Priest reports from Vatican City

Rev. Kenneth Doyle, Albany diocesan chancellor for public information and pastor of St. Catherine of Siena, Albany, has spent the past several days in Rome, serving as a resource for media in the Albany Diocese.

In a phone call to The Evangelist after the election of Benedict XVI, he told about the events of April 19:

"I was in the press room adjacent to St. Peter's Square. At first, the smoke was inconclusive, and the bells hadn't rung. But, when the bells rang, everyone knew for sure.

"I was surprised [Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger] was chosen, and I was surprised he was chosen so quickly. But, when the smoke started to come out white, I was sure it was [him] because he was the only cardinal who had the capacity to be chosen so quickly.

"I thought [the election process] was going to go for four or five days. Most people here thought there was a much broader field.

"I was surprised by the election [of Pope Benedict XVI], and I think for the most part American Catholics were surprised, too -- but not the Europeans or the Italian press. His high visibility boosted his [chance at becoming pope]: He gave a tender homily at Pope John Paul's funeral, and he celebrated the Mass opening the conclave.

"What may have had an impact on the cardinals was the great outpouring of affection when John Paul II died; they [may have been] convinced they should not stray too far from the mind of John Paul II. [Pope Benedict] is an affable, approachable man; the journalists here love him.

"The job makes the man. His job, for the past 24 years, has been to be the guardian of orthodoxy. Now, he moves into a much larger role: the face of Christ to the world."

(Reported by Kate Blain, assistant editor.)

(4/21/05)