Pope Benedict right man at right time, cardinal, Vatican watcher say
Mar 22, 2006
Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec City, P.Q., recalls standing near Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter's Square at the time of the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist last October along with 100,000 young Italian children who had recently celebrated their First Communion.
MONTREAL, Canada (The Catholic Register, 3/9/2006) – Pope Benedict XVI was taking questions from the enthusiastic children and answering them in a plain, simple and down-to-earth fashion. Standing next to Cardinal Ouellet was another cardinal who hadn't voted for Benedict in the conclave last April. This cardinal was so moved by Benedict's many answers to the children that he confided in Ouellet: “This is the right man in the right place at this time in the life of the church.”
Cardinal Ouellet, the archbishop of Quebec City and primate of the Catholic Church in Canada, made the remarks at a joint lecture on Benedict XVI at Montreal's McGill University on March 2, along with Vatican columnist John Allen Jr. of the U.S.-based weekly newspaper, National Catholic Reporter.
”And he truly is the right man in the right place,” said Cardinal Ouellet. “What really impresses me about Joseph Ratzinger's long journey to become pope is not his impressive theological achievements but his faith, his intelligence and his courage to be a witness to the truth.”
The cardinal said that contrary to the speculation in the media at the time of the pope's election, Benedict XVI is showing himself to be someone who listens and someone who is willing to dialogue no matter what the issue.
”One only has to remember his meeting with controversial theologian Hans Kung at Castel Gandolfo, early in his papacy,” he said. “Benedict showed that he was open to serious reconciliation and it was a sign of the man as a listener who can sit with opponents.”
Cardinal Ouellet, who has known the pope for more than 20 years, said that throughout then-Cardinal Ratzinger's tenure as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, he never rushed to decision, always took his time exploring all aspects of a question, discussing the facts with colleagues and experts from other curia offices.
”He was the one who would listen to what you had to say, summarize it to ensure he got it right, and usually in better words than it was said to him, and then suggest steps to take,” he said.
Allen said, despite the public perception of Ratzinger as a hard-nosed disciplinarian and watchdog in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he had earned a reputation among visiting bishops in Rome as a very warm, sincere and authentic man.
”When bishops would come to Rome on their five-year ad limina visits and they would be making the rounds of the dicasteries (curial offices),” said Allen, “as reporters, we would ask them which was the best meeting they had?”
”They would always answer: Ratzinger, whether their meetings lasted 10 minutes or an hour. They were always impressed by his authentic ability to listen to what they were saying,” he said.
Allen said Pope Benedict comes across as someone who is truly happy with his life. “But he is also a realist who differs from John Paul II in his approach.”
“John Paul had the audacious capacity to dream,” the correspondent said, “while Benedict grasps and acknowledges things the way they are. His fight is against the dictatorship of relativism and he refuses to be judged successful by secular terms.”
However, Benedict understands modernity, Allen added.
”He is a thoroughly modern pope with a deep understanding of where modernity came from. For him the modern world and the church are at a crossroads and he is there ready to listen and to dialogue as part of a deep intellectual and spiritual adventure.
”Those who thought this pope would bring in radical change are bound to be disappointed,” he said. “The changes will be less sweeping than some might have desired. When he intervenes in a matter, it will not be by the force of his authority, but by reasoned intervention. He still believes that people can be persuaded by argument and logic.
Allen said Benedict is not a pope who wants to be in the limelight but instead “he wants to be seen as a member of a working community and not as a lone hero.”
The cardinal summed up his appreciation of Pope Benedict at the end of the lecture with these words: “He is not just a cold intellectual, and never was such a person. He is a humble man of the church, now clearly exposed to the people. I thank God every day for the gift of Pope Benedict XVI.”
Pope Benedict right man at right time, cardinal, Vatican watcher say