The Wisdom and Leadership of Pope Benedict XVI

The Wisdom and Leadership of Pope Benedict XVI
Jan. 22, 2006
How the title of the pontiff’s book, Co-Workers of the Truth came to be? It was to be composed of various writings a kind of breviary of reflections for each day.

The title finally chosen for this compilation also conveys my reason for undertaking it: I believe that a work of this kind can, in it own way, contribute to the fulfillment of the promise implicit in the motto from the third epistle of St. John. Verse 8, that I adopted for my coat of arms: “Co-Workers of the Truth” For John, these words signify the participation of all the faithful in the service of the Gospel and, by consequence, the “catholic” dimension of the Faith: the “elder”, as he designates himself, calls upon the faithful to extend hospitality to all who come as messengers of the Faith. 5
“A phrase of such breadth and depth is relevant in a variety of contexts and always offers new perspectives. For me it has become another way of expressing the task of the bishop: he too, and especially he, is a “co-worker”, that is, he does not act in his own name but is always and totally linked to a “with”. Only when he acts “with” Christ and “with” the whole believing Church of all time and all places does he do what he is meant to do. It is not his task to fashion a community for himself, but, rather, to fashion the Church of Christ. That is he must point to him who is the Way because he is the Truth (Jan 14:6)” 6
The pontiff’s first encyclical letter, titled Deus Caritas Est (God is Love), is to focus on the meaning of love in the context of modernity. In it, Pope Benedict discusses the difference between “eros” and “agape” Greeks words distinguishing between erotic love and spiritual love or charity. He warns that eros, while good in itself, is at risk of being “degraded” to mere sex without selfless charity or divine love.
The pope is a very strong opponent of false advertising. When a Catholic college calls itself Catholic, it is expected to be Catholic and not pseudo-catholic. He expects the bishops to resolve the matter of the Catholic in name only politician. (CINOP) It is a religious matter. Attend Mass but don’t receive Holy Communion. You are not Catholic in the public arena promoting abortion, euthanasia, and same-sex marriage. It would be the same for a Catholic promoting fornication, adultery and pornography.
He is deeply concerned about the low birth rate of Catholics in Europe. This is what happens when one does violence to natural law and the message of Humana Vitae. For us in America it is also the legal correction of the Roe vs. Wade decision of Jan. 22, 1973. Pope Benedict believes that the lack of catechesis and faith are the most serious challenges for the Church.

His mission and that of the next Pope is to implement the legacy of Pope John Paul II. As Catholic Christians we are co-workers of the Truth. “Victory when it comes will be a victory through Mary.”

Fraternally yours, George H. Kubeck, CINOPS BE GONE Duplicate and or translate into Spanish.
P.S. We have been blessed recently with two very important converts to our Catholic Faith and Church. They are a breadth of fresh air in the public arena. Both have had their book on the N.Y. Times’ best seller list during this past year. It would be very wise to check out their book from the local library or to purchase it. They are Laura Ingraham’s POWER TO THE PEOPLE, and Robert D. Novak’s The PRINCE OF DARKNESS. (Friday, Nov. 2, 2007)