Father Fessio, John Allen pay tribute to Pope Benedict

April 19, 2012

In honor of the seventh anniversary of Benedict XVI’s election to the papacy, Vatican Radio has interviewed Father Joseph Fessio, publisher of Ignatius Press, and journalist John Allen.

The Pope is not only “one of history's great theologians, he's really a creative and original theologian,” said Father Fessio, who during the 16-minute radio program recalled his time as one of the future Pontiff’s doctoral students.

“The popular stereotype painted Joseph Ratzinger as a strong, stern, authoritarian figure, God's Rottweiler,” Allen added. “Instead he revealed himself to be a gentle, mild figure” whose encyclicals will “still be read by thinking Catholics in centuries to come.”

 

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Further information:

• Papal election milestone: taking stock (Vatican Radio)