papa ratzi

well, Pope Benedict XVI is the former Cardinal Ratzinger who was the right hand man of the late Pope John Paul II. it will be interesting to see where Benedict leads the catholic church. from what i read on the news and elsewhere the far-reaching hand of John Paul II is gone and the great unifyer is no more. Ratzinger is THE theologian of the Catholic church and he sees that it is his mission to defend the orthodoxy of the Catholic church where it is threatened. so what that means, i am assuming, is that the progressives and the moderates in Europe and America are rolling their eyes because the supposed dreams of reforms are vanquished while Benedict XVI is ruling (i was going to say "on the throne" and maybe that is only fitting because to me hearing the name Benedict revokes memories of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the name Benedict just doesn't seem to be a modern, 21st century title for a Pope, yet alas, it is.)

also about the name, from what i hear Benedict XV was a moderate Pope and yet maybe Ratzi is trying to fool all those that he is going to be a moderate yet in reality he sees his mission as to defend the orthodoxy. sounds pretty conservative to me, yet, i think that he would make a good interum Pope until they find one that wants to take on the challenge of reforming the doctrine of the Catholic church. as a protestant it shall be interesting to watch! (by the way, click here to see where i got the title of the post)