Ordained as apriest in 1951 in his nativeBavaria, Ratzinger embarked on an academic career and established himself as a highly regarded theologian by the late 1950s. He was appointed a full professor in 1958 at the age of 31. After a long career as a professor of theology at several German universities, he was appointedArchbishop of Munich and Freising and created acardinal byPope Paul VI in 1977, an unusual promotion for someone with little pastoral experience. In 1981, he was appointed Prefect of theCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, one of the most importantdicasteries of theRoman Curia. From 2002 until he was elected pope, he was alsoDean of the College of Cardinals. Before becoming pope, he had been "a major figure on theVatican stage for a quarter of a century"; he had had an influence "second to none when it came to setting church priorities and directions" as one ofJohn Paul II's closest confidants.[11]
On 11 February 2013, Benedict announced his (effective 28 February 2013) resignation, citing a "lack of strength of mind and body" due to his advanced age. His resignation was the first by a pope sinceGregory XII in 1415, and the first without external pressure sinceCelestine V in 1294. He was succeeded byFrancis on 13 March 2013 and moved into the newly renovatedMater Ecclesiae Monastery in Vatican City for his retirement. In addition to his native German language, Benedict had some level of proficiency in French, Italian, English, and Spanish. He also knewPortuguese, Latin,Biblical Hebrew, andBiblical Greek.[19][20][21] He was a member of severalsocial science academies, such as the FrenchAcadémie des Sciences Morales et Politiques.
The birthplace of Joseph Alois Ratzinger inMarktl, Bavaria
Joseph Alois Ratzinger was born on 16 April,Holy Saturday, 1927 at Schulstraße 11 at 8:30 in the morning in his parents' home inMarktl, Bavaria, Germany. He wasbaptised the same day. He was the third and youngest child of Joseph Ratzinger Sr., a police officer, and Maria Ratzinger (née Peintner); his grand-uncle was the German priest-politicianGeorg Ratzinger. His mother's family was originally fromSouth Tyrol (now in Italy).[22] Benedict's elder brother,Georg, became aCatholic priest and was the former director of theRegensburger Domspatzen choir.[23] His sister, Maria, who never married, managed her brother Joseph's household until she died in 1991.[24]
At the age of five, Ratzinger was in a group of children who welcomed the visiting Cardinal Archbishop of Munich,Michael von Faulhaber, with flowers. Struck by the cardinal's distinctive garb, he announced later that day that he wanted to be acardinal. He attended the elementary school inAschau am Inn, which was renamed in his honour in 2009.[25] In 1939, aged 12, he enrolled in aminor seminary inTraunstein.[26] This period lasted until the seminary was closed for military use in 1942, and the students were all sent home. Ratzinger returned to Traunstein.[27]
Ratzinger's family, especially his father, bitterly resented theNazis, and his father's opposition to Nazism resulted in demotions and harassment of the family.[28] Following his 14th birthday in 1941, Ratzinger was conscripted into theHitler Youth – as membership was required by law for all 14-year-old German boys after March 1939[29] – but was an unenthusiastic member who refused to attend meetings, according to his brother.[30] In 1941, one of Ratzinger's cousins, a 14-year-old boy withDown syndrome, was taken away by the Nazi regime and murdered during theAktion T4 campaign ofNazi eugenics.[31] In 1943, while still in seminary, he was drafted into the German anti-aircraft corps asLuftwaffenhelfer.[30] Ratzinger then trained in the German infantry.[32] As the Allied front drew closer to his post in 1945, he deserted back to his family's home in Traunstein after his unit had ceased to exist, just as American troops established a headquarters in the Ratzinger household.[33] As a German soldier, he wasinterned in USprisoner of war camps, first in Neu-Ulm, then at Fliegerhorst ("military airfield") Bad Aibling (shortly to be repurposed asBad Aibling Station) where he was at the time ofVictory in Europe Day, and released on 19 June 1945.[34][33]
Ratzinger and his brother Georg entered Saint Michael Seminary in Traunstein in November 1945, later studying at theDucal Georgianum (Herzogliches Georgianum) of theLudwig Maximilian University in Munich. They were both ordained inFreising on 29 June 1951 by Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber of Munich – the same man Ratzinger had met as a child. He recalled: "at the moment the elderly Archbishop laid his hands on me, a little bird – perhaps a lark – flew up from the altar in the high cathedral and trilled a little joyful song".[35] He celebrated his first Mass later that summer in Traunstein, at St. Oswald's Church.[36]
