Fr. John Zuhlsdorf skrev nylig en interessant artikkelen om hva slags krefter pave Benedikt kjemper med og mot i Italia, og hvordan pavens forhold til Italia har utviklet seg. Denne posten har ligget og «ventet» på min blog en ukes tid, og jeg har ikke hatt tid til å skrive noe mer av egne tanker om hvordan pave Benedikt påvirker Kirken og Italia. Men les dette selv, og dann deres eget inntrykk.
In Italy, Pope Benedict is making a huge splash. Since he was elected, the left-wing has gone nearly insane with confusion and rage. The main-stream press is waging a bitter campaign against him and the Church. The problem is that he is hugely popular especially among young people who are beginning to ask questions of their teachers and others about things they are not supposed to question (the left-wing agenda). Since the education system in Italy has been run by Communists for decades, this question asking trend is a very bad development. And… it is the Pope’s fault! If John Paul captured the imagination of young people and drew them in, they are now listening to Benedict with rapt attention. He is the only great public figure saying anything new or that makes sense. While the secularists are all shrieking about «thinking outside the box», the Pope is the only one really doing it.
Benedict XVI is handling a great number of very difficult issues both in Italy itself, in larger Europe, and within the Church. There is huge tension now because he just isn’t doing what every splinter group thinks he ought to be doing. Instead the Pope is being the Pope.