Having quoted the Reporter, I now turn to the Register.
I love this piece about how JPtG and B16 complement each other.
The images that we might remember of Benedict’s first days as pope are the photos of him walking through the streets of Rome. He was visiting his old apartment while an appreciative cluster of people looked on, but the pictures make you realize that you can’t remember ever seeing John Paul walk along the streets of Rome.
And yet when humble, gentle Benedict appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s for the first time, young nuns in habits shrieked with glee. Young American seminarians pumped their arms in victory.
How is it possible that a reserved classical pianist who loves cats gets that kind of reception? How is it possible that young people in the 21st century were delirious with excitement to find out that the new Pope had taken the name of a fifth-century monk?
Pope John Paul II made it possible.
If he hadn’t rallied the crowds, set fires in their hearts and anchored them firmly to Peter, then Benedict would be facing a far more difficult task than he faces now.
But if the successes of John Paul’s pontificate made Benedict’s pontificate possible, it may also be the case that Pope Benedict made John Paul possible. John Paul’s pontificate may find its fulfillment and completion in Benedict.
