So How's The Pope Doing?

[Jaime]

So I know a few folks that were dancing a little jig when then Cardinal Ratzinger was made pope. Proclamations were made that [list]
[*]Masses would return to latin
[*]guitars would be burned (as well as guitarists)
[*]German beers would dramatically come down in price
[/list]A little over a year later, what do you think of what the Holy Father has done so far? Are some folks frustrated that these things haven't occurred yet? Are folks concerned that perhaps sweeping changes against abuses might not happen? Are you satisfied that the Holy Father is being guided properly by the Holy Spirit? Were you surprised that his first encyclical was about the topic of love?







PS I was a little concerned that this topic could cause a problem with Phorum guidelines. But I spoke with dUSt about it and he thinks if some folks have some concerns or critiques about the Holy Father, they can talk about them respectfully and constructively.

[homeschoolmom]

The pope is dope.

[Era Might]

He's exactly what I thought he would be, and more. I have no doubt he is being guided by the Holy Spirit.

May his Pontificate be long and fruitful!

[rkwright]

Be don't a dope; represent the Pope.

[Groo the Wanderer]

mmmm...german beer!

[IcePrincessKRS]

I think he's doing splendidly. You can't change years of abuses over night... or in a single year. The Holy Spirit definately guides him and any progress is good progress, right?

[Jaime]

But what progress have you seen come from his office?

I think Bishop Marini still has a gig. There's been lots of speculation that he would be moved but I haven't seen any official word on it. (I certainly could have missed it)

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='hot stuff' post='1077840' date='Sep 28 2006, 11:43 AM']
So I know a few folks that were dancing a little jig when then Cardinal Ratzinger was made pope. Proclamations were made that [list]
[*]Masses would return to latin
[*]guitars would be burned (as well as guitarists)
[*]German beers would dramatically come down in price
[/list]A little over a year later, what do you think of what the Holy Father has done so far? Are some folks frustrated that these things haven't occurred yet? Are folks concerned that perhaps sweeping changes against abuses might not happen? Are you satisfied that the Holy Father is being guided properly by the Holy Spirit? Were you surprised that his first encyclical was about the topic of love?
[/quote]

I guess some people might be wishing for some sweeping changes, but we gotta be careful what we wish for and realize that there's usually more wisdom in gradual change. We're still digesting Vatican II, after all. However, I'm not really in the camp of people that's wanting to return to Latin Masses with organs and whatever. The Church is headed in the right direction overall. You know, the Pope could decide that we're going to return to Latin and make other sweeping changes, but would any of it affect the hearts of Catholics? Would anyone quite using contraception or change their pro-choice or pro-gay marriage stance because of it? Not a chance.

And I'm not at all surprised that Benedict's first encyclical was about love. The issues we are facing in society right now are rooted in the search for love.

Edited September 28, 2006 by LouisvilleFan

[Budge]

He is doing a great job of dressing in old fashioned middle age threads for "Prada Parade Processions."

[img]http://www.buffalonews.com/graphics/2005/12/30/1230benedict.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.splendoroftruth.com/curtjester/Pics/Pope%20Benedict%20XVI%20Bear.jpg[/img]

Edited September 28, 2006 by Budge

[KnightofChrist]

I do believe the Pope is doing a great job. Yet what has the Pope accomplish? I do recall people saying he would take a tougher stance on catholics who are part of the death culture. Has any one seen evidence of this?

[MIKolbe]

[quote name='Budge' post='1077921' date='Sep 28 2006, 10:17 AM']
He is doing a great job of dressing in old fashioned middle age threads for "Prada Parade Processions."

[img]http://www.buffalonews.com/graphics/2005/12/30/1230benedict.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.splendoroftruth.com/curtjester/Pics/Pope%20Benedict%20XVI%20Bear.jpg[/img]
[/quote]


Budge-

can you buy that teddy bear for me???

i am running out of idols to worship.

thanks.

[Era Might]

[quote name='hot stuff' post='1077912' date='Sep 28 2006, 11:57 AM']I think Bishop Marini still has a gig. There's been lots of speculation that he would be moved but I haven't seen any official word on it. (I certainly could have missed it)[/quote]
Marini has talked about the different relationship with Benedict than he had with John Paul.

[quote]Archbishop Piero Marini, who also served as master of ceremonies for Pope John Paul II, said that with Pope Benedict "I have to be a little more attentive because he is an expert in liturgy."

"But it gives me satisfaction because he always recognizes the work that has been done, and we talk about it together," said the 64-year-old Italian, who has worked at the Vatican since 1965.

In a March 20 interview with the Milan-based online news site, Affari Italiani, the archbishop said he and Pope Benedict "are re-elaborating the papal ceremonies."

"I send him my notes and he returns them with his signature as a sign of approval, or else he suggests, completes or corrects," he said.

...

"With John Paul II, I was a bit freer; we had an implicit agreement because he was a man of prayer and not of liturgy," the archbishop said.

