Pope Benedict - Time Magazine's European Newsmaker "Man on a Mission"

[BarbaraTherese]

http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/article/0,13005,901051226-1142185,00.html

Time Magazine Article…

**European Newsmaker **
A Man On A Mission

After eight months on the job, Pope Benedict XVI has created a charisma all his own
By JEFF ISRAELY

Following is extract from entire text only…

But for all his learning and his sense of mission, the great surprise of Benedict’s papacy so far — at least to those who didn’t personally know him — has been a quiet humanity.
At the end of a general audience in August, the Pope had set aside time for a long line of the ill and elderly to personally greet him.
A girl, perhaps 9 or 10 years old, approached, holding her mother’s hand and gripping a teddy bear. Her hair was cut short and her face was puffy from medication. The Pope looked straight in the little girl’s eager eyes, and brushed his hand with a blessing across her forehead. And then, without missing a beat, he reached over and blessed the teddy bear in the same way. Among those for whom doctrine is key, Benedict’s unshakable convictions will earn him both fans and foes. For those of us less sure of our faith — and even those with none at all — the new Pope reminds us, simply, that a missionary’s work is never done.