An Explainer

I saw Cardinal Kasper on CNN this afternoon, and he had nothing but good things to say about B16. He spoke of him not just as a great intellect, but as a man who will be a very pastoral pope (take that, Hans!).

He also noted that the cardinals wanted to chose a man who was not only firm in the faith, but who could explain it as well, i.e. a man who could articulate the reasonable nature of Catholic doctrine not only to fellow Catholics but to the world. And that's Benedict XVI, to a tee. (Memo to those who can't stand him: read him before you condemn him.)

(You can find Kasper's quote in this AP story.)