This Sounds Good to Me

What do we need in a new pope? I was thinking yesterday about what name a new pope could take. I don't think an unending succession of John Pauls would be a good idea. The new pope should return to a traditional name. But the choice of a name indicates the orientation of the new reign. I think we need another Gregory--this would be Gregory XVII. The spirit of St. Gregory the Great is what the Church needs now. To be sure, John Paul II had it. Paul McLachlan associates Gregory with music and liturgy--think Gregorian chant--but there is more that the Church needs in his heritage. St. Gregory was a pope of renewal--he was involved with the early spread of the Benedictine Order. He was a pastoral pope--his Regula Pastoralis was the standard of pastoral theology for a thousand years; at the same time he was a pope of great learning. Most of all, he was a missionary pope. In his day, Italy was mostly occupied by the Lombards, who were partly pagan, partly Arian, whom Gregory worked to evangelize. He was inspired to begin the evangelization of England, where he sent St. Augustine, who became the first archbishop of Canterbury. We need all of these qualities now--a new pope Gregory, whoever he is. May the Lord send us one.

Henry Dieterich at A Plumbline in the Wind has a wishlist of papal qualities. I concur. Via Roz at Exultet.