The New Zealand Tablet THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1914. POPE BENEDICT XV.

New Zealand Tablet, 10 September 1914, Page 33

The New Zealand Tablet THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1914. POPE BENEDICT XV.

ENEDICT XV. makes the two hundred and fifty-eighth unit in the long line of. Roman Pontiffs that stretches back in unbroken perspective to the Fisherman- Apostle of Galilee. Of that historic line, the present Pontiff makes the sixth of the Bishops of Bologna that have been raised to the papal chair, the others being: John X., Innocent VII., Nicholas V., Julius 11., Gregory XV., and Benedict XIV. The last two mentioned were born in Bologna. Bologna was also the birthplace of the following Popes, in addition to the two first mentioned: Honorius 11., Lucius 11., Alexander V., Gregory XIII., and Innocent IX. In this list of Popes that have been associated with the ancient see of Bologna the immediate namesake of the present

Pontiff, Benedict XIV., was certainly not the least remarkable. His enormous application, his intellectual gifts, and his devotion to science and to literary studies, made him one of the most erudite men of his time, and gave him. the distinction—no small one, surely—of beipg perhaps the greatest scholar among the popes. 1 have been reproached,’ he said on one occasion, ‘ because of my familiarity with Tasso and Dante and Ariosto, but they are a necessity to me in order to give energy to my thought and life to my style.’ His outstanding characteristics as Pope wore tireless activity, courage, and an unassuming gentleness that made him , universally beloved. His great, learning placed him in a position to deal successfully with difficult ecclesiastical situations ; and the broad Christian spirit which animated his dealings with foreign powers won the respect and removed the hostility of even Protestant courts and rulers. If Benedict XV. takes as his model his illustrious namesake, we may confidently look forward to a truly great and beneficent pontificate. *• As to the particular features .which will characterise that pontificate there are three points, at least, in regard to which we possess assured information. (1) It is certain that Benedict XV. will continue and maintain—with tact and prudence, but also with uncompromising firmness—his predecessor’s policy in regard to Modernism in the Church. It is generally understood that Mgr. Della Chiesa was selected by the late Holy Father for the sec of Bologna on account of his special fitness for the task—which then confronted the authorities—of dealing with the incipient growth of Modernism in that ancient city. The movement had not only obtained a footing amongst the young and inexperienced students, but the infection had even extended to members of the professorial staff. Prompt and energetic measures were taken by the new Archbishop, and in due time his policy was attended with complete success. (2) In handling the important affairs of State which necessarily fall to his exalted office, and in dealing with those in high places, Benedict XV. will prove himself particularly capable and wellequipped. His whole career prior to his appointment as .Archbishop of Bologna was in the immediate service of *Leo XIII. and Cardinal Rampolla in the office of the Secretary of State. No less an authority than the London Tablet declares that during his term of diplomatic service he was Cardinal Rampolla’s right hand man ; and no higher tribute could be paid to bis tact, ability, and wide knowledge of affairs. (3) It is abundantly evident that the new Pope is the possessor of a distinct and striking personality. It may be taken as an axiom that colorless and characterless individuals are not selected for difficult and delicate positions at Rome. That the new Pope should have been chosen for important work by two such exceptionally good judges of men as the late Cardinal Rampolla and Pope Pius X., and that he should have obtained a two-thirds majority vote in the Sacred College after only three ballots, bespeaks, beyond doubt, an unusually attractive and impressive personality. * The result of the conclave has been commented upon in press circles as a surprise and in the sense that none of the supposed ‘ likely ’ Cardinals have been selected it may be so described. The fact, hpwever, affords conclusive evidence that there has been no soil of pre-arrangement or wire-pulling in connection with the election; and the circumstance that a Cardinal has been selected who was considered, humanly speaking, not to have the slightest prospect of appointment, affords the surest, guarantee that the choice has been providential, and that the prayers for Divine guidance in this important matter have' been graciously heard. It is sometimes the case that in the close intimacy of the conclave little personal glimpses of character and temperament are given which come as a revelation to its members, and which help in quite, an unexpected fashion towards a selection.. It was, so in the case of the election of the present Pontiff’s great namesake, Benedict ■ XIV..; and it may have been so.

for aught we know, in the case of Benedict XV. The conclave at which Cardinal Lambertini (afterwards Benedict XIV.) was elected lasted for no less than six months. After several plans had been tried to end the deadlock, Lambertini, whose name had been proposed as a compromise, addressed the conclave, saying; If you wish to elect a saint, choose Gotti : a statesman, A Idobrandini; an honest man, elect me.’. The words, spoken half in jest, were taken as offering a practical solution of tile difficulty, and the ‘honest man' was promptly elected. The high qualities enumerated by Benedict XIV. are, happily, not mutually exclusive ; and we have good reason to hope that all three will be found combined in the person of his spiritual and titularsuccessor. Now, with the burden placed upon his shoulders, he stands in a position where his talents w ill have full scope. Apart from the character and attainments of the man who fills it, that exalted office has about it a sufficient grandeur. It is thus described by a non-Catholic writer ; ‘ To be the infallible spiritual guide of a multitude of people—perhaps a sixth of the population of the world; to derive from the Chief of the Apostles, through two hundred and fifty-five intermediaries, a primacy of honor and authority among Christian folk; to bo seated in this ineffable honor in the city of Borne, imperial and eternal; to operate a governing machinery of patriarchs, metropolitans, archbishops, bishops, priests, and innumerable Orders of monks, friars, and nuns—a machinery which in delicacy and efficiency is the wonder of the world to have interests and duties in connection with every nation in both hemispheres ; to watch all things political and ecclesiastical, on behalf of an organisation which has its tendrils in every cranny and crevice of the social structure of all Europe and America, and many parts of Asia, and Africa—what position has earth to show which can compare with this for eminence of standpoint, breadth of view, and reach of power?’ We pray that Pope Benedict XV. may occupy this position long ; that if his responsibilities are great, his honors of achievement may be equally great; and that he may impress himself as deeply upon his generation as the great and good Pope into whose place Providence has raised him.