[infantrywhooah]

He will never be as warm, popular or outgoing as Pope John Paul II. He was a very difficult act to follow and I think it’s an unfair comparison. But he is nonetheless more than qualified to lead the Catholic Church for the forseeable future.

[pissant]

I pray BXVI is aorund long enough to leave his lasting footprint on the church.

[ELS]

But what is most striking, as hundreds of thousands observe this Pope in person for the first time, is not the visual symbolism, the crowds or the made-for-TV events, but the imposing beauty and power of his words.

But the Pope’s most compelling words ... the simple beauty of human love. This idea of faith as a love story — God’s love for his people, and our love for Christ, the human face of God — is what Benedict seems to want us to understand as the defining theme of his papacy. His first encyclical was ... on what many considered the somewhat surprising subject of the simple divinity of human love, including the sanctity of erotic love.

IMHO, Benedict XVI has his own kind of warmth. It is true that he is not as outgoing as JPII was, but those who have met him all say that he is very kind and gentle. How can one who dwells on the subject of love not be warm?