Pope Innocent IV’s motto was ‘Sedens ago’ (even when I rest, I work). Surely, when Cardinal Ratzinger was chosen as the new pope I felt something similar. He, who wanted to retire, now had to work more than ever. I had the opportunity to be in Saint Peter’s Square, that April 19, 2005. I had been studying in Rome for two years and, when we found out that there was white smoke, we ran to the Vatican. We were all trying to get into a huge square that had become small. The name of Cardinal Josep Ratzinger was on everyone’s lips. His and that of the Cardinal of Milan, Carlo M. Martini… The chosen one was him and there was no surprise. He presided over the funeral of John Paul II and he was also the one who knew the Roman Curia best, and who could get to work the day after being chosen. He was the candidate.
Not everyone saw it that way. In fact, not a few were disappointed. The image people had of him was closely linked to his position as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (formerly the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office, and even before the Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition). And this was the most powerful image that was had of him. An image that was linked to the shadows of history, some shadows that were (unfairly) associated with him. But then it was time to really know who Joseph Ratzinger was. Along with prejudices, there were voices that spoke very positively of him, people who had known him closely: who knew of his great humility, comparable to his great intelligence. Because, without a doubt, He is one of the most brilliant minds that the Church of the 20th and 21st centuries has had. Then, someone told us: “Pope Ratzinger, to understand him you have to read him.” Certainly, we came from the great pontificate of John Paul II, the pope who devoured the crowds, who connected with everyone, who traveled everywhere, who aroused passions… a giant! And now we found ourselves with a more timid pontiff, who preferred tranquility, personal encounter…, and who now found himself headed, almost abruptly, to the great atrium of the world. But he was right: if we wanted to understand it, we had to read it.
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To know who Benedict XVI was, to enter his heart and know his experience of God I recommend reading his three (brief) encyclicals: ‘Deus Caritas est’ (2006), ‘Spes salvi’ (2007), ‘Caritas in Veritate’ (2009). Written in his own handwriting, without intermediaries between him and the reader. And if he wants to know what he thought of all current affairs, you have to read the books-interview that Peter Seewald did with him when he was a cardinal (‘The salt of the earth’, 1996) and later pope (‘Light of the world’, 2010). A window open to his most personal thought. Conversation without filters, where he speaks honestly, almost naively, before a world that often destroys those who dare to expose themselves and show themselves as they are.
And still, if you want to know what his life has been, his human and personal process, his spiritual and intellectual journey, his dreams and desires, difficulties and concerns, challenges and successes, I recommend a masterpiece, a splendid biography (‘Benedict XVI A life’, 2020). It’s over a thousand pages long, but it’s still a masterpiece. Therefore, if we want to understand who Benedict XVI was, we must read him. Possibly, this will be done by few people; and instead many will speak of him without knowing. That’s not fair. But that’s how we humans are. In any case, I can say that since I saw him go out on the balcony of Saint Peter’s Square that distant 2005 until now, at the end of 2022, my thinking about Benedict XVI has matured. I think he is one of the greatest pontiffs we have ever had. He has sincerely searched for the truth. He has searched for her and loved her, since he was a young seminarian in Freising, and he has never stopped searching for her in her old age. A man of profound vision, with a certain prophetic tone (I recommend his speech on the future of the Church in 1969, transcribed in the book ‘Faith and Future’, 2007). A man who, I am sure, has mourned his mistakes with sincere regret and has never boasted of his successes. One last note: about the film ‘Los dos Papas’ (2019), which although I liked it, I think that the image it gives of Pope Benedict is not fair. He has had a human heart, good and wise.