[lbo-talk] Rat Man elected top robed celibate

[C. G. Estabrook]

I think you're right about the reference to Europe, but I think Ratzinger
sees it as less as a center of power than as mission territory.  St.
Benedict, the founder of Western monasticism, is the patron of Europe
because the monasteries were the were the conservators of literature and
civilization in the transition from antiquity to feudalism.

You're also right about the growth of Catholicism in the global South. The
majority of Catholics in the 20th century lived in the First World; now
the majority is in what someone called the Two-Thirds World -- and, as
Ratzinger knows, the disparity grows daily.  --CGE

On Tue, 19 Apr 2005, Adam Souzis wrote:


> for whatever reason, the name choice won't surpise the bookies --
> benedict was the favorite. they got both the guy and the name right --
> pretty impressive.
> 
> A less optimistic reason why Ratzinger might have chosen the name is
> that benedict is the patron saint of europe -- and he's asserting
> europe's place as the center of power over the growth of the latin and
> african blocs.
>