Anyone curious about how young people are responding to Pope Benedict just hop over to Inside Catholic, where there’s a terrific piece by Elizabeth Scalia and John-Patrick Mauro on that very subject.

They look at the reaction to the pontiff at Catholic University:

For students who had known only one pope their whole lives, the ebullient showman, Pope John Paul II, this “new” and rather unassuming Benedict — just beginning the third year of his papacy — was something of a mystery to them. While those gathering were predisposed to like him and anxious to honor his office, there was also a sense of not really knowing the man beyond the “hard-line enforcer” narrative that accompanied every news story they read or heard. And so while the enthusiasm of the gathering was genuine, it was tempered with a sense of vagueness. “Other than him being the head of my church . . . I’m very much Catholic, so it’s like an American seeing the president,” said Dan. “But we don’t really know him,” someone else chimed in.

Recalling the exuberant phrase they had heard all their lives, “JPII; we love you,” — which had sprung up organically during John Paul II’s visit to New York City in 1979, before they were born — some attempted to invent a slogan of similarly lucid brevity for his successor, but between not “knowing” him and the difficulty of rhyming “Benedict,” nothing useful emerged:

“B16; like a dream” seemed silly for a “rottweiller” pope dedicated to reason.

“B16; not really mean” was deemed both defensive and lame.

“B16: won’t ordain Maureen” brought snickers and shaking heads. Um, no.

When Benedict finally did pope-mobile his way up and around the Shrine and into the campus, he was greeted enthusiastically, first by the Dominican religious (from the nearby Dominican House of Studies) and other ticket holders gathered on the basilica’s front steps, and then by the energized CUA students whose roar could be heard by those gathered inside the church. It was a cacophony of unintelligible sound; approving hoots, and assorted cheers with few yelps of “Viva Papa!” and “Yay, Pope!” While quite genuine, the enthusiasm was largely incoherent until, remembering that the pontiff turned 81 that day, the crowd broke into a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday, Holy Father.”

Treated to their first live glimpse of Benedict, most were satisfied. “He’s Peter on earth, so its amazing to have the Vicar of Christ coming to your school,” said Carolyn Berlandy, who was delighted to hold a ticket to the next day’s mass at Nationals Stadium, adding, “I’m really excited. I think it’s going to be awesome. “

Even those without a ticket looked forward to seeing Benedict again within 24 hours. Mark, who had waited for hours beside the basilica said he would do it again the next day, on the Law School lawn. “I am a young catholic in the church and it means a lot that he is the Vicar of Christ and we are here …It’s really cool [of Benedict] to come here and speak to our country about tradition.”

When asked, most students were inclined to make positive comparisons between the playfulness of John Paul II and Benedict’s quieter manner. After watching the stadium mass from a campus broadcast, Erica H., who had glimpsed his arrival at the basilica the day before mused, “there is just a warmth about him; he is not very flashy, but there is something about him that draws you to him. When he came and walked up the steps and then turned and waved to us, the whole atmosphere seemed to change.”

“Benedict’s personality shows that he is a more scholarly pope and he demonstrates the solemnity of his office,” Karl S. concurred. “He doesn’t really act like a kind of a rock star, and that’s okay, too.”

There’s a lot more to read and enjoy. Take and read.