Black smoke. No papa.

Isn't there something lovely about the world fixating its gaze at an old brown-gray metal stovepipe propped up on the Sistine Chapel roof, looking for smoke signals about who will be the next pontiff? What a refreshing breath in an era when transparency is the orthodoxy -- a "what are you doing, what are thinking, what are you feeling" world, where all of life now seems a reality tv show or Oprah -- that this secret meeting fires our imaginations. We need this little bit of tradition, magic, and mystery.

Cardinal Ratzinger's morning homily certainly gained a lot of attention, some seeing it as brazen electioneering and others as merely restating what he has always said and believed. It certainly won't make him any friends among Catholic liberals (big surprise there) but, in combination with his funeral homily, gives you a "rounder" glimpse of the man: an intellectual with clear pastoral gifts and certain ideas about the problems and directions of the Church. Here is an excerpt from the homily, from the Vatican Radio site (Thanks to Against the Grain for the tip):

How many winds of doctrine we have known in recent decades, how many ideological currents, how many ways of thinking… The small boat of thought of many Christians has often been tossed about by these waves – thrown from one extreme to the other: from Marxism to liberalism, even to libertinism; from collectivism to radical individualism; from atheism to a vague religious mysticism; from agnosticism to syncretism, and so forth. Every day new sects are created and what Saint Paul says about human trickery comes true, with cunning which tries to draw those into error (cf Eph 4, 14). Having a clear faith, based on the Creed of the Church, is often labeled today as a fundamentalism. Whereas, relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and “swept along by every wind of teaching”, looks like the only attitude (acceptable) to today’s standards. We are moving towards a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one’s own ego and one’s own desires.

However, we have a different goal: the Son of God, true man. He is the measure of true humanism. Being an “Adult” means having a faith which does not follow the waves of today’s fashions or the latest novelties. A faith which is deeply rooted in friendship with Christ is adult and mature. It is this friendship which opens us up to all that is good and gives us the knowledge to judge true from false, and deceit from truth. We must become mature in this adult faith; we must guide the flock of Christ to this faith. And it is this faith – only faith – which creates unity and takes form in love. On this theme, Saint Paul offers us some beautiful words - in contrast to the continual ups and downs of those were are like infants, tossed about by the waves: (he says) make truth in love, as the basic formula of Christian existence. In Christ, truth and love coincide. To the extent that we draw near to Christ, in our own life, truth and love merge. Love without truth would be blind; truth without love would be like “a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal” (1 Cor 13,1).

By the way, several journalists have totally misread (perhaps willfully) Ratzinger's remarks on "fundamentalism." Taken in context, he was clearly saying that some label fealty to Church doctrine, in a way to dismiss it entirely, as "fundamentalism," thereby linking it to nasty extremists in other faiths -- a pretty deliberate bending of the truth and Truth. Running from this, many settle in with relativism, an anything goes, self-centered anti-philosophy. The traditional teachings of the Church are neither.

I keep wondering if perhaps this man doesn't really want to be pope. He became the "chief doctrinal officer" (back-handed mediaspeak for head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) reluctantly, and was talked out of retiring several times by JPII. Now everyone has him as a papal frontrunner and politician for the job. Could it be that this morning's homily was the Cardinal's way of saying, "Are you sure you want me?" and a way to retire quietly? This way he can be the kingmaker (or popemaker) and not be pope. Just a theory, one that I hope is wrong. Ratzinger is "one" on my short list.

By the way, check out the fantastic Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club. Why has it taken me so long to find you? All my fault. They actually have a gift shop where you can buy t-shirts, hats, mugs, etc. with the Cardinal's picture on them and various messages like "Papist" and "Putting the smackdown on heresy since 1981." My word, where is my credit card...