Lucky Luciani
Peter Nichols
The new pope The new pope is the perfect man for the job. He is just what the Catholic Church needs, and the world too. But only since Sunday. I remember being in Venice and saying to some prelates over a drink near the Rialto that I thought it would be a good idea to go and see the Patriarch. Several hands flicked deprecatingly at the wrist and wry smiles told me not to bother unless! had more time than I knew what to do with in Venice. That was the first occasion on' which I missed meeting Albino Luciani before he became Pope.
Two weeks-ago I was sitting in the Vatican Gardens, in an atmosphere heavy and listless with the hot August humidity which had just helped Paul VI to his end. Gardeners were spraying the grass, and a highly informed priest was knocking Luciani decisively off his list of possible Popes: 'He has a squeaky voice. . .he was regarded as just about adequate as Bishop of Vittorio Vene, to before moving on to Venice. . .has a Knack of writing simple and comprehensible articles for the Catholic press (Which is a rare skill in Italy). . .but too simOf him.PlY Perhaps. .no foreigner has ever heard And then he was elected, as much, so he sa,ys, to his own surprise as to everybody e„me's arid we can be reasonably sure that 1,ue non-Italians took the initiative. Again, rieiere were immediate reactions of shock. A adiog personality in Venetian life niniediately after hearing the news said to `I practically had a stroke.' Informed Society looked on the Patriarch with indifference. 'He is a conservative who makes his t,`l e aPeeches quite well. . .' A comment in _.e crowd gathered to see him as he dbrarared for the first time as Pope on the cony of St. Peter's annihilated that hapfPiirlsYt incredulous smile: 'like a boy with his n On Sunday, the day after his election, he ng_PPeared for the second time on the bal`euny to bless the crowds in St. Peter's Zloare. He talked impromptu in an engagangway• He spoke with his Venetian accent d vivacity about the shock it had been to to find himself Pope. He was interr‘vil_Pte.d by storms of applause. Women kreiPt, 'a tour de force' was the comment of a th2vyledgeable British priest; 'a master of media' said an ex-Washington cor.4Pondent who watched the event on television.
how ni was his own Mark Antony, in n ever home!
Y a way, in bringing the
r„i...°crowds round from a position no '''0 ,e than of doubt and curiosity to one of stmet enthusiasm for the new man on the Rome balcony. Certainly he grasped the situation and, even more, the immense opportunities placed in his hands, reacting in just the right way to change perplexity to enthusiasm.
This is part of the secret. By its nature, the papal office and the way of reaching it have a fascination not only unique in the powers and claims it brings, but in its essential unpredictability. The system is based on choosing an elderly man who may not necessarily have had a remarkable career. Suddenly, in his maturity, he is robed in white and invested with titles which even the richest imagination cannot grasp in all their meaning: 'Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Patriarch of the West. . .' It must force out of a man his real character, shine searchlights into every corner of his mind, the bad side as well as the good — 'though good and bad, at this point, look much less distinct categories of the human personality. Of course there was a strong element of calculation. Most of the cardinals agreed that they were looking for a pastoral Pope to follow a line of three who had emerged from the papal diplomatic service. Most of them equally agreed on the necessity of another Italian Pope. These decisions excluded the Curia's own fine array of candidates — Pig nedoli, Baggio, Felici, Bertoli — and the younger non-Italians such as Hume and Pironio. The final list had three names, including Luciani's. The other two — Poletti and Poma — fell aside for perfectly logical reasons and the courageous decision was taken to put the qualities orthe office to a test, unknown certainly in this century, by voting for Luciani. It is right to see the office put to the test rather than the man. It is Luciani who will feel the effects of the sea-change which his election is capable of bringing about. This process will be intriguing to follow: what happens to the humble son of a migrant worker who suddenly find himself talking to the world in mondovision. But, apart from the theatre critic in us all; the real interest will be in watching what happens to Chris tendom as a result of the choice of Luciani. There is no reason why he should not be a perfectly good Pope. The calculations made in choosing him look sensible. His past may be undistinguished; but he has been at the head of one of Italy's largest dioceses and, more important, he is expected to share power more than any of his recent predecessors. He is undoubtedly intent on giving more reality to the doctrine of collegiality which expresses the place of the Catholic bishops throughout the world as participators in governing the Church. So much was clear from his first speech to the cardinals after his election. The effect should be a greater decentralisation. If it is logical that the world's bishops should feel entitled to fill some of the space around a Pope deliberately chosen because his personal interests are less wide than
those.Nof his three predecessors, the Curia may think the same thing. Here he has been
lucky. Almost inevitably he re-confirmed everyone in their curial offices because he knows too little about the Curia to start re-stocking it at this stage. But immediately around him he will find men who will help him without seeking to enhance their own authority. Cardinal Villot, the secretary of state, is criticised more for what he does not do than what he does. Monsignor Giuseppe Caprio, the head of the secretariat of state, has for months been attempting a process of devolution of authority within it. The Curia looks distinctly in one of the least authoritarian moods it has shown for a long time.
He himself values prudence. So much emerges not only from his behaviour but also from passages in the book, which he
published two years ago, consisting of imaginary letters to famous or legendary people. The recipients of these 'letters' first published in the Catholic newspaper Messaggero di S. Antonio of Padua vary from Pinocchio to Christopher Marlowe and Jesus Christ himself. In his letter to Bernard of Clairvaux he quotes the fiery old abbot as
saying: 'If he is prudent, let him govern' and caps this himself with: 'If he governs, let him be prudent'.
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