Is Benedict XVI still in touch with John Paul II?

Benedict XVI being interviewed in the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo.

Benedict XVI was interviewed by Polish television on 16 October 2005.  It was his first television interview after his election.  During the interview the reporter asked Benedict XVI about his first homily which he gave to the College of Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel on 20 April 2005, specifically when he said, (underlines are ours for emphasis),

“Dear friends, this deep gratitude for a gift of divine mercy is uppermost in my heart in spite of all. And I consider it a special grace which my Venerable Predecessor, John Paul II, has obtained for me. I seem to feel his strong hand clasping mine; I seem to see his smiling eyes and hear his words, at this moment addressed specifically to me, "Do not be afraid!".”

Benedict XVI answered explaining,

“The Pope [John Paul II] was always very close to me through his writings [texts]: I see him and hear him speak, and I can be in a continuous dialogue with the Holy Father because he always speaks to me through these words; I also know the origin of many writings, I remember the conversations we had about one text or another. I can continue the dialogue with the Holy Father. Of course this proximity through the words is not just a proximity purely with the writings but also with the person; behind the writings I feel the Pope himself. A man who goes to the Lord does not leave; more and more I feel that, being with the Lord, he [John Paul II] is close to me also. Insofar as I am close to the Lord, I am close to the Pope and he helps me now to be close to the Lord. I try to enter into his ambience [atmosphere] of prayer, into his love for the Father, his love for the Mother of God, and I entrust myself to his prayers [intercession]. It is thus a continuous dialogue and a being-close-to-one-another — although in a new, yet also very profound, way.” (English translation is CMJ’s)

After reading this a few questions spring to mind:

• Was John Paul II holding Benedict XVI’s hand when he resigned?

• Did John Paul II whisper the incorrect Latin into Benedict XVI’s ear as he read his resignation?

• Did the deceased spirit of John Paul II help Benedict XVI clean up ‘gay lobby’?

• Did he tell him to have Wande Abimbola, head of the Yorùbá voodoo, come to Assisi?

• Is Benedict XVI in his retirement still in contact with this saint?

• Is this what is meant by the hermeneutics of continuity?

• Did he congratulate Benedict XVI for revealing the “Third Secret of Fatima”?

• Etc...

John Paul II in touch with Cardinal Ratzinger.

Cardinal Josef Ratzinger touching John Paul II.

Maybe they will touch hands again, one day soon...

Throwback Thursday — 18 January 2005

(from left to right) Rabbi Barry Dov Schwartz, Rabbi Benjamin Blech

and Rabbi Jack Bemporad give John Paul II a rabbinical blessing.

John Paul II received in a private audience 160 Jewish leaders, rabbis, cantors and their relatives.  It was unprecedented in that never before had so many rabbis set foot in the Vatican at once and they were there to meet John Paul II!  It was requested by the Pave The Way Foundation located in New York, United States of America.  John Paul II’s Talmudic Jewish friend, Gary Krupp, proposed the meeting as a way to show thanks to John Paul II for combating anti-semitism.  The Pave The Way Foundation prides itself on working behind the scenes and achieving concrete results in the furtherance of their mission.  One of their previous victories in 2002 was getting papal permission for Talmudic scholars and rabbis to have access to the Vatican Library where they can view and study the original works of Maimonides (aka the RaMBaM).  This mission was aptly named the “Maimonides Project”.  Another success was receiving permission for a loan of manuscripts of Maimonides and others, from the Vatican Library, to the Israel Museum, for its fortieth anniversary exhibit during the upcoming summer of 2005.  Among the items were:

• a magnificently illustrated 15th-century manuscript of the Mishneh Torah, the text which was written in the 12th century by the Rambam (Maimonides),

• a copy of the Arba’ah Turim, Rabbi Jacob ben Asher’s renowned medieval text of Jewish law, 

• a complete Hebrew Bible codex and a book of Psalms, both produced in Rome in the 13th century and greatly prized by Jewish scholars since that time.

At the audience, three rabbis blessed John Paul II as well as a group of cantors who sang a special blessing, the Shehecheyahu.  John Paul II addressed them with these words,

“May this be an occasion for renewed commitment to increased understanding and cooperation in the service of building a world ever more firmly based on respect for the divine image in every human being.  Upon all of you, I invoke the abundant blessings of the Almighty and, in particular, the gift of peace.  Shalom aleichem.”

Gary Krupp’s speech

John Paul II’s remarks

three rabbis bless John Paul II in the Vatican

the historic meet and greet 

Sources:

• HISTORIC MEETING WITH POPE JOHN PAUL II CANTORS GO TO ROME!

• Pave The Way Foundation - Worldwide Jewish Delegation Audience with John Paul II

• ADDRESS OF JOHN PAUL II TO THE MEMBERS OF THE "PAVE THE WAY FOUNDATION"

• Pave The Way Foundation - Internet and Print Media Coverage 2004-2009

Related:

• six hands kissed for six million! (Rabbi Blech)

• Rabbi Ehrenkranz predicts Francis (Rabbi Bemporad)

• The fruit of Nostra Aetate and the era of one way Jewish to Catholic 'dialogue'...is the Noahide Laws! (Rabbi Bemporad)