We need to start a master list of nicknames. B16? Papa Joe? PapaRatzi?
Gentle Ben
I'm still trying to work out a chant for World Youth Day. Over at National Review's The Corner some reader suggested, "Benedict Sixteen, He Won't Ordain Irene!" --funny, but might be a little uncharitable to provoke the already unhinged looney lefty nuns (you know the type of nun I'm talking about. It's the-"I am a Marxist former Nun, this is my bible, this is my gun!"-kind).
Maybe we can just chant: "BEN-NE-DIC-TUS!" over and over. In short though, Big Ben just works for me -- maybe because my late mother (God Rest Her Soul) was practically a charter member of the Cardinal Ratzinger fan club. When I was growing up in the 80s, the only Cardinal I could name was "Joseph Ratzinger" because Mom was always saying, "Thank God, the pope put Ratzinger in charge of the new catechism!" or (in reference to some whacked-out thing the American Catholic Church was doing) "Wait till Ratzinger hears about this!" She made him sound like the Arnold Schwarzenegger action-hero of the Curia. In reality the man is this shy sweet soft-spoke monastic-like scholar from Bavaria. The contrast between the two is hilarious, which is why Big Ben -- sounding like a professional wrestling name -- is perfect!
How's this for a chant, "Benny Sixteen, you're not really mean!"