Pope Benedict XVI
| Pope Benedict XVI | |
 | |
Head of the Catholic Church
| |
| In office April 19, 2005 – February 28, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | John Paul II |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Francis |
| Born | April 16, 1927 Marktl, Weimar Republic |
| Died | December 31, 2022 (age 95) Vatican City |
His Holiness Benedict XVI (Joseph Alois Ratzinger, born April 16, 1927, in Bavaria, Germany, died December 31, 2022 in Vatican City) was the Pope (2005-2013) of the Roman Catholic Church. He succeeded Pope John Paul II. On February 28, 2013, he resigned the papacy stating that his "strengths due to an advanced age are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry."[1]
Conservative on most political issues, Pope Benedict was liberal on two prior to becoming pope: evolution and capital punishment. On both issues he pushed the Roman Catholic Church leftward, the former by writing a speech that Pope John Paul II gave, and the latter by unjustifiably shifting Church doctrine against use of the death penalty.
Contents
Early life
He was born in Marktl am Inn, Germany, on April 16, 1927. As a child, he lived in Traunstein where much of his philosophy developed. Ratzinger joined the Hitler Youth in 1939 - membership being required by law - but was unenthusiastic and refused to attend meetings.[2] At the end of 1944, he was drafted into the German Army and assigned to the Traustein Garrison. He deserted in April or May 1945.[2][3] Ratzinger's father opposed Nazism.
Education
He studied at the higher School of Freising and the University of Munich, receiving a Doctor of Theology Degree in 1953.
Ordination
He was ordained to the priesthood of the Catholic Church on June 29, 1951.
Appointment to the See of Munich
Pope Paul VI appointed Father Ratzinger Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freisling on March 25, 1977.
Cardinal
He was chosen to membership in the College of Cardinals by Pope Paul VI on June 27, 1977. He was thereafter known as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. On November 25, 1981, Pope John Paul II named Cardinal Ratzinger "Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith", one of the major Curial institutions of the Holy See.
College Positions
On November 6, 1998, Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Vice-Dean of the College of Cardinals. On November 30, 2002, he was elected Dean.
Accession to the Papacy
On April 2, 2005, John Paul II passed away. Following the prescribed mourning period, the College of Cardinals was summoned to the Vatican for the Papal Conclave. Cardinal Ratzinger was widely regarded as one of the strongest candidates for election to the papacy, both for his expertise in theological matters and his reputation as a conservative. On April 19, 2005, after a prior false signal, white smoke appeared at the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, signalling the election of a new pope. There were reports that several rounds of voting were needed before Ratzinger achieved the super majority that was required.
As in the past, the Cardinal Protodeacon, Jorge Cardinal Medina Estevez, appeared on the balcony and proclaimed the following;
Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum:
Habemus Papam!
Eminentissimum ac reverendissimum Dominum,
Dominum Joseph,
Sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ Cardinalem Ratzinger,
Qui sibi nomen imposuit Benedict XVI.
(I announce to you all a great joy:
We have a pope!
A most Eminent and Reverend Lord,
Lord Joseph,
Cardinal Ratzinger, of the Holy Roman Church,
Who has imposed a name for himself: Benedict XVI.)
In April 2008, Pope Benedict XVI made his first visit to the United States. He celebrated mass in Washington, D.C. in a baseball stadium and then at the Cathedral of Saint Patrick and at Yankee Stadium in New York City. During this journey he became the first pope to visit an American synagogue.
"We need your message to reject this dictatorship of relativism and embrace a culture of justice and truth," said President George W. Bush in welcoming Benedict to the White House.
Social Networking
The Vatican has expressed its desire to communicate to the world's 1 billion Catholics via the internet. The Pope has created the website Pope2You with applications geared toward Facebook, its YouTube video channel, iPhone apps and WikiCath. Presentation of the message says,
| “ | Be sure to announce the Gospel to your contemporaries with enthusiasm. You know their fears and their hopes, their aspirations and their disappointments: the greatest gift you can give to them is to share with them the "Good News" of a God who became man, who suffered, died and rose again to save all people. | ” |
Quotes
"The collapse of the Marxist-inspired governments of Europe was for this theology of redeeming political practice a kind of twilight of the gods: precisely there where the Marxist ideology of liberation had been consistently applied, a total lack of freedom had developed, whose horrors were now laid bare before the eyes of the entire world. Wherever politics tries to be redemptive, it is promising too much. Where it wishes to do the work of God, it becomes not divine, but demonic."[4]
Works
- Truth and Tolerance: Christian Belief and World Religions, 2004
See also
External links
- The Vatican
- Personal Flag and Arms of Benedict XVI
- Pastoral Letter to the Catholics of Ireland. Regarding child sexual abuse by members of the Church.
- Full text of Pope's declaration of resignation
Footnotes
- ↑ Pope Benedict XVI resigning on Feb. 28
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://bc.edu/research/cjl/meta-elements/texts/cjrelations/topics/new_pope_defied_nazis.htm
- ↑ Blanco, Pablo. A Biography of Joseph Ratzinger.
- ↑ Truth and Tolerance: Christian Belief and World Religions
