Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Harsh secular image of Pope fades; writes encyclical on love

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Benevolent Benedict's year of peace and love confounds the critics

By NICOLE WINFIELD
08-apr-06

In a little over a week, Pope Benedict XVI and his worldwide flock of 1.1 billion celebrate the first year of his papacy.

Pope John Paul II's death a year ago this month left many Roman Catholics nervous that their church would take an even harder, more conservative line if the College of Cardinals picked early favourite Joseph Ratzinger as the next pontiff.

Ratzinger went on to become Pope Benedict XVI, but has confounded his critics.

The Vatican's German-born chief orthodoxy watchdog has hardly acted like the man saddled with the nickname "God's Rottweiler".

Instead, the faithful got a pope who rode around in St Peter's Square in traditional papal headgear that resembled a Santa Claus hat. The man described as a "dour Bavarian" wrote his first encyclical on love.
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 12:41 PM