Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Fr. Joseph Fessio: The Pope is just being who he really is

Insight Scoop
Friday, May 09, 2008

From a May 8th ZENIT interview with Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J.:

While many Americans have a new take on the personality of Benedict XVI after his U.S. trip, Father Joseph Fessio says the Pope revealed nothing new. ...

The Jesuit, who is also the founder and editor in chief of Ignatius Press, the Pope's primary English-language publisher, explained that the Holy Father "is transparent, so what you see is who he is. His many concrete acts of thoughtfulness and generosity are unknown to most people, but would not be a surprise to those who have now had the chance to see and hear him."

There has been speculation that the Pope sometimes was negatively portrayed by the press simply because of his many years leading the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, coupled with his shyness.

Father Fessio agrees that these have been factors, "[b]ut the largest factor is that the secular media and dissenting Catholics will always project a negative image of anyone who upholds the teaching of the Catholic Church on the controversial, neuralgic issues of our time. Most are related to gender: contraception, abortion, homosexuality, ordination of women, married priests."

"Once the tide of enthusiasm recedes," the priest speculated, "the Holy Father will be portrayed as a hard-line conservative who is behind the times."
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 3:48 PM