Sodano on Ratzi

The most complex (and consequential) relationship behind the Vatican walls comes again to the fore.... A German magazine, while critiquing what can be called the "style gap" between B and JP, cites a WCC official who called the past weekend "The miracle of Cologne," but also asks the cardinal-secretary of state (anche cardinale-decano) his thoughts on the Pope's personality. And Sodano delivers a great line:

Storms of applause or infectious enthusiasm, trademarks of appearances by John Paul II, were notably absent. The clapping was polite.

Even a staffer of the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano admitted disappointment: "Young people don't want to hear theology. They want to hear someone be a witness to the faith."

It was the "real Ratzinger", remarked another Vatican watcher. The strongest applause was heard when Benedict mentioned his predecessor, John Paul II.

Benedict adopted a clear style of his own in Cologne, distinguishing himself from the Polish pontiff.

"The 12 disciples were quite various," commented Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican secretary of state and number two at the Vatican. "Each had his own individual character."

That spin has never been put on the question before.... But leave it to a State man to float it.

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