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Reaction: St. Benedict Catholic Church in Duluth
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Reaction from around metro Atlanta to the selection of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI.
Members at St. Benedict Catholic Church on Parsons Road in Duluth were pleasantly surprised at the choice.
Katharine Dickmann, 40, was at the church Tuesday for a homeschooling session. “I was at home and a friend called me and said habemus papam.
“I didn’t think they would chose someone as old as he, but I was very pleasantly surprised. He is a very solid, very humble man. He is solid in faith, and I have enjoyed his writings over the years.”
The other women at the class seemed joyful and reassured by the selection. They all said they wanted someone very clear in articulating the church’s teachings.
“He’s a very great example of living the Catholic faith,” said Joselyn Schutz, 29, mother of three.
When asked about his age â€â€? Ratzinger is 78 â€â€? she said, “If that’s what the Holy Spirit intends, so be it. Who knows how long he is going to live? There’s no telling. They had been predicting John Paul II’s death for 10 years before it happened.”
“There’s no chance that the beautiful ancient teachings of the church are going to change,” she said. “The way we practice them, or the way we live out are faith may be different but the teachings will not change.”
Luis Guillermo Cordoba, the priest who leads St. Benedict’s hispanic mission, said, “This election has marked the path the church wants to take, in showing a secure and clear way. The view of the church is very clear.”
He wasn’t disappointed that a Latin American was not chosen. “It isn’t where he is from, but that he comes from the heart of Jesus.”
Pamela Lichtenwalner, 33, mother of five, called him a true leader. “Cardinal Ratzinger portrays the church’s teaching as it is. He is a true leader.”
Lichtenwalner has read his writings and thought to herself at the time that they were very clear. “It really made me think at the time he would be a good a pope.”
Rev. Paul Anthony Flood, parish priest at St. Benedict, said the fact that Ratzinger chose their patron saint for his name makes the parish a bit proud. “It just so happens we are the only church in the diocese named for St. Benedict, and we’re proud of that.”
