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.I disagree with this TIME's article. I'm glad that the funeral of don Gius was mentioned there, but it wasn't part of a campaign to be the next Pope. I was there in the flesh at the funeral... I could have touched Cardinal Ratzinger when he processed by our row, which was very near the front. My friend, in fact, did touch the casket of don Gius. The focus was not on Cardinals Ratzinger nor Tettamanzi, but on the memory of don Giussani. As the late Pope John Paul II told Msgr. Albacete, "There will be many more popes, but only one Fr. Giussani." If you want to know what really happened there and exactly who said what, read the current issue of Traces, which is entirely on-line.
3 comments:
Thanks for posting this. I saw that part of the Time article and thought, "Well, I knew America would grow in awareness of CL in coming years, but like this?" As I said over at Amy's blog, this is one of the unique moments where not only can people in St. Blog's read the homilies, but they can hear first hand accounts of the funeral from fellow bloggers.
Oh, and thanks again for the Albacete transcripts!
JACK
While it seems unpleasant to think about the funeral of a saint in terms of crude ecclesial politics, I think there is perhaps some truth in what Time wrote. Of course it wasn't a campaign stop, nor a "papal election debate." But: this funeral was broadcast live on Italian television, on the morning that the major news story was that John Paul II had been admitted to hospital for the first time. It took place in the cathedral of the widely acknowledged front-runner. So people were watching very closely. Cardinal Tettamanzi gave a nice address (the Dante reference was a nice touch), but in the context of the day he was upstaged. It was a "brutta figura," and was, I think, decisive in the unravelling of support for his candidacy. The result was that no real alternative to a Ratzinger papacy emerged. In the circumstances, would it be wrong to attribute the way Ratzinger's candidacy unfolded to Don Giussani's intercession? :-)
At somepoint when the time is right, I shall post my experience of his funeral. In all honestly, I haven't unpacked this experience yet, but by writing it down in a prayerful manner, it should help. Our superhero in the great nation-state of Texas did a good job with this on his blog. I am not as competent nor am I as worthy as he.
In regards to the second post, wow. I don't think it was an coincidence that don Gius and Pope John Paul II died so near to each other. Consider the days on which each of them died. And I think it was providential that a dear friend to both of them is our new Holy Father. For me it is very clear, this is the working of Our Lady.
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