Weigel

The official biographer of John Paul, George Weigel, gave a talk on Friday and I wish I had taken notes. But these are the points that stuck with me:

– John Paul insisted that the Catholic faith has a Marian function, and that the Church began with her yes to the Lord. Just as the Church has a Pauline function (evangelization), a Johnine function (discipleship), and a Peterine function (authority), so too do we see the foundation of service and pure love with the Blessed Mother.
– Benedict, from the very heart of Europe, is a formidable, kind, and cultured man who was seen by the electors as a last hope for the continent. He is someone who cannot be dismissed as a superstitious oddity from the backwaters. The pope tells audiences there, in public and in private, that his homeland must learn to again welcome children or it will perish. It must mourn the dead and acknowledge that life has meaning.
– Benedict has interacted the Latin American bishops somewhat harshly, telling them in effect to “shape up” by not blaming others for the state of their countries and the spiritual directions of their people. If evangelicals are making gains, then the Church must respond with improvement, and they must work cooperatively with their Protestant brothers and sisters against the forces of secularization.
– The pope believes strongly there must be no detachment of faith and reason, nor a loss of faith in reason. When this occurs, there is an interruption in the moral grammar as nearly anything can be justified by arbitrary decisions.