Benedict Says He Prayed Not to Be Elected
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James Joyner | Monday, April 25, 2005 |
Benedict Says He Prayed Not to Be Elected (AP)
Pope Benedict XVI said Monday he had viewed the idea of being elected pope as a “guillotine,” and he prayed to God during the recent conclave to be spared selection but “evidently this time He didn’t listen to me.” For the first time since his election, Benedict shed light on his feelings inside the conclave during an audience with fellow Germans. Speaking in his native tongue, Benedict told the audience that at one point during the conclave, when it became clear he was garnering many votes, a fellow cardinal slipped him a note reminding him what he had preached before the conclave about Christ calling Peter to follow him even where he did not want to go.
Benedict, 78, said he had hoped to spend his last years living quietly and peacefully. “As the trend in the ballots slowly made me realize that â in a manner of speaking the guillotine would fall on me â I started to feel quite dizzy,” a smiling Benedict said, clearly joking. “I thought that I had done my life’s work and could now hope to live out my days in peace. I told the Lord with deep conviction, ‘Don’t do this to me.’”
He recalled saying to God in his prayers: “You have younger, better, more enthusiastic and energetic candidates.” “Evidently, this time He didn’t listen to me,” Benedict said.
As far as signs and portents go, that can’t be a good one. Technically, I suppose, Ratzinger didn’t become the Vicar of Christ until the ballots were in.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
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Sometimes those that serve best are those who seek the honor the least. They don't seek the position because they are humbled by its magnitude. Therefore, if they are called, they treat the position with awe and respect. However, I did use the word "sometimes".
Guess the Spirit just moved him!
"The major problemâone of the major problems, for there are severalâone of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.
To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso fact, those least suited to do it. To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem."
-- Douglas Adams
I was praying that he was elected Pope. I guess that goes to show which one of us has God's ear, huh?
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