Ratzinger's 1953 dissertation was onAugustine of Hippo and was titledThe People and the House of God in Augustine's Doctrine of the Church. Hishabilitation (which qualified him for a professorship) was onBonaventure. It was completed in 1957 and he became a professor at Freising College in 1958.[37]
In his early twenties, Ratzinger was deeply influenced by the thought of Italian German philosopherRomano Guardini,[38] who taught inMunich from 1946 to 1951 when Ratzinger was studying in Freising and later at theUniversity of Munich. The intellectual affinity between these two thinkers, who would later become decisive figures for thetwentieth-century Catholic Church, was preoccupied with rediscovering the essentials of Christianity: Guardini wrote his 1938The Essence of Christianity, while Ratzinger pennedIntroduction to Christianity, three decades later in 1968. Guardini inspired many in the Catholic social-democratic tradition, particularly theCommunion and Liberation movement in theNew Evangelization encouraged under the papacy of the PolishPope John Paul II. Ratzinger wrote an introduction to a 1996 reissue of Guardini's 1954The Lord.[39]
In 1966, Ratzinger was appointed to a chair in dogmatic theology at theUniversity of Tübingen, where he was a colleague of Hans Küng. In his 1968 bookIntroduction to Christianity, he wrote that the pope has a duty to hear differing voices within the Church before making a decision, and he downplayed the centrality of the papacy. During this time, he distanced himself from the atmosphere of Tübingen and theMarxist leanings of the student movement of the 1960s that quickly radicalized, in the years 1967 and 1968, culminating in a series of disturbances and riots in April and May 1968. Ratzinger came increasingly to see these and associated developments (such as decreasing respect for authority among his students) as connected to a departure from traditional Catholic teachings.[44] Despite his reformist bent, his views increasingly came to contrast with the liberal ideas gaining currency in theological circles.[45] He was invited by Rev.Theodore Hesburgh to join the theology faculty at theUniversity of Notre Dame, but declined on grounds that his English was not good enough.[46]
Some voices, among them Küng, deemed this period in Ratzinger's life a turn towards conservatism, while Ratzinger himself said in a 1993 interview, "I see no break in my views as a theologian [over the years]".[47] Ratzinger continued to defend the work of the Second Vatican Council, includingNostra aetate, the document on respect of other religions,ecumenism, and the declaration of the right tofreedom of religion. Later, as thePrefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Ratzinger most clearly spelled out the Catholic Church's position on other religions in the 2000 documentDominus Iesus which also talks about the Catholic way to engage in "ecumenical dialogue". During his time at Tübingen University, Ratzinger published articles in the reformist theological journalConcilium, though he increasingly chose less reformist themes than other contributors such as Küng and Schillebeeckx.[48]
In 1969, Ratzinger returned toBavaria, to theUniversity of Regensburg and co-founded the theological journalCommunio, withHans Urs von Balthasar,Henri de Lubac,Walter Kasper, and others, in 1972.Communio, now published in seventeen languages, including German, English, and Spanish, has become a prominent journal of contemporary Catholic theological thought. Until he was elected pope, he remained one of the journal's most prolific contributors. In 1976, he suggested that theAugsburg Confession might be recognised as a Catholic statement of faith.[49][50] Several of Benedict's former students became his confidantes, notablyChristoph Schönborn, and a number of his former students sometimes meet for discussions.[51][52] He served as vice-president of the University of Regensburg from 1976 to 1977.[53] On 26 May 1976, he was appointed aPrelate of Honour of His Holiness.[54]
On 24 March 1977, Ratzinger was appointedArchbishop of Munich and Freising, and was ordained abishop on 28 May. He took as his episcopal mottoCooperatores veritatis (Latin for 'cooperators of the truth'),[55] from theThird Epistle of John,[56] a choice on which he commented in his autobiographical workMilestones.[57]
