And, yes, he’s Catholic, too. Check out his address to the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology a few days back.

Benedict XVI urged the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology to advance research into society’s Christian roots because society needs a culture more open to spiritual realities.

In the Pope’s address Saturday to the delegation of professors and students, which was led by the institute’s grand chancellor, Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, the Pontiff wished to show “living appreciation” for the institute’s “precious and fruitful cultural, literary, and academic activity.”

The institute, the Pontiff noted, has as its principal objective “the study of the vestiges of ecclesial life throughout the centuries,” and offers the opportunity of penetrating into the complex reality of the Church of the first centuries, “to understand the past, making it present to the men of today.”

I tend to agree with the man. Read the rest.