‘New pope is down-to-earth, very intelligent’

Bishop Tomas A. Camacho of the Chalan Kanoa Diocese said the new pope—Benedict XVI—is a very intelligent man and is also down-to-earth.

Camacho said he met the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger a number of times some 15 to 17 years ago.

He said every time he went to Rome to see the German cardinal’s predecessor, Pope John Paul II, the newly elected pope was always there.

Camacho said that Cardinal Ratzinger’s office then was just right across St. Peter’s Square, where the office of the late pontiff was located. Camacho said he was a very visible person back then.

“But very humble and very down-to-earth, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, and he’s now pope.”

When he attended a bishops’ summit back then, Camacho said he would see the cardinal everyday during the entire week of the summit and that they would exchange hellos every time they crossed each other’s path.

“This guy is so well known actually,” said Camacho. He said he has known the cardinal and his theology because Ratzinger was the pope’s right-hand man.

Camacho said this was probably the shortest conclave ever, with the cardinals electing a successor to Pope John Paul II less than 24 hours after the selection process started.

The bishop also said he would lead a special Mass at the Mt. Carmel Cathedral this Sunday as a thanksgiving for the ascension of Cardinal Ratzinger to the papacy.

In the Mass, Camacho said he would ask guidance from the Holy Spirit to help the new pope lead the world’s more than 1 billion Catholic faithful.

After the death of Pope John Paul II, Camacho had speculated that the new pontiff would most likely come from South America or another Third World country.

The bishop laughed when reminded about this but had a clever comeback when he said, “It was a good mistake.”

Camacho said the new pope would have his own unique style and that Catholics all over the world are in good hands with Pope Benedict XVI.

Camacho said Cardinal Ratzinger originally planned to write books after he retired and that was what he was looking forward to when he submitted his resignation three year ago when he reached the age of 75, according to Camacho. All bishops and cardinals are obligated to submit their resignations when they reach that age.

But God obviously had other plans for the now Pope Benedict XVI.

“Now he won’t be able to write those books he wanted to write,” said Camacho.