Catholic Ragemonkey

Text of the speech delivered by Joseph Ratzinger, elected pope Tuesday, from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.

``Dear brothers and sisters, after the great Pope John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me - a simple, humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord.

``The fact that the Lord can work and act even with insufficient means consoles me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers.

``In the joy of the risen Lord, trusting in his permanent help, we go forward. The Lord will help us and Mary his very holy mother stands by us.''

All I can say is this. If he considers himself insufficient, I tremble to think where that puts me. Ah, yes, there is that zing of powerful teaching and conviction from the Holy Spirit I was waiting for. "Father, it's time to grow in humility!"