And, at least to me, BXVI is much clearer and to the point than JPII. He's very familiar with his audiences (meaning he speaks to them as if in a dialogue), continuing a trend begun by JPII.
But how can one's personal authenticity be discovered if in reality, in the depth of our hearts, there is the expectation of Jesus, and the genuine authenticity of each person is found exactly in communion with Christ and not without Christ? Said in another way: If we have found the Lord and if he is the light and joy of our lives, are we sure that for someone else who has not found Christ he is not lacking something essential and that it is our duty to offer him this essential reality?
This is profound. We are Christ to each other, and we should never forget that one who has not found Him may encounter the Lord through us!
I agree with you regarding the clarity of B XVI's prose. It is an awkward judgment to make, to say that the present Pontiff exceeds the previous one in intellectual and verbal clarity (yes, de mortuis nil nisi bonum and all that), but it must be said. I have begun a reading (and re-reading) of his major books, and I am struck by the crystal clarity of his prose, and this from a German (if anyone has ever tried to wade through German theological prose, even in English translation, you know what endless thicket of clarifications and cul-de-sacs I am talking about). Not only his clarity, but his simple profundity has impressed me immensely, both in his written remarks (e.g., the funeral homily and the pro eligendo homily) and in his imprompu ones (e.g., the one above). Now, if only we can get Catholics to read him . . .
Yes, Benedict is amazing. I only wish he had been born in 1937 instead of 1927.
I agree. De mortuiis and all that - but in my opinion, BXVI is much clearer than JPII. This probably means that he's going to call down nothing but hatred from the secular powers, but frankly, I think he's ready for it, and he's also telling us to be ready for it.
"And, at least to me, BXVI is much clearer and to the point than JPII."
I couldn't agree with you more. It will make a major difference having a theologian rather than a philosopher at the helm. I can't wait for his first encyclical - perhaps he will return to the shorter, punchier style of some of his earlier predecessors. While JPII wrote some very profound stuff, it was largely inaccessible to the average Catholic.
sinkspur: And, at least to me, BXVI is much clearer and to the point than JPII
Piers-the-Ploughman: I would concur that thus far B16 is more lucid, more easily understood, by me at least.
I have to say that I am somewhat mystified by this assertion. The Holy Father's statements is many things: orthodox, for instance. But "clear" and "lucid" it is not.
The defined dogma, "Outside of the Church there is no salvation," is clear and lucid.
The letter of St. John, "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son; whoever has the Son, has the life; whoever does not have the Son, does not have the life." is clear and lucid.
St. Augustine, "No man can find salvation except in the Catholic Church. Outside the Catholic Church one can have everything except salvation. One can have honor, one can have the sacraments, one can sing alleluia, one can answer amen, one can have faith in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and preach it too, but never can one find salvation except in the Catholic Church," is clear and lucid.
But, with all respect for Pope Benedict, his answer to his question is simply insufficient. He asks himself, "But why do we not leave them in peace? They have their authenticity, their truth. We have ours. And so, let us live together in harmony, leaving all persons as they are, so that they search out their authenticity in the best way."
The only answer to that question is, "Because they will all go to hell when they die, if we do not bring them into the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church."
Are people ready for that answer? Maybe not. Maybe we need to ask people if they "are sure" that people who do not have sanctifying grace in their souls are not "missing something." But that is not clarity or lucidity. That is deliberate ambiguity to avoid causing apoplexy to simpering liberals.
Is whitewashing the Faith the right strategy? Again, maybe. I cannot say for sure. But personally, I think that the fact that the Holy Father feels the need to sugarcoat the Faith to priests even in his own diocese is pretty darn sad.