Benedict XVI's Fight for Europe

Fire of Liberty

Here's a wonderful column by Gerard Baker in The Times on the election of Pope Benedict XVI. I'd say that Baker has laid out one of the best arguments for the Cardinal's picking Joseph Cardinal Ratizinger as the new Pope. In the same manner that Professor Bainbridge argued that the Pope will be a continuator of the Catholic Church in Europe, Gerard Baker does the same but adds a special emphasis on the name that the new Pope selected. Just read below:

In the days leading up to the conclave the buzzword, if the Holy Spirit can be said to have such a thing, was Continuator. The cardinals wanted to anoint someone who would represent continuity with the dead Pope's firm restatement of the church's doctrines and values. There was no one who better offered the prospect of a reaffirmation of that papacy.

The other clue lies in the new Pope's choice of name. The cardinals think long and hard about the choice of a papal nomen. It is intended as a clear signal of their intent. Much attention has focused on the previous 15 popes called Benedict. But it is worth remembering that the first St Benedict was not a pope, but the founder of the monastic order that bears his name. Benedict is the patron saint of Europe. His principal legacy-the Benedictines-was critical in planting the roots of Christianity throughout Europe in the dark, post-Roman period of the 6th and subsequent centuries. Without Benedict, Europe may not have been the centre of Christianity in the Middle Ages that made it the birthplace of modern civilisation.

The conclave clearly shared the view of John Paul II that Europe confronts another similar challenge-the lure of relativist, materialist secularism that is steadily stifling the Church in its birthplace. In choosing this Benedict, from the heart of Europe, they have demonstrated the Church's intention to meet this challenge, not with compromise and accommodation, but with the unbending affirmation of the universal, eternal truth.

I'd say well done Mr. Baker and hopefully Benedict XVI will make great in-roads in the resuscitation of the Catholic Church. Just don't expect anyone in the Church to loosen up on the Church's doctrine anytime soon just to suit the times. Now is not the time to paint with pastels, the Church must use bold primary colors to forswear its demise. I think that this will definitely be true after reading this piece by William A. Donahue, president of the Catholic League, in Thursday's edition of Newsday. It's great.

So expect a good showing by Benedict XVI, the fate of the Western Tradition and the Catholic Church in Europe depends on his work.