct science and reason, not to mention logic."
--------------------------------
This argument may have been ok even as recently as one hundred years ago, but you''re talking about a faith that today proclaims that "...there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth." "Consequently, methodical research in all branches of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict with the faith, because the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God." (CCC #159), so I''m not really sure that anything other than your anger towards religion is what you base your ideas upon... not exactly logic or reason.
As far as your next posting, It has been a bit difficult for me to form a reply... not much there to debate other than (again) your anger. My Catholic faith is based upon love... love of God and love of my fellow man... if these things are too "delusional" for ya, then I don''t know what else to say... but I do wish you well.
John Paul pray for us.
Scott - Reply to this comment
- "DamnedRelign"... Come on, you can''t expect anyone to believe that in the last 2,000 years you believe that the Catholic Church has been the ONLY power to corrupted. Most people with a junior high school history book could form the same argument for every single group/power/church/country etc. that had the ability to inflict damage on humanity... (If it would help I can mention in more detail the Roman Catholics who have been killed for their faith for the last 2,000 years and continue to do so as recently as last month) so you can either hate all of humanity with the same zeal you attack the Roman Catholic Church or you just come off as a narrow minded bigot.
I can''t imagine what kind of pain you must be suffering to be so angry, but I pray that you find peace one day. - Reply to this comment
- When will the Catholic Church compensate it''s victims'' progeny for the torture, for the murder, and for the plunder, that it and its agents perpetrated against its millions of innocent victims throughout the Catholic Church''s bloody, perverted history?
- Reply to this comment
- I think the best way for those of you who are sincere in trying to answer the question of who this man is would be to actually read some of his work... not bits and pieces or comments about it, but actually take the time and effort to get to know the heart of another human being. This man who believes that "He (God)has loved us first and he continues to do so; we too, then, can respond with love. God does not demand of us a feeling which we ourselves are incapable of producing. He loves us, he makes us see and experience his love, and since he has %u201Cloved us first%u201D, love can also blossom as a response within us." (God Is Love #17)
The Holy Father loves us as brother and sister human beings... I pray that others will look inside themselves and find that love for their neighbor and let it bloom in their lives.
Peace be with you. - Reply to this comment
- liberalbias: you think that atheists are the worst of the worst? because we don''t believe your fairy tale?
- Reply to this comment
- liberalbias: you think that atheists are the worst of the worst? because we don''t believe your fairy tale?
- Reply to this comment
- Pope John Paul II called us ''Smvrgesbord Catholic''s'' not ''Cafeteria Catholic''s''. Either way I solved the problem I stopped being a practicing Catholic. When the Catholic Church starts using a little common sense to their birth control policies and stops supporting human suffering through over population I might consider going to back Church. But, not until.
- Reply to this comment
- hungry: i think demslie''s posts are not attributable to him being a brain washed christian. i think they are more attributable to him being a morton downey jr. wannabe
- Reply to this comment
- As Japanese-Americans (we were all born here except my grandmom, 81), we were subjected to racial and religious slurs by the locals in Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, and N. Carolina. Gopsux, you remind me of all these low-life people who called us " *****", "slopes", "******", and "***", and who practically spit on my Dad when he pleasantly inquired at a diner along a major route "where the nearest Catholic Church is...so we can go to Mass?"
Posted by Kenjiro1 at 02:45 PM : Apr 13, 2008
You can guarantee that the "locals in Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, and N. Carolina" that you encountered were ALL BIBLE THUMPING CHRISTIANS!!!
LOL!!! - Reply to this comment
- The Pope knows that he was coming to a nation that is dominated by Angry Hatefule Atheist Democrats who hate Christianity as much as any Muslim Terrorist. The world already knows that Democrats hate Religion, hate Republicans, hate Capitalism, hate the Military, hate Family Values, hate Sucessful People, hate White people, Hate the American Flag. You can tell by the Angry, Hateful Posts here that the Popes visit has made Democrats as Hateful as Iran and Al Qaeda who hate America the same as Democrats.
Posted by demslie at 06:49 AM : Apr 14, 2008
YOURS is the ONLY post mentioning ''democrats''.
Your delusional off-topic ranting, only confirms our suspicions of brain washed christians.
Yes CHRISTIANS - the brain washing, and delusional teaching, are hallmarks of christianity as a whole - not something limited to the catholic church. Though the catholics are the worst of the worst. - Reply to this comment
- Who Is Benedict XVI?
A former member of the Nazi youth movement, a life long devotee of the church of brainwashed fools, that helped cover up all of the priest molestations and rapes, by giving big, fat, checks to the victims in the form of ''hush money''.
Why do you ask? - Reply to this comment
- demslie is right: if there weren''t muslims or arabs in the world, there would be no war or death. (sarcasm intended)
- Reply to this comment
- demslie - to use the word HATE so much means that you feel it, a lot.
- Reply to this comment
- Ah, the Great Christian Mythology. Successfully causing Death for over 2000 years now.
Posted by FloydZepp
What an idiot. Its Muslim and Arabs that have been causing death for over 2000 years. And its Democrats that are helping and supporting them to do that today. - Reply to this comment
- He is guardian of the feces-filled Vatican murderous, thieving, toilet/church in Rome, as have been all other Popes throughout history.
Flush them all down to the hell that they created, and to where they belong.
Posted by damnedrelign
The Pope knows that he was coming to a nation that is dominated by Angry Hatefule Atheist Democrats who hate Christianity as much as any Muslim Terrorist. The world already knows that Democrats hate Religion, hate Republicans, hate Capitalism, hate the Military, hate Family Values, hate Sucessful People, hate White people, Hate the American Flag. You can tell by the Angry, Hateful Posts here that the Popes visit has made Democrats as Hateful as Iran and Al Qaeda who hate America the same as Democrats. - Reply to this comment
- Joey the Rat''s father was a Hitler Youth. No one was "forced" to join, they either chose to oppose the crimes of the Nazis, of they chose to assist them, both choices have consequences.
Ratzinger''s attempted vilification of Muslims, and disrespect to all other non-Catholics,as indicated in his "one true church" statement, shows an intolerant nature that indicates that the apple didn''t fall too far from the tree.
One thing is for sure, because of him, the doctrine of "papal infallibility" has been shown to the world to be total fantasy. - Reply to this comment
- Who is Benedict XVI?
He''s the guy who recognizes Bush as the Antichrist and refuses to eat a meal (break bread) with him. - Reply to this comment
- It covers the topic of antisemitism and supercessionism from the time of the Apostles to the planting of the large papal cross at Auschwitz.
Posted by CBS_Oliver at 10:53 PM : Apr 13, 2008
Sounds like more Zionist propaganda cra*p!
How can the apostles be anti-semitic?
They were Jews!
And how can you be anti-semitic if you believe in a Jewish Messiah?
Gimme a break! - Reply to this comment
- Who Is Benedict XVI?
Larry Craig in a popemobile. - Reply to this comment
- my bad then
- Reply to this comment
