The UK Times must have realized suddenly that they hadn’t besmirched Pope Benedict XVI in weeks so they quickly cobbled together a ridiculous piece claiming essentially that nobody goes to see poor Pope Benedict anymore. Why? Oh it’s because he might as well be called Pope Meany Pants because he always says “No.”
And then to be fair they called upon some critics of the Pope to confirm that nobody liked the Pope and that’s why nobody goes to see him.
THE crowds turning out for Pope Benedict XVI’s preachings and blessings at the Vatican are dwindling fast as the dour pontiff pays the price for his lack of charisma and visibility compared with John Paul II, his showman predecessor.
Figures from the Vatican show the number of pilgrims attending Benedict’s weekly audiences, mainly in a vast auditorium by St Peter’s Basilica, and his Sunday Angelus in St Peter’s Square where he speaks from his study window, shrank from 2.8m in 2007 to 2.2m in 2008.
This is a far cry from the 4m people who came to the Vatican or the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo in the first year after his 2005 election, when the novelty factor drew crowds bigger than in the final years of John Paul. The figures are expected to drop further as the economic downturn hits global travel.
Before his election as leader of 1 billion Catholics, Joseph Ratzinger, the German cardinal and theologian, had been branded “God’s rottweiler” and “the Panzerkardinal” because of his work as an enforcer of doctrine. His personality was contrasted with John Paul, known as “the Grand Communicator” because of his media-friendly skills.
Hey, they got everything but the whole Hitler Youth thing in there. Well, maybe they’ll squeeze it in next time.
They continue by implying a contrast between those who love John Paul II and those who go to see Pope Benedict XVI:
Visitors to the Vatican often pay tribute to John Paul. They shuffle past his tomb in the crypt of St Peter’s Basilica and postcards bearing his image still sell well.
Vito Mancuso, a theologian critical of Benedict, linked the smaller crowds to the worldwide fall in priestly vocations and decline in church attendance. He advised Benedict, 81, to stop “saying always and only ‘no’ ”. The church needed to be more humble and doubtful about its rulings on the role of women, sexuality and bioethics, he said.
In the latest “no”, the Vatican on New Year’s Day stopped automatically adopting Italian laws because of potential “antiCatholic legislation” involving euthanasia and gay marriage. In an address to Vatican staff, Benedict said homosexuality threatened humanity as much as did rainforest destruction.
Instead of saying Pope Benedict says “no” to euthanasia how about we say Pope Benedict sounds an enthusiastic “YES” to life. I guess they don’t see it that way.
The fact is that Pope Benedict is not to be judged on the numbers of people who come to see him or attend his Mass. The Church is judged by doing the will of Christ, not saying “yes” to every whim of the people. Her steadfastness is the mark of her adherence to truth.
But the truth of the matter is that during 2008, 2,215,000 faithful and pilgrims participated in a general or special audience, the prayer of the Sunday Angelus, or the liturgical celebrations presided over by the Holy Father, according to Spero. How many world leaders have over 2 million people come to him?
I don’t see The Times getting those kinds of numbers. In fact, The Times circulation is about 576,444. That’s a bit lower than last year. This year, the Times circulation fell by 3.54%. Hmmm…I’ll bet The Times goes out of business long before the Church. Any takers?
January 4, 2009 at 2:57 am
I just remember this picture: http://markshea.blogspot.com/2005_04_01_archive.html#111402264708698912
And realize that they’re full of it. It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality.
January 4, 2009 at 3:18 am
What the world wants is a spirituality that affirms its own perversions and cruelties while challenging it to overcome every last obstacle and reservation to unbridled selfishness.
January 4, 2009 at 3:54 am
During World Youth Day here in Sydney it was obvious, even to the secular press, that Pope Benedict was greatly loved, especially by the young.
If some cranky, old, used up, liberal theologian wants to attack the Pope’s support of Catholic teaching, let him come out openly and say he does not believe the articles of the faith, instead of cowardly hiding behing a supposed popularity poll of how many people attend Papal events.
January 4, 2009 at 3:55 am
Fine, more room for orthodox Catholics.
January 4, 2009 at 4:11 am
I’m not taking that bet.
I would like to see a couple more excommunications to get the libs all apoplectic, though. It’s fun to watch.
January 4, 2009 at 4:25 am
The global financial downturn would explain the tightening of travel budgets in every other facet of society (business travel, vacations, commuting miles, etc). But for Catholic pilgrimages it’s clearly Meany Pants’ fault.
Joe K
January 4, 2009 at 4:59 am
That’s Pope Meany Pants the XVI to you, pal.
January 4, 2009 at 6:14 am
“The global financial downturn would explain the tightening of travel budgets in every other facet of society (business travel, vacations, commuting miles, etc). But for Catholic pilgrimages it’s clearly [Pope} Meany Pants’ fault.
My thoughts exactly!
Had this been an article about homosexual resorts having a downward trend in attendence, would the Times have reported that homosexuality is less appealing?
In 2008 I opted to garage my auto, start taking the bus, and work from home as much as possible as I realized that gas prices, maintainance and insurance constituted the largest portion of my household budget that they ever had. It goes without saying, I made no European vacations…
But all things being equal, it is really all about the dauer and scary old Meanie Pants, PP scaring us away? The fact that travel costs went up considerably and the US dollar has far less purchasing power (something that impacts a goodly number of would-be-pilgrims who are US-based) is not mentioned at all!?!?!
January 4, 2009 at 11:37 am
Is Fr. Mancuso the Fr. Reese, SJ (you know, the priest who’s in every journalist’s rolodex for when they need a “Catholic” quote for a story) of Europe.
January 4, 2009 at 1:52 pm
I like the bit about the faithful who “shuffle” past Blessed JPII’s tomb. The word choice is not accidental — any little negative that can be wedged in and then given an extra twist!
Oh, what I wouldn’t give to be able to shuffle off to Rome and catch a glimpse of ol’ Meany Pants — oops — Meany Pants XVI!
— Mack
January 4, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Just saw a bumper sticker
“I (heart) my German Shepherd
Pope Benedict XVI
Yup people just hate him
January 4, 2009 at 3:55 pm
The Times is behind the Times – the UK Telegraph featured the following article, “From God’s rottweiler to ‘my German Shepherd’ = the transformation of Pope Benedict” in 2006:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/1515917/From-Gods-rottweiler-to-my-German-Shepherd—the-transformation-of-Pope-Benedict.html
I also recommend the Pope Benedict XVI fan club —
http://www.popebenedictxvifanclub.com/index.html
I think I’m going to buy their German Shepherd bumper sticker to replace one I’ve grown tired of (yes, I am a tacky bumper sticker person, and proud — I think this one will bring a bit more class.. that and the Frodo Lives I’m going to order…)
January 6, 2009 at 5:10 pm
How stupid does this reporter/editor have to be STATE clearly yet fail to fail to make an obvious connection between the GLOBAL ECONOMIC DOWNTURN (which is of course negatively impacting travel/ tourism–an expensive extra for most people) and smaller papal audiences?????
But hey, it COULD be that people just don’t like Pope Meanypants, right?
January 6, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Although I have met JP II on several occasions, I am very sad to say I have not yet had the honour to meet or at least see Our blessed Pope Benedict (may God grant him 100 years) in person. God willing I will be able to do that this year.