Ratzinger shivered me timbers

By Diogenes ( articles ) | May 14, 2005

An Anglican archbishop speaks about the papal election:

A senior Church of Ireland clergyman has said that "shivers went down his spine" when he heard that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had been elected Pope. The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr John Neill, the second most senior cleric in the Church of Ireland, was speaking at a Press conference at the General Synod in Dublin yesterday.

He concedes, however, that young Benedict has potential for growth.

"I must acknowledge that as soon as the former cardinal became Pope he sent out the message that he wanted to reach out to other Churches and other Christian communities, and that he is interested in ecumenical dialogue. However being a realist, I am aware that in the past he has made statements which were less than hopeful, so let's pray for a change."

Let's pray for a change. In the jargon of pop-psych, they call this passive aggression: "You wound me by not being open to my position..." Do you think Neill means to commend Ratzinger on the hopefulness he expressed to the refractory Episcopalians of Plano?

Neither do I.