Ratzinger defended and reaffirmed Catholic doctrine, including teaching on topics such asbirth control, homosexuality, and inter-religious dialogue. The theologianLeonardo Boff, for example, was suspended, while others such asMatthew Fox were censured. Other issues also prompted condemnations or revocations of rights to teach: for instance, some posthumous writings ofJesuit priestAnthony de Mello were the subject of anotification. Ratzinger and the congregation viewed many of them, particularly the later works, as having an element ofreligious indifferentism (in other words, that Christ was "one master alongside others"). In particular,Dominus Iesus, published by the congregation in the jubilee year 2000, reaffirmed many recently "unpopular" ideas, including the Catholic Church's position that "salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." The document angered many Protestant churches by claiming that they are not churches, but "ecclesial communities".[61]
Ratzinger's 2001 letterDe delictis gravioribus clarified the confidentiality of internal church investigations, as defined in the 1962 documentCrimen sollicitationis, into accusations made against priests of certain crimes, includingsexual abuse. This became a subject of controversy during thesex abuse cases.[62] For 20 years, Ratzinger had been the man in charge of enforcing the document.[63]
While bishops hold the secrecy pertained only internally, and did not preclude investigation by civil law enforcement, the letter was often seen as promoting a coverup.[64] Later, as pope, he was accused in a lawsuit of conspiring to cover up the molestation of three boys inTexas, but sought and obtaineddiplomatic immunity from liability.[65]
On 12 March 1983, Ratzinger, as prefect, notified the lay faithful and the clergy that ArchbishopPierre Martin Ngô Đình Thục had incurredexcommunicationlatae sententiae forillicit episcopal consecrations without the apostolic mandate. It is reported that in 1997, when he turned 70, Ratzinger asked Pope John PaulII for permission to leave the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith and to become instead the head of theVatican Secret Archives and of theVatican Library, but John Paul refused his assent.[66][67]
In April 2005, before his election as pope, Ratzinger was identified as one of the100 most influential people in the world byTime.[69] While Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Ratzinger repeatedly stated he would like to retire to his house in the Bavarian village ofPentling nearRegensburg and dedicate himself to writing books.[70]
At thepapal conclave, "it was, if not Ratzinger, who? And as they came to know him, the question became, why not Ratzinger?"[71][72] On 19 April 2005, he was elected on the second day after four ballots.[71] CardinalCormac Murphy-O'Connor described the final vote, "It's very solemn when you go up one by one to put your vote in the urn and you're looking up at theLast Judgement ofMichelangelo. And I still remember vividly the then Cardinal Ratzinger sitting on the edge of his chair."[73] Ratzinger had hoped to retire peacefully and said that "At a certain point, I prayed to God 'please don't do this to me'...Evidently, this time He didn't listen to me."[74]
The day following Ratzinger's election, the German newspaperBild ran what would become one of its most iconic headlines in response to the announcement of the prior day,Wir Sind Papst (We are (the) Pope).[75]
At the balcony, Benedict's first words to the crowd, given in Italian before he gave the traditionalUrbi et Orbi blessing in Latin, were:
Dear brothers and sisters, after the great Pope John PaulII, the Cardinals have elected me, a simple, humble labourer in the vineyard of the Lord. The fact that the Lord knows how to work and to act even with insufficient instruments comforts me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers. In the joy of the Risen Lord, confident of his unfailing help, let us move forward. The Lord will help us, and Mary, His Most Holy Mother, will be on our side. Thank you.[76]
BenedictXVI chose hispapal name, which comes from the Latin word meaning "the blessed", in honour of bothBenedict XV andBenedict of Nursia.[79] BenedictXV was pope during the First World War, during which time he passionately pursued peace between the warring nations. St. Benedict of Nursia was the founder of theBenedictine monasteries (most monasteries of the Middle Ages were of the Benedictine order) and the author of theRule of Saint Benedict, which is still the most influential writing regarding the monastic life ofWestern Christianity. The Pope explained his choice of name during his first general audience in St. Peter's Square, on 27 April 2005:
Filled with sentiments of awe and thanksgiving, I wish to speak of why I chose the name Benedict. Firstly, I remember Pope BenedictXV, that courