A different look at the trajectory of Benedict’s life, from Elizabeth Scalia at OSV News:
It was a coldish day in April 2008, and an 81-year-old man, wearing a long but lightweight white coat against the chill, exited a limousine and began to walk down a long ramp, toward a place of terror and death. His trusted assistant walked discreetly behind him, nearby but not intrusive, so yes, he was very much alone. As cameras clicked noisily all about him, or filmed his progress amid the whirl of chopper blades, the man moved resolutely forward, upright but grim-faced, like a weary shepherd all too aware of his duties to the sheep.
As I watched Pope Benedict XVI make his way to the site of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 — then still an ugly gaping hole near the water’s edge — the Scripture passage came, all unbidden: “ … when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you, and lead you where you do not want to go” (Jn 21: 18).
In perusing the first obituaries since his death was announced, it occurs to me that Joseph Ratzinger had been dressed and led away from his own desires for nearly all his life. First as a teenager, forced into the Hitler Youth, and then as a young seminarian conscripted into the German army, where he and all of his classmates were outfitted with uniforms and guns. Deserting that dubious service, he was then sent to a prisoner of war camp, where he again wore clothes not of his choosing.
For a time, Ratzinger did manage to go (and wear) what he wished, living in his beloved Bavaria as a priest and professor of theology, celebrating Mass, holding class, celebrating the sacraments and writing, always writing.
But the calls to duty beyond his preferences continued. His talents brought him to Rome, where the width and breadth of his intellect influenced the Second Vatican Council. At age 50, he would be appointed an archbishop (only to be elevated to the College of Cardinals three months later) by Pope John Paul II, who eventually brought him to Rome to head up the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and never let him leave. In 2002, when a weary Ratzinger, aged 75, expressed a wish to retire, he was instead elected the dean of the College, confirmed in the role by the Polish pope.
In essence, he was told, “you’re not going anywhere, Joseph Ratzinger, but where you are led.”
