12th Doctor
supersoulty
Atlas Star
Posts: 20,584
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« Reply #200 on: October 25, 2007, 12:35:24 AM » |
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« edited: October 25, 2007, 12:48:35 AM by Supersoulty »
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266 Leo XIV, 1931-2013, pope from May 2, 2007, to December 25, 2013.
The first Irish Pope in history and the first Pope to have been born outside of mainland Europe since Hadrian IV (1154-59), Leo XIV will likely be remembered by future generations of Catholics. Though his papacy was short, like John XXIII, Leo XIV used his brief time in the Chair of Peter to reach out to the world and preach a message of unity and pastoral action. Although progressive, theologically, he personally tried to steer the Church on a path of moderation, personally changing little in terms of teaching during his pontificate. The Third Vatican Council he called is still very much an open book and will likely affect the course of the Church for generations to come.
Born Anthony Patrick Miller, the son of working class parents from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Miller’s family of six children was torn apart by the sectarian violence that has plagued that part of the world. Miller’s older brother David was killed by a Protestant gang when he was 10 and his younger brother Mark was sent to a life in prison after his part in the murder of a young Protestant girl when Anthony was 18. The events clearly had an impression on the young Miller who, after being ordained in 1944, sought the most difficult parish assignment that was available at St. Mary’s Parish in the heart of Belfast. While there, he acted to try to build up relations between all local Christian denominations, creating co-denominational prayer and youth groups. His efforts were specifically praised by John XXIII, who, in 1960, elevated him to the post of Bishop of Down and Conner . While there he continued his work and acted as a uniting force between the faiths, not always successful, but persistent and unrelenting. His efforts continued to gain him notice, and eventually lead to his appointment as Archbishop of Armagh, the recognized head of the Church in Ireland by John Paul II, in 1982.
When Benedict XVI died suddenly in 2007, after slightly over two years as pope the cardinals were embroiled in considerable infighting and factional splits that had been put off by his election. While we know less about this Conclave than many others in the past, it seems clear that Henry Hume, the Cardinal Secretary of State, was the clear favorite amongst the Cardinals early on, though it seems that there were as many as 20 candidates considered palpable by at least some group of cardinals, including the ultra-conservative Hans Meier (Austria), the wheelchair-bound intellectual Rizal Tagola (Philippines), the jovial ultra-insider Ennino Bertone (Italy) and the ultra-liberal Rastin Singh (India). As the conclave dragged on, it seems that Hume lost considerable support as the participants became a little more familiar with the others in their midst, the major candidates who emerged were John Lumbayo (Jamaica), Camerlengo of the Roman Church Johannes Crujiff (Netherlands), Prefect of Catholic Education Alexander Cheng (Chinese American), and Miller himself. It is uncertain who the front runner was at this point, but it seems certain that Miller was eventually chosen as a suitable compromise candidate around the 7th Ballot, but it wasn’t until the 9th Ballot that the Cardinals finally rallied around Miller, who supposedly garnered wide spread support. It is believed that many of the Italian cardinals held out against Miller as he was known to only be able to speak English.
He chose the name Leo XIV, which might have been a shock to those who had voted for him thinking he would not live long, as the last Leo (whom he intended to honor with his choice of name) who had been elected for that very reason lasted for over 25 years in the Apostolic See. As Pope, Leo immediately reiterated the message he had carried with him throughout his life and would continue to champion throughout his papacy; that we are one body in Christ and he immediately declared his intention to call another ecumenical council to, much to the chagrin of traditionalists.
Ironically, his calls for unity almost resulted in schism. The week following his official investment as Bishop of Rome, a group of 27 bishops from around the world (none of them Cardinals, or even Archbishops) signed a document declaring that Leo was an anti-Pope, citing his call of another council as evidence. The group claimed to have held a conclave of their own and offered the papacy to Cardinal Scherer of Germany, who flatly refused saying “I support the Pope.” Leo immediately acted to calm the fears of traditionalist Catholics claiming that his aim was not to bring the Church “up-to-date” but rather to address issues that had not been resolved or have only become prevalent since Vatican II. Leo issued no excommunications against the bishops who had revolted and all but two (who had decided to effectively excommunicate themselves) merged back into the fold.
