Posted on 08/27/2016 6:50:23 PM PDT by marshmallow
Sometimes leaders learn more from crowds than from polls about how passionately people are feeling something, and in his preface to a new biography of Benedict XVI, Francis suggests crowds have taught him that ordinary Catholics are just fine with the two-pope arrangement.
Arthur Schlesinger once said that President John F. Kennedy could look at all the polling numbers he wanted, but he didn’t really grasp how deep public support was for a nuclear test ban treaty until he hit the road and heard from the crowds.
Surveys are useful for assessing opinion, but to gauge intensity and depth of feeling, sometimes a leader needs to see for him or herself how real people react.
A similar point could be made with St. Pope John Paul II and ecumenism. The pontiff was already firmly committed to closer ties with other Christians by 1999, but when he traveled to overwhelmingly Orthodox Romania that year and was greeted by large crowds enthusiastically chanting unitate! unitate!, meaning “unity,” it helped drive home that this wasn’t just a theological or academic undertaking, but a transcendent popular cause.
The lesson is that crowds sometimes teach things polls can’t, perhaps not so much about what people think, but how passionately they’re thinking it.
That insight comes to mind in light of a new Italian biography of emeritus Pope Benedict XVI to be published Aug. 30 called Servant of God and of Humanity, written by theologian and historian Elio Guerriero.
The book carries an original preface by Pope Francis, which was published Wednesday by the newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference. In it the pontiff reflects, among other things, on what he sees as the blessing of having Benedict around.
“His discrete presence and his prayer for the Church are a continual support and comfort for my service,”......
(Excerpt) Read more at cruxnow.com ...
So which one is the anti-Pope?
I’m not real fond of the fake Pope
If two is good, three might be better.
Bloggers ?
LOL...
Two Popes are NOT fine—Not as long as one of them is Bergoglio.
Seriesly, there ARE NOT TWO POPES. Bergoglio is Pope.
No, you’re wrong. Benedict is the true Pope as long as he lives. Francis is the pretender.
Why not two Gods?
Wow....the more I continue to study roman catholicism the bigger the conflict I see it is.
Benedict resigned, “in such a way that the See shall be vacant.”
In order to assert that Benedict is now Pope, you have to deny that he had the power to resign, which is preposterous.
Explain why I am wrong.
You go bed a vicious anti-Catholic bigot, and each morning you wake up a vicious anti-Catholic bigot. Simply amazing!
my, my....a bigot? you’re starting to sound like shillary.
God bless and keep Pope Benedict XVI.
May he live a healthy, happy and blessed 120 years.
Charlemagne was best.
i was a lot more confident with just P. Benedict alone
The reason your bigotry doesn’t sting Catholics, or make any converts, is that:
1) You peddle preposterous lies about Catholicism that all Catholics know are lies from their lifelong experience;
2) You communicate primarily through snarky, nasty wisecracks and dishonest questions. I.e., your “questions” do not pose real questions.
Your communication conveys not a particle of love for Catholics, but only seething hate.
You may think that you were more confident, but what doesn’t kell you will ultimately make you stronger. The growth, however, isn’t pleasant while one is going through it.
You go bed a vicious anti-Catholic bigot, and each morning you wake up a vicious anti-Catholic bigot.
You can't make it up.
Nobody asked me.
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