Reality Imitates Art for New Pope Benedict XVI

When Palisadian Gerald McLaughlin wrote ‘The Parchment,’ a recently published novel about the inner workings of the Catholic Church and the Knights Templar, he did so to intrigue and entertain readers. And while his drama plays out within a historical context, he has sacrificed historical accuracy when necessary to serve the plot. He even writes in the preface that with the exception of historical figures, any similarity to actual individuals is coincidental. Coincidental indeed. Tuesday we learned that the new pope, Cardinal Joseph Radzinger, had selected the name Benedict XVI’the same name of the pope in McLaughlin’s novel. ‘I can’t tell you psychologically why I selected that name,’ McLaughlin told the Palisadian-Post, ‘but I always liked the name Benedict and I thought that I should have a pope’s name that wasn’t current.’ McLaughlin researched the last pope of that name, Benedict XV, and discovered that he served from 1914 to 1922. In McLaughlin’s novel, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI abdicates his position as Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Roman Catholic Church. ‘His abdication was the result of advanced Alzheimer’s disease,’ says McLaughlin’s character Cardinal Agostino Marini, the camerlengo of the church. ‘Pope Benedict’s eighteen-year pontificate was a blessing not only to his church but also to the world as a whole.’ McLaughlin says that up until 1009, popes kept their birth names. ‘But that year a pope was elected whose name was Peter (Pietro Boccapecora). In deference to St. Peter, he decided to take the name of Sergius IV. ‘Often the name a pope chooses gives a signal as to the character of his papacy,’ McLaughlin said. ‘For example, Pope John Paul chose the name Paul, after St. Paul who traveled a lot. Pope John Paul XXIII was caring of people, just as was the apostle John, Jesus’ beloved disciple.’ McLaughlin adds that Pope Benedict XV’s pontificate was dominated by World War I and its aftermath. ‘He organized significant humanitarian efforts and made many unsuccessful attempts to negotiate peace.’