When Cardinal Hume retired in 2008, Leo took the unprecedented step of elevating Johannes Cruijff to Cardinal Secretary of State (traditionally, Camerlengo was considered a last stop dead end position). Many saw this move as a sign from Leo that he wished Cruijff to succeed him as Pope. However, he immediately followed this move by elevating John Lumbayo to the position of Prefect of the Doctrine of Faith. It seems to be clear that he had intended one of these two men to be Peter’s next successor, but he wanted to leave it open to the Cardinals.
Though Leo’s travel log was significantly smaller than that of John Paul II’s, he did spend a significant amount of his papacy traveling the world, and made highly publicized visits to 25 different countries. His kind, gentle and measured demenour endeared him to the faithful and he was quite popular with Catholic youth. His visits attracted crowds nearly equal to that of John Paul II and the attendees showed a level of enthusiasm and excitement for this pope not seen since John Paul’s tours of the mid-1990’s.
His several meeting with keys members of the Eastern Orthodox hierarchy proved to be both unifying and productive, as the Catholic and a majority of the Orthodox churches were closer, at the end of his papacy than they had been in centuries. His meetings with Protestant leaders, while received with goodwill, proved to be less successful.
Leo XIV was also less successful in dealing with non-Christian religions than some of his predecessors had been. His continued pubic insistence that the only true way was through Christ did much to aggravate Islamic-Christian relations in many quarters. Violence against Christians in the Middle-East increased during his pontificate, though he surely cannot be blamed as the global situation as a whole was deteriorating.
When Russia asserted control over former Central Asia Soviet lands, leading to Russian takeovers of some of those lands through military means, Leo strongly condemned the action and urged peace. He did likewise when the Chinese began to counteract Russia in a similar fashion.
Rare for a modern pope, Leo only released one encyclical during his six years, Humanae Habitae “On the Human Condition”; a nearly 500 page master work detailing discussing how the Churches positions on human sexuality, social justice, human life, the sacraments, Christian unity, the human soul and free will and the modern state and how they all relate to the modern world. It was published as a whole and distributed throughout the world almost exactly a year before Leo’s death. It was quite an achievement for someone not considered to be an intellectual heavy weight. Leo said of it, “I had a lot of help”.
Of course, the preeminent action of Leo XIV pontificate was his call for a Third Vatican Council. Though he had promised it from the start, he received much acclaim from Catholics of all persuasions for not rushing into it. Indeed, he spent the first five years of his reign rigorously consulting theologians of all strips, Curial members and several synods of bishops before calling the Council on March 17, 2013 (St. Patrick’s Day). In his speech announcing the start of the Council he stated that “Like St. Patrick, we must all serve as witnesses to Christ to the world. I only call this council so that we might be better witnesses to that truth.”
Leo XIV would not get to see the real fruits of his council, however. He suffered a major stroke on October 18th. It was hoped that he might recover upon his return from the hospital in mid-November, but his condition slowly reverted as complication mounted. He Vatican announced on December 19th that his condition had become “grave.” And on Christmas Day, he passed away in the Papal Apartment, the Bell of St. Marco which announced his ascendance to the Chair of Peter, announced his passing from this world. His last words, heard to have been spoken at 7AM Christmas Day were, “This is the day the Lord has made.” He was listening to a version of “Hear I Am Lord” (one of his favorite songs) when he finally passed.
The public outpour of grief was immediate, as many Catholics from all over the world, broke with their normal Christmas routine to go to the Vatican, and pray and then grieve for, the stricken pope. The global media mourned his loss with nearly the same intensity as they had John Paul II and his viewing and funeral were as well attended. At his funeral, Cardinal Cruijff lamented his loss stating with tears “An angel has passed from us.” That seems to have been the sum total of the reaction of all Christians and even secularists alike.
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