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Video: Pope Benedict with his brother on vacation
There is some nice video from Stefano Maria Paci and SKY TG24 of the Holy Father on vacation in Bressanone, Italy with his brother Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, later joined by the other Msgr. Georg, the private secretary. The three of them joke around a little.
In the video the Pope and his brother during their stroll stop before a small and very old statue of Mary and Child. Mary is teaching Jesus how to bless. Sweet.
Would you mind adding my new blog to your links please Fr? I already link to you..
Comment by jackie parkes — 31 July 2008 @ 2:38 pmThanks for the video Father Z. And yes, that statue is very sweet. I love the Holy Father…long may he live!
Comment by semperficatholic — 31 July 2008 @ 2:44 pmOh wow, I didn’t know that the Papa’s brother was a priest… what great, holy parents they must have had :D
Comment by Jenny Z — 31 July 2008 @ 3:35 pmDelightful! I didn’t think we would see Papa at all except at the Angelus. May he and his brother have multos annos, because they clearly love each other very much and have always enjoyed their holidays together. May their sister, Maria, rest in peace! I am sure she is watching over them.
Comment by Hoka2_99 — 31 July 2008 @ 4:08 pmThere is no question…absolutely no doubt….that Benedict is a kind, sweet, man: the question is, is he of sound doctrine? A very resounding ‘yes,’ mostly, mostly. We can’t judge a Pope in his day and age, but only with the hindsight of history. No doubt that Benedict is doing the best job he can, and is trying to infuse Tradition back into the Church. For that we should be thankful; greatly thankful. But I know he showed-up at VII, a pertii, in suit and tie. Many “traditionalists” take great umbrage at this. [In their ignorance, perhaps. German clerics often wore ties, or pointed shirt collars, rather than the military “Roman” collar.] Whatever. It merely illustrates that, like Peter before him, who resolutely DENIED Our Lord three times, Pope Benedict is a man, a human man—and not a divine man—and although we must not engage in Idol Worship with respect to him, we do owe him due respect as our Holy Father. Yet, we can, with very deep respect, disagree with him (or especially our Late Holy Father,) on certain non-dogmatic points, so long as it is done with respect the Magisterium.
Personally, I find very little room to disagree with Benedict. I am hugely sympathetic to SSPX, and I admit that Ratzinger was a different man than Benedict, but so was I before I became Catholic.
I know SSPX feels beleaguered in a sea of relativism and Modernism; they are fighting a good fight. But perhaps they should view the overtuers from Rome with less suspicion. The whole “Gates of Hell,” etc, should come into view, if SSPX wants to remain in the fold, and not go the way of Old Catholics. And Rome, too, should acknowledge that SSPX has been a great catalyst; bringing tradition back into the Church—a wonderful a huge blessing to the Church!
Comment by Malta — 31 July 2008 @ 10:11 pmThank you, Fr. Z., for posting this video. My Italian is rusty, but I understood most of what the reporter said.
Comment by techno_aesthete — 31 July 2008 @ 11:05 pmIf HH BXVI were to show up NOW in a suit and tie, THEN there would be a problem. I hardly think that what the man wore 40+ years ago should be an issue now. Besides, the tiara wouldn’t go as well with a suit…
ad multos annos, viva il Papa!
Comment by joy — 31 July 2008 @ 11:07 pm“But I know he showed-up at VII, a pertii, in suit and tie. Many “traditionalists” take great umbrage at this”
What a silly thing to take umbrage at! First of all, Joseph Ratzinger was not a parish priest 40+ years ago but a university professor. He did not belong to an order but was ordained as a secular priest. The custom in Germany in the days before Vatican II was that only Religious Brothers and Priests wore the Roman collars. Secular priest normally wore a black suit with a white shirt and tie. They did not have a tradition of the Roman collar so it was rare to see a German secular cleric wearing one. Usually when they did. it was more the style of the full collar one sees on Anglican clergy. Strangely, it has only been since V2 that German secular priests have begun to normally wear the Roman collar.
Comment by Martin — 1 August 2008 @ 1:24 amPerhaps it would behoove some traditionalists to know the facts and history of certain things before they start taking umbrage!
Martin: Thank you for that comment. I second every word of it.
Comment by Hoka2_99 — 1 August 2008 @ 3:41 amThank you for this video. It means a lot. I just read Milestones, his memoirs.
Comment by JPSonnen — 1 August 2008 @ 4:25 amThe Holy Father is really blessed to have his brother with him. I mean, in the priestly vocation, and at that age, it is probably rare to have close family in your life. Those two are obviously close friends – I remember the interview with the Monsignor posted here a couple of months ago – and I think it’s wonderful.
Comment by Kradcliffe — 1 August 2008 @ 5:42 amI imagine that the Pope is the loneliest man in the world sometimes, so it makes me happy to see him joking with his brother.
Comment by Tiny — 2 August 2008 @ 12:49 pm