Catching up with Pope Benedict XVI

EVEN amid the grief and excitement surrounding the death of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI, funny and amusing moments were also found, especially when one followed the TV coverage of the events.
I for one was amused to see journalists squirm in awkwardness and grope for light and air when they had to tackle issues spiritual and supernatural in nature. They veritably looked like fish out of water.

In many instances, TV interviewers could not find a sensible way to follow up a certain spiritual commentary. Some attempted but soon fell flat on their faces as they realized their reactions were not going anywhere.

Their use of clichés, terms and concepts borrowed from different ideologies and even from fiction books and movies miserably failed to intelligently handle religious issues.

The more sensible ones opted to ask for commercials to escape the difficult situation. Net effect was that many viewers, even those who may not exactly be Christian believers, felt frustrated.

All these only indicate that the study of theology has become a real necessity to all of us, especially those in media. This is the proper language to use to make some fruitful and credible job following Catholic Church events.

Especially with Pope Benedict, a good grounding in the different aspects of theology, from the spiritual to the pastoral, parochial to the universal, historical to canonical and liturgical, etc., is indispensable.

I feel that this Pope will actively engage a high-level and multi-faceted dialogue with the world in general, and all of these done in a fast, even dizzying pace.

He is no stranger to difficult situations, having faced serious doctrinal dissents before. He can go down to street talk, if need be. But he will always maintain the point of view of the Christian faith, necessarily infused with charity.

What the average individual may consider as deep and complicated ideas are banal and commonplace to him, indicating that he has considered these points thoroughly, not only in his study, but also in his prayer.

I imagine that any journalist could just ambush him for an interview, or could just get some sound bite from him anytime. But the journalist has to be prepared to receive and digest a mouthful of ideas that literally speak volumes.
There had been no traces of bitter zeal in him. Even when contradicted or misunderstood, he always managed to blend precision and firmness with great refinement, humility and fairness with his interlocutors. His tongue and emotions are in good control.

Never one to just dish out simplistic responses, he enjoys giving out richly textured and nuanced explanations of issues. But he is also good in integrating different relevant aspects and giving focus to what is essential.

He even welcomes dissenting views, and encourages others to speak their mind without reserve. I'm sure this character of his papacy will rouse many intellectuals to actively ask and talk about faith as it impacts with the issues.

For him, faith is one element that has to be respected by all. While he respects the points of view of everybody, regardless of where they are based on, he demands that the same respect be given also to his point of view of faith.
The challenge of keeping pace with our new Pope Benedict can mean that we have to start taking up theological studies more seriously. He very well knows the language of the world. For some dialogue to prosper, the world has to learn his language too.

It's just but fair, don't you think? If our new technologies demand new languages for us to make use of the gadgets, we also have to learn the language of theology to understand better the points our new Pope will be making.

This way, those in the media could truly give a good service to all, believers and non-believers alike, since the questions and issues would then be much better discussed and resolved, freeing us from bigotry and narrow-mindedness.