No Longer Orphans: Our New Holy Father Benedict XVI May 2005Around 6:00 pm on April 19 th, the bells of St. Peter's rang out again, and people all over the city dropped everything to race to the Vatican. Habemus Papam! We have a new pope! Everyone gathered in the square waited for the announcement of who it was: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger! Crowds of young people hugged each other with joy, and, electrified by his appearance on the balcony, began to chant: Ben-e-dic-tus. In this lesson we will learn more about our new Pope, who he is, what he stands for, and why we the young people look ahead to his pontificate with hope. Growing Up in Tough Times Joseph Ratzinger was born on April 16, 1927 in Marktl am Inn, Germany. That area of Germany (Bavaria) is known for the strong Catholic faith of its people and their contagious joy. This joy was truncated, however, when Adolf Hitler took over Germany in 1933 and eventually launched the country into Word War II. Joseph's father, a retired policeman, opposed the Nazi regime, and as a teen Joseph himself refused to join the Hitler Youth organization, even though this meant he would be given less financial help by the government for his studies. He had felt attracted to the priesthood since a young age, and during his teens he joined a high school seminary. Eventually he and all his companions were forced, like all other German youth, to enter the army. Joseph was 16 years old when he was conscripted in 1943. He testifies that "the next two years were very difficult", and at the end of the war all soldiers were taken prisoners, but eventually he was able to return home. As a priest, bishop and cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger has often spoken out about the evils of the Nazi system. He resumed his studies for the priesthood immediately after his release, even though his old seminary had been destroyed by the war. Gift for Theology He was ordained a priest when he was 24. Even during his seminary years it was clear that he had a special gift for the study of the faith (theology), and so he was asked to become a professor at the seminary and then at the university. He served the Church many years as a priest and theology professor, studying and instructing others on different points of Catholic teaching. His classes were very popular among the students for the depth of understanding that he showed and for the love of Christ that his explanations stirred in them. He very much loved his work as professor. During the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) he was named a special consultor to the bishops, in spite of the fact that he was much younger than almost all the other experts. Wider Mission At the age of 50, much to his surprise, Pope Paul VI asked him to head the large archdiocese of Munich, Germany. He was consecrated as archbishop, and a month later was named a cardinal. In 1981, when he was 54, Pope John Paul II asked him to take a difficult position in Rome as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It was not a job he wanted, because it often entails receiving vicious criticism, but he knew this was the way Christ had called him to serve the Holy Father. This responsibility gave him a special role of safeguarding the integrity of the Catholic Faith, and answering questions of how to be faithful to Church teachings. He worked very closely with the Holy Father on these projects. The Catechism of the Catholic Church that we currently use was one of the projects that he and his commission worked on for six years. Unimpressed with himself What is this man who has accepted Christ's call to be our Holy Father like? The first word used by those who know him is always "humble". As Cardinal, one could often see him walking across St. Peter's Square on his way home or on his way to a meeting with the Pope, stopping to greet anyone who approached him along the way, and often giving directions to those who did not even know who he was. An Italian journalist, Vittorio Messori, says that he is a "man, among other things, of subtle humor, quick smile." This sense of humor helps him not take himself too seriously, or react to the criticism of others. "I remember one afternoon," wrote Messori, "when we were at table, after he received an award for something. He wanted me to tell him some of the jokes circulating about him in the parishes. I told him some of them and realized that he was really amused." True spiritual fatherhood Pope Benedict XVI understands from the example of the John Paul II that a true father gives everything he is and has to care for his children. The word "Pope" means father, papa, or dad, and so we call him the Holy Father. A father is the one who can help us when we have an important question, when we are confused about something. Through his teaching at the university level, his kind advice to seminarians, his books and articles, and his statements as Prefect of the Doctrine of the Faith, Joseph Ratzinger, now our Holy Father, has always been there to counsel and instruct in the truth. A good father is brave , and unafraid of anybody when it comes to protecting us. Even in the face of criticism, he knows how to distinguish good and evil, and stand up for what is right. A father believes in us and builds our own sense of confidence in who we are. He is responsible and faithful to his children, whether they be natural children, or those entrusted to him in a spiritual level. A Hero Lost John Paul II was a rock and a light for young people around the world. In the midst of a society that treated us with condescension and contempt, telling us we were dreamers and uncontrollable, he showed us we could be great. Secular culture invited us to be modern, to destroy rules of morality and follow the waves of fashion without finding meaning to life. Pope John Paul II believed that we could be better, and hoped in us as the force that could transform society. He spoke to us of Christ, of the truth, and of the noble ideals we could attain. He truly loved us and gave himself to us without counting the cost. A Hero Found The new Pope knows how much John Paul II meant to the young people, and has already taken steps to assure us that we are not alone. He announced immediately that he will attend World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany this August, gladly keeping the appointment made by John Paul II. During one of his first speeches our new Holy Father said "With you, dear young people, I will continue to dialogue, listening to your expectations in an attempt to encounter ever more profoundly the living Christ, the eternally young." Rock Solid Pope Benedict XVI speaks with the same firmness of faith, the coherence and confidence in Christ that we learned from John Paul II. He gives us confidence that adherence to Christ is our stronghold and message amidst confusion. He addresses young people in a way that gives us hope for what the future can bring, if we build our lives on these same principles. At his Mass of Inauguration as Pope on April 24 th, he said: "Today, with great strength and great conviction , on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ--and you will find true life." One young person tries to explain the enthusiasm that has exploded spontaneously for our new Holy Father: "Why are we young people so excited to have this new Pope?" asked David Assad, "Because in the midst of this confused world God has given us a clear light, a firm faith, a solid rock on which to build our lives. "The shock of the liberal media doesn't impress us at all, neither do the terrified faces of those aging ideologies before the light of truth. "We live the eternal youth of the truth of Christ, the truth that does not change, sustained by the rock of Peter. This is the truth that fills us with happiness."
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