...

The archbishop said it is true some people exaggerated their experiments with the revised liturgy.

"In Belgium and Holland, on the wave of experimentalism, more than 300 eucharistic prayers were born" when in most countries fewer than a dozen have been approved for use, he said.

"Slowly things turned back to normal," he said.

Now, the archbishop said, he fears there is a move toward "neoritualism, that is, to a priest who celebrates Mass thinking: 'Good, I said my Mass following the rite to the letter. I'm fine.' This is not good; the celebration is not slavish respect for liturgical norms. There always is a little bit of space for the celebrant."

...

"First of all we must understand that the liturgy is a sign of unity," he said. "It is not a matter of liberalizing the missal or anything else. It is only a question of accepting the church today, just that."

-[url="http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0601617.htm"][u]Source[/u][/url]-[/quote]
I don't know that I would necessarily agree with Marini's general philosophy of Liturgy, but I think he probably gets a bad rap. He's basically the devil incarnate for some people.

There have also been other subtle changes:

[quote]In his writings before becoming Pope, Benedict XVI expressed disquiet about this situation and put the case for reform. In this regard, a concert in the Sistine Chapel conducted by Msgr Domenico Bartolucci on 24 June 2006 was of significance.

With this concert, according to Vatican commentator Sandro Magister, Benedict symbolically restored the Sistine Chapel "to its true maestro". The famous chapel is not only the sacred place decorated with the frescoes of Michelangelo, it also gives the name to the choir that for centuries has accompanied the pontifical liturgies.

...

Bartolucci's replacement was the final stage of the almost complete elimination of Gregorian chant and polyphony, as sought by the authors of the postconciliar liturgical reform - despite Vatican II's explicit recommendation that these forms of sacred music be preserved and encouraged.

According to Sandro Magister, the person responsible for Bartolucci's removal was the master of pontifical ceremonies, Piero Marini, still in service with Benedict XVI although close to his own retirement. Marini brought in Msgr Giuseppe Liberto as head of the Sistine Chapel, having noticed and appreciated his work as musical director during John Paul II's visits to Sicily.

At the time, the only significant figure in the Roman Curia who came to Bartolucci's defence was Cardinal Ratzinger, for reasons that were both musical and liturgical, as he has explained in his essays and books.

...

In the areas of liturgy and music, Benedict XVI knows that decrees from the authorities are not enough. His intention is that of re- educating more than issuing orders. The concert by Maestro Bartolucci in the Sistine Chapel was one of these "teaching moments", according to Sandro Magister.

...

Benedict described the music and the choir as "a vehicle of evangelisation," which should not be limited to concerts, but should again animate and adorn the liturgies, beginning with the pontifical ones.

By restoring the Sistine Chapel to maestro Bartolucci, Benedict XVI has clearly signalled his intentions.

-[url="http://www.ad2000.com.au/articles/2006/aug2006p6_2308.html"][u]Source[/u][/url]-[/quote]
Even before he became Pope, one of his main ideas was that obedience to Liturgical norms can only happen when there is a renewed understanding of the Liturgy as coming from God, and as the universal prayer of the Church, and not our play thing. He has spent a lot of time in his short Pontificate trying to set this in motion through education, at his Wednesday Audiences, for example. Whether he has some kind of concrete action in mind, I'm not sure. We'll have to wait and see, I guess. But the Holy See has done a lot to clarify what is genuine Liturgical practice even going back to John Paul's Pontificate. It's ultimately on the back of the local Bishops to set about a reform, because the Holy Father can't be in ten thousand dioceses at one time.

As far as his first Encyclical, I thought it was a masterful stroke of pastoral prudence. When he was still Cardinal, he remarked that the West "doesn't love itself" any more. And this is really the foundation of the "dictatorship of relativism", because you can only love others when you first love yourself. The death of the west is based on programs that are inherently opposed to love (eg, abortion). For the Holy Father to deal with this massive problem, he had to strike at the heart of the matter: the ability to love. Love is sacrificial, and we can only heal the west if we embrace that sacrificial love, rather than the selfish narcissism that imagines a world without God and build around our personal wonderfulness.

The central message of this Papacy so far is personal and social conversion to Christ. The Holy Father frequently emphasizes the joy and the positive character of Christian faith, as opposed to the gloomy and legalistic impression given by the world.

Also, another very important event so far was the conclave. This is really one of the most important legacies of a Pope, the Bishops and Cardinals he chooses.

But, it's really too early to know what the Holy Father has in mind practically for the Church. We'll just have to wait and see.

[Jaime]

bump for the afternoon crowd

[mariahLVzJP2]

[quote name='MIkolbe' post='1077929' date='Sep 28 2006, 12:29 PM']
Budge-

can you buy that teddy bear for me???

i am running out of idols to worship.

thanks.
[/quote]

[Budge]

:

Actually that one was funny.

Sorry I dont have a teddy-bear fund right now..