RATISBONNE (Jerusalem): 19th April 2005:  The students at the Salesian Theological Institute Ratisbonne certainly pricked up their ears as the words of announcement of the new Pope included the word 'Ratisbonne'.  But in timeworn tradition the announcement was in Latin.  Perhaps they did not realise that they had heard 'Ratisbona', the Latin form of the Celtic original 'Radasbona', which the French called Ratisbonne and the Germans call Regensburg.

    It doesn't matter.  What does matter is that a man from Regensburg is now Pope Benedict XVI.  It matters, obviously, to people from that city and now it matters to all men and women of good will in the world.

    While some of the big-name world media were busy 'pontificating' in black and white terms as the last of the indeterminate smoke (grey, at best) drifted away, two very interesting media had already been at work.  Wikipedia, the world's largest and most successful open source encyclopaedia was online within minutes in French and English with an objective five pages worth of run-down on the new Pope's background.  The other was the Asia Times, head-officed in Hong Kong but key voice also for the Middle East - Asia times got in early on 5th April!

    'Spengler', AT's correspondent, has two very quotable quotes to offer: "I think it worth noting that Ratzinger is one of the few men alive capable of surprising the world", is one. That he is a man "with the vision to see and the courage to say" is the other. And that was on 5th April. 

    Israel's dailies too, have been following the various possibilities of papal appointment with more than usual interest; with vested interest, one should add.  It will be interesting to read Ha'aretz on the morrow.  Will they quote former Cardinal Ratzinger's famous remark that Christianity (he was thinking especially of Europe) might survive only in cysts resembling the kibbutzim of Israel?

    Which brings us back to Ratisbonne - the Jerusalem one - and from there, by fast shuffle, to what will be the Salesian response to the new Pope.  One has to believe not only that Don Bosco would be 100 percent behind this Pope, but that Salesians today will be too. 

    There have been a number of so-called prophecies about in recent weeks.  The most consistent has been that the next Pope will be called Benedict XVI, according to an interpretation of the prophecy of an Irish monk, St Malachy. Well, they got that bit right - XVI does follow XV after all - but what they got wrong was that he would be black!  That the new Pope had clearly forgotten to change his black sweater shows up in the photos as he greets the throng in St Peter's Square.  But no need to indulge in all that malarkey over Malachy.  For mine, Spengler's 'prophecy is a much better one:

    "Were he to ascend to the throne of St Peter, the next papacy might be more interesting than the last one"!