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London Times sneers at ‘dour pontiff’ January 06, 2009

In an article whose snide headline set the tone for the subsequent story, the Sunday Times sneered at Pope Benedict XVI because attendance at his audiences and addresses in Rome declined from 2.8 million in 2007 to 2.2 million in 2008. “The dour pontiff pays the price for his lack of charisma and visibility,” intones the opening sentence of the article, which fails to examine whether the worldwide economic crisis may have contributed to the decline of pilgrims in Rome. Citing these attendance figures at papal audiences, the Times says that Pope Benedict has proven less popular than Pope John Paul II-- although the figures for the current Pontiff outstrip those for his predecessor.

The article concludes with quotes from George Weigel and other defenders of the Pontiff, who make the point that Pope Benedict does not measure his success by crowd statistics.

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Crowds shrink for ‘bland’ Benedict, the Pope who only ever says no (Sunday Times)
• 2.2 million attended Pope Benedict's public appearances in 2008 (CWN, Dec. 30)

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