God’s Rottweiler?, By Wole Olaoye

“What is important in life is not only the fact that we have lived; the difference we have made to the lives of others will determine the importance of the life we ​​live”. – Nelson Mandela

When Cardinal Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger was elected the 265th Pope on April 19, 2005, he became the oldest person elected since 1730, and had been a Cardinal longer than his predecessors since 1724. 1981 he had been prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) elected Benedict XVI is a papal name, derived from a Latin word meaning “blessed”.

The libertarian press is called God’s Rottweiler. His countrymen in Germany, especially the gay lobby, who are familiar with his work as a professor of Theology, sardonically declared his election as the elevation of the German Shepherd to the papacy (the sick world describes a man wearing a cloth in ‘doggy’. terms)! A strict disciplinarian and respected intellectual, his reputation preceded him, leading commentators to predict that his tenure would be marked by conservatism and blind dogmatism.

His predecessor, John Paul II, was a difficult act to follow, but Benedict XVI made his mark. Because he lacked the charisma of John Paul II, he always showed a firm determination to ensure that the highest moral standards were involved in matters of governance in the church. As the pope, one of the first actions he asked for the retirement of the Mexican priest, Rev. Marcial Maciel, on account of the history of sexual abuse of subordinates.

Maciel has apparently not been hit. The usual practice was that convicted priests would be removed from public life to devote themselves to penance. Benedict read the act of rioting for everyone: Participate in criminal acts and go to jail!

Benedict also engaged in dialogue with groups outside the Church, such as the schismatic Lefebvrians. He also developed a way to integrate married Anglican clergy into the Catholic Church. He reached out to other religious leaders, especially Muslims, to create greater understanding and world peace. However, many theologians believe that his greatest contribution as Pope was his magisterium. According to scholars, catechesis, encyclicals on the core aspects of the faith, and the biography of Jesus of Nazareth can qualify someone to one day be declared a doctor of the Church.

A polyglot, Pope Benedict is fluent in German, Italian, French, English and Spanish. He also knows Portuguese, and the necessary Latin, Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Greek.

His resignation as Pope shows that he is, first and foremost, a humble servant of God, to whom the position or perquisites of the office mean nothing. In his historical retreat, he said: “After repeatedly examining my conscience before God, I am convinced that my strength, due to my advanced age, is no longer suitable for the adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.

“I know that this ministry, because of its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but also with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, it is subject to so many rapid changes and is shaken by questions of relevance deep for the life of faith, in order to organize the barque Saint Peter and preach the Gospel, both the strength of mind and body are necessary, the strength which. in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have to admit my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. Because of that , and knowing the truth of this action, with full freedom, I declare that I reject the ministry of the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of Saint Peter.

World leaders spoke openly about him when he died at the age of 95. One of the better tributes came from the Prime Minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar: “He led the Catholic Church for almost ten years, the son of a policeman and a cook. , the first German to be elected pope for a thousand years, finally becoming ‘a humble laborer in the Lord’s vineyard’.”

What can Nigeria learn from the life and death of Pope Benedict XVI?

At a time of political campaigning and the quest for a more durable federation, every Nigerian politician will read the sermon delivered by Monsignor John Aniagwu with a cerebral voice at the memorial Mass held in Lagos in honor of Pope Benedict.

“One of the lessons I believe we can learn from Pope Benedict is to know when to stop. Pope Benedict shocked everyone when he decided to resign from the Papacy. But he was just honest; honest to God, to the Church, and to himself He knew that his physical and emotional strength could no longer bear the burden of the daily affairs of the Church. He did not want the Church to be affected to the detriment of his condition. He decided to leave the Papacy, which no other Pope had done in 600 years.

“Many of us should learn this important lesson from Pope Benedict. When your body and mind tell you that you are no longer equal to the demands of a certain office, then, for goodness’ sake, leave. Do not insist on occupying that office, equal or not. If you do it, you are selfish. You don’t care about the people you have to do. You don’t love them. You only love yourself. And you will die loving yourself”, said Aniagwu.

The cleric continued, “I believe that African political leaders, in particular, must learn about this. They must stop imposing themselves on people when they know and others know that physically, emotionally, intellectually and morally they cannot occupy office… Public office is not a right your birth. Nobody owes you anything. Take that to your head, and get out! Learn from Pope Benedict.”

Do we ever learn?

Benedict XVI, in keeping with time-honored papal tradition, was required to write his own spiritual testament in the evening of his extraordinary life. The tradition is to give a compass to the living, like a voice from the grave. I commend Benedict’s will for all those who believe that man was sent here for a purpose.

He wrote: “If in the last hour of my life I look back on the decades I have lived, I see first of all the reasons why I should be happy. First of all, I thank God himself, who gives me every good gift, who gives me life and guides me through various confused times; always pick me up whenever I start to slip and always give me back the light of the face. ..

“I thank my parents, who gave me life in difficult times and, at the cost of great sacrifices, with the love that prepared for me a wonderful place, like a bright light, illuminating all my days until now. The pure faith of my father taught me we children to believe, and as a sign is always steadfast in the midst of all scientific acquisitions; the great devotion and great kindness of my mother is a legacy that I cannot thank enough. My sister has helped me for decades without selfless and careful; my brother, with lucid judgment, strong determination and calmness of heart, always opened the way for me…

“From my heart, I thank God for the many friends, men and women, who have always been placed by my side; for collaborators at all stages of my journey; for the teachers and students who have given me. I leave everything to his goodness. And I want to thank God for my beautiful homeland at the foot of the Bavarian Alps, where I always see the glory of the Creator himself shining through….

“To everyone I’ve wronged, I apologize…

“For sixty years now I have accompanied the journey of Theology, especially in the Science of the Bible, and with the succession of different generations I have seen theses that seem unattainable, only hypotheses: the liberal generation (Harnack, Jülicher etc.), the generation existentialism (Bultmann etc.), Marxist generation.

“Finally, I humbly: Pray for me, so that the Lord, despite all my sins and shortcomings, will receive me to the eternal home.”

If the living mourns the dead, said the village elders, tomorrow’s corpse mourns today’s corpse. Instead of mourning, we give thanks.

Thank you Pope Benedict.

Wole Olaoye is a public relations consultant and veteran journalist. He can be reached through wole.olaoye@gmail.com. Twitter: @wole_olaoye; Instagram: wolula2021.