Benedict retains his humility

Archbishop describes pope as well-informed and filled with faith

By DEBORAH GYAPONG
Canadian Catholic News
Ottawa

Winnipeg Archbishop James Weisgerber describes Pope Benedict XVI as a faithful, simple and humble man who has not been changed "in the least" by his election as pope.

"It's always a great time to find a humble human being as the bishop of Rome and the head of the Catholic Church," Weisgerber said in a telephone interview from Rome Nov. 28.

Papal audience

Weisgerber, who is vice-president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), joined CCCB President Andre Gaumond, archbishop of Sherbrooke, and CCCB General Secretary Mario Paquette for an audience with the pope Nov. 24.

"He is obviously humble and filled with great faith. He sees the challenges of every country within the Church, yet he still has great confidence."

Weisgerber had met the pope last spring, and had met him several times previously when, as Cardinal Joseph Ratizinger, he was prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

"He's exactly the same person," Weisgerber said.

The focus of most of their discussion, he said, was on "our attempts to maintain traditional Christian values in a society that is changing day by day."

Same-sex marriage, the loss of Catholic schools in Quebec, and the diminishing number of vocations to the priesthood were all part of the conversation.

"We discussed the challenges of maintaining traditional Christian values in a rapidly changing society," Weisgerber said.

The "very inquisitive" Benedict XVI asked a lot of questions, and was extremely well informed, probably because of his language facility and extensive travels, Weisgerber said.

He described the meeting as a "courtesy call" that gives the pope an opportunity to put names and faces to Canadian representatives.

The conversation was made easy by the pope's facility in both of Canada's official languages.

Weisgerber reported that Gaumond told the pope that Catholics in Quebec have had to find new ways to ensure the faith formation of young people now that the province no longer supports Catholic schools.

The upside has been that more parents are becoming involved in the Church to ensure formation takes place, Weisgerber said.

In the rest of Canada, in provinces and communities where there have been no separate schools, "we're kind of soldiering on as we always have been doing for a long time."

Pope Benedict asked about vocations to both the priesthood and religious life in Canada.

"We told him the reality. We're struggling. We have some stabilization in some places and decline in others. It's still a great challenge," Weisgerber said.

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