The Roman Catholic Church, with about 1.2bn adherents worldwide, remains a uniquely potent spiritual force. Yet this great but flawed institution is now most often discussed in western Europe and North America in terms of its faults.
This pope will suffer by comparison with his superstar predecessor. Whereas John Paul perfectly fitted the demands of the media age, Benedict is an elderly, retiring and scholarly theologian. Both popes rank as astute students of power, but this one evinces little need to win over wavering believers.
[blockquote]Both popes rank as astute students of power, but this one evinces little need to win over wavering believers.[/blockquote]
Not going to register to read the rest. If the author feels that B16 evinces little need to win over wavering believers, then the author obviously doesn’t understand his subject.
“If the author feels that B16 evinces little need to win over wavering believers, then the author obviously doesn’t understand his subject.”
Since when has that mattered to a journo-list?