Editorial

Ends of the earth

Pope Benedict XVI has done it again. And in some ways, his success in Australia during World Youth Day (see Page 3) was even more surprising than his winning over of Catholic Americans and their compatriots during his visit here in April.

Australia and the United States bear striking similarities -- Catholics in both countries are the largest denomination and come in at about a quarter of the total population -- but the land Down Under is far more secular. A study in 2001 showed that of Australia's 5 million Catholics, only about 765,000 go to Mass weekly. (That's 15.3 percent compared to 23 percent in the United States.) Nevertheless, Catholics still count for half of all Australians in church on Sunday.

Ahead of Pope Benedict's trip, the longest of his pontificate in days and distance, doomsayers in the media were plenty. And it seemed that the local state legislators almost were trying to provoke protesters when they passed regulations prohibiting anyone from "annoying" the 400,000 World Youth Day pilgrims, who included 15,000 Americans.

But all of that faded away almost from the start, with television footage of an almost gleeful 81-year-old pope, surrounded by teenagers, standing in the prow of a boat in Sydney's harbor to take in the scenes of the city's modern skyline.

What explains Pope Benedict's success? Comparisons with his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, are inevitable, but not too illuminating. They are a study in contrasts, and where the former pontiff had a sense of theatrical tempo and was energized by large crowds, Pope Benedict is shy and modest.

Some have said Pope Benedict is a pope of the word, not action. If so, his success with young people in this Web 2.0 era is even more surprising. While WYD organizers delivered some papal messages to cell phones in texting jargon, the pope himself delivered talks that were challengingly intellectual.

The best example is an evening talk he gave to hundreds of thousands of youths under the stars in which he offered a theological overview of St. Augustine's understanding of the Holy Spirit.

Even the papal spokesman said he found the homily a tough read, at least the first time through. "It was his choice," he later told reporters. The pope wanted to "choose issues that invite reflection, that require work to understand, that may need you to come back and return to them to seek clarity."

Not that the pope's presentations are inaccessible; as a former professor, he has a gift for unpacking complex concepts into digestible pieces. He treats young people like they're fully capable of understanding him, and challenges them not only to expand their way of thinking but also their way of living.

What he offers young people -- and us, too -- is a glimpse that authentic Catholicism means growth, gratitude and generosity. Authentically and faithfully lived, this is a religion that brings its practitioners joy and hope. That's a point worth regular reflection, especially in the midst of a secular world that sees Catholicism and its rules as suffocating, deadening and restrictive.

"Being 'given to drink' of the Spirit," Pope Benedict told the young people, "means being refreshed by the beauty of the Lord's plan for us and for the world, and becoming in turn a source of spiritual refreshment for others."

How well do our own lives match that vision?