The choice of the name Benedict for the new Pope was a clear indication of a desire that a future Europe be a Europe of values, the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, said yesterday.
Dr Martin was speaking at the Pro-Cathedral in Dublin at the solemn Mass of thanksgiving on the occasion of the election of Pope Benedict XVI.
He said the earthly life and mission of Pope John Paul II was something quite extraordinary. However, the life and mission of the church moved on from one generation to the next.
Why the name Benedict for the new pope? Dr Martin asked. The new Pope had given some indications. Obviously there was a link with the last pope of that name, Benedict XV, who was pope from 1914-1922.
In some remarks in these past days, the Pope recalled Benedict XV's commitment to peace and his role as a reconciler within the church.
There was another motive for the choice of the name, Dr Martin said.
The new Pope had a particular devotion to Saint Benedict, father of monasticism and co-patron of Europe, who in his time played an extraordinary role in Christian renewal around the continent.
It was a renewal which also regarded and respected the variety of cultures and could well be said to have saved the wealth of European cultures then. The choice of the name Benedict was a clear indication of a desire that a future Europe be clearly a Europe of values, Dr Martin said.
"But how do we go about establishing a Europe of values, a culture of modernity inspired by values, a world culture of values and solidarity? Pope Benedict XVI faces the challenge of leading the church in these coming years in a complex cultural context. The church has to evoke in Christian believers - evoke and not impose - the conviction that loyalty to the message of Jesus is indeed the key to being authentically a modern-day person."
The modern-day person must be challenged to reach out, over and above the contingencies of contemporary culture, to open him or herself to the transcendent. The cultures of our times must be examined and discerned in terms of how they fostered human dignity, Dr Martin said.
The new Pope was a man of extraordinary intellect, of deep spirituality and of exceptional theological knowledge. Dr Martin said Pope Benedict was a scholar with a remarkable gift of language in expressing deep insights into the faith. "He is a reserved person, with great human warmth, a simple, almost frugal, style of life, a man of prayer and spiritual depth."