http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-pope-ratzinger,0,2417351.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines
http://tinyurl.com/6oj95 German Cardinal Delivers Moving Homily By FRANCES D'EMILIO Associated Press Writer April 8, 2005, 2:54 PM EDT VATICAN CITY -- German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, a Vatican theologian with a reputation for coldness, moved mourners to tears Friday with a homily that painted an image of John Paul II benevolently looking down on St. Peter's Square from a window in heaven. Choking back tears, the cardinal, considered a possible papal successor, showed a rare side marked by a human touch and fatherly presence. A rigorously conservative guardian of doctrinal orthodoxy, Ratzinger is considered a front-runner among Vatican experts who think the cardinals will seek an elderly, short-tenure pontiff after John Paul II's 26-year run. The late pontiff valued his services so much that he refused the cardinal's requests to resign. Ratzinger turns 78 on April 16, two days before the start of the conclave to elect a new pope. His thinning, silver hair blowing in the wind as John Paul's often did in ceremonies on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica, Ratzinger celebrated the funeral Mass, which drew some 300,000 people to the square and surrounding streets and transfixed millions more watching it on TV screens around the world. The crowd erupted in applause a dozen times when he read his homily, delivered in heavily accented Italian despite more than 24 years at the Vatican. Ratzinger had been a longtime confidant of the pope and a fraternal familiarity framed the homily. He traced Karol Wojtyla's life from his days in Nazi-occupied Poland as he secretly studied for the priesthood to his final, suffering months as the ailing head of the church. "We can be sure our beloved pope is standing today at the window of the father's house, that he sees us and blesses us," Ratzinger said. Prelates joined the faithful in applause, and many in the crowd had tears streaking down their cheeks. With much of Ratzinger's Vatican career associated with harshness, including the silencing of dissident theologians and censuring of wayward clergy, the reassuring words helped flesh out his resume with some warmth. John Paul's increasingly frail health in the last months also gave Ratzinger opportunities to take on a more public role, sometimes standing beside John Paul's chair at the altar as the pope celebrated Mass. For the Good Friday procession at the Colosseum last month, Ratzinger penned a series of meditations at the pontiff's request. In those reflections, the German theologian denounced what he called "filth" in the Church, including in the priesthood. Those words were seen as a possible denunciation of the clergy sexual abuse scandals. Many faithful, especially in the United States, had accused the Vatican of not paying enough attention to the sex abuse problem. Ratzinger's words appeared to indicate pain and anger over the scandals. At times he has projected an image of physical coldness, with an icy penetrating gaze and harsh pronunciation of the musical-sounding Italian language. In the funeral tribute to John Paul, he led with his feelings. "Today we bury his remains in the earth as a seed of immortality. Our hearts are full of sadness, yet at the same time of joyful hope and profound gratitude." Ratzinger, as dean of the College of Cardinals, had the formal duty of announcing the pope's death on April 2 to foreign governments. He was also one of the few cardinals ushered into the pope's bedroom as John Paul journeyed toward death. As head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Ratzinger was one of the key men the pope depended on in his drive to shore up the faith of the world's Roman Catholics. Made a cardinal by Pope Paul VI in 1977, Ratzinger is one of only three among the 117 voting cardinals who weren't named by John Paul. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Helps protect you from nasty viruses. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Would you Help a Child in need? It is easier than you think. Click Here to meet a Child you can help. http://us.click.yahoo.com/0Z9NuA/I_qJAA/i1hLAA/wpWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> "[M]y ministry is that of servus servorum Dei." --Pope John Paul II (Ut Unum Sint, no. 88) "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it." --Matthew 16:18 Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Pope-John-Paul-II/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
