"Avvenire" on Distorting Benedict XVI’s Words

Italian press distorted the Thursday address of Benedict XVI to Polish clergy in the Warsaw Metropolitan Cathedral, maintains Luigi Geninazzi of "Avvenire." The correspondent of the daily of the Italian Episcopate to Poland reminds the readers that in his speech the Pope "admonished the clergy for their involvement in politics, economy, and construction and warned against «the arrogant claim of setting ourselves up to judge earlier generations», distancing himself from those who want to mete out justice, a craze that can be encountered among traditionalist circles of the new conservative right."

Geninazzi, who thus interpreted the papal message, expected the Italian papers on Friday to bear headlines like "Pope Corrects Polish Church." However, as he admits, "in the vast majority of Italian dailies one can read that «Ratzinger corrects Wojtyła»." As the correspondent of "Avvenire" notes with regret, such was also an opinion espoused by Vittorio Messori, who reiterated in "Corriere della Sera" the reservations of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to the "mea culpa" of John Paul II of the year 2000.

"It is in Poland that Pope Ratzinger wanted to honestly recall the biggest contentious issue on which he differed with Pope Wojtyła," wrote Messori, which Geninazzi comments as follows: "And then, if I understood correctly, Wojtyła’s successor not only intends to criticize his predecessor but does so in his own homeland, in the heart of the nation’s capital, in the Cathedral of St. John, at the tomb of the Millennial Primate Cardinal Wyszyński, the defensor fidei of this noble nation. This is unthinkable, even the Da Vinci Code pales before such statements!".

"And in truth the address of Benedict XVI to the Polish Church was not meant for the few initiated. Still, when reading reports of some experts on Vatican issues, we find extravagant references to crusades, the Inquisition, and even the trial of Galileo. What is the connection, though? It seems that many find it hard to dismiss the stereotype of Ratzinger as scientific and abstract, someone whose addresses can be interpreted by a handful of authorized experts. Here, however, we deal with the Steward of the Catholic Church, who cares for his flock and with an open heart and a keen mind speaks about problems to be tackled and solved," observed the essayist.

He praises the Polish press, which construed the words of the Pope perfectly, as addressed among others to Radio Maryja and to the "the painful and current issue of priest collaborating with the secret services of the communist regime." "He touched on the most profound core of Poland, the way his predecessor was able to do. And the "mea culpa" should be confessed by all those who so spectacularly misinterpreted the crystal-clear speech of the Pope," concludes the correspondent for "Avvenire" daily.

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