The day Pope Benedict xvi first walked out onto that famous Vatican balcony, it seems the world split into two camps.
One camp was represented by the masses of ecstatic people below, in St. Peter’s square, who had just come running from miles around to catch a glimpse of their new pope. It was heard in the voices praising Benedict for his humility, his gentleness, his self-effacing personality.
The other camp rushed to publish headlines like “God’s Rottweiler” and “From Hitler Youth to Papa Ratzi.” Uncomfortable with absolutes, these people clearly felt threatened by what they see as a stern, uncompromising ultraconservative.
The first group hurried to his defense. “Yes, the pope is a Catholic,” said the Wall Street Journal. “Yet that unsurprising result has clearly shaken many secular liberals—and more than a few liberal Catholics—who feel that they have been somehow cheated of an opportunity. … Pope Benedict, the man, will be a convenient target for critics whose hostility is really directed against the Catholic Church and its moral teachings.”
So—which camp is the Trumpet in? Neither.
What you are going to read in this Trumpet issue is totally different.
As our longtime readers are aware, we advocate some of the very moral teachings for which the new pope is being criticized. Many accuse us of being uncompromising and ultraconservative.
Our concerns about Pope Benedict xvi are much different—and far deeper—than those who wish the pope would permit abortion or the ordination of women priests.
Our view of Benedict—and even of his much-hailed predecessor—is not based on a mistrust of authority or a hostility toward morality. It is based on prophecies spelled out in the Holy Bible of a powerful religious leader who would come on the scene in our day.
By all appearances, Benedict xvi looks the part. If he is, time is exceedingly short. And this world, split between liberals who sneer at the pope and conservatives who defend him, urgently needs the strongest warning it has ever heard.
Herein is that warning.