Priceless--you know, I was thinking the other day, that it's as if they'd elected John Henry Newman to the papacy.But apparently, B16 talked with reporters, chatted about the beauty of the Alps, and expressed sincere hope for the three great religions of Abraham!
Let us go forward, together!
What about Pope Benedict reminded you of Cardinal Newman, Perry?
ReplyDeleteIntellect, sanctity, breadth of vision, range of reading both in theology and the humanities, generosity toward intellectual opponents, kindness, but most of all, a mysterious characteristic that I would call charm, were that word not so misused, and that I perhaps might best name as beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI think the word grace (if properly understood) might describe the character you are trying to capture.
ReplyDeleteI don't just mean grace in the sense of forgiveness of sins, but the sort of grace that one sees in a skilled dancer.
For example, Benedict's response to intellectual opponents is gracious in the sense of kind and charitable; but it is also graceful, in the sense of superbly balanced.
There is also something graceful in the way he weaves his appreciation of the beauty of art, music, and literature into his theological vision.
Does that perhaps get at part of what you were trying to describe as "charm"?