Rome, Italy, Apr 28, 2010 / 17:44 pm
Reflecting on the five-year pontificate of Benedict XVI, the Cardinal Francis George wrote in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano on Wednesday that joy and love are at the foundation of his teachings and ministry. The American cardinal also praised the Pope's efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse and his efforts to reach out to victims.
April 19 marked the fifth year since the election of Pope Benedict XVI as the Successor of Peter.
Cardinal George referenced the words of then-Cardinal Ratzinger in an interview given to Peter Seewald, for the book "God and the World," during which he said, "If we look at Christ, he is all sympathy and this makes him precious to us. Being sympathetic, being vulnerable, is part of being Christian. One must learn to accept injuries, to live with wounds and in the end to find therein a deeper healing."
All of the Pope's audiences, addresses and encyclicals, have joy and love at the foundation of his teachings, observed the cardinal, who said that he calls us to bring together "all aspects of human life in the embrace of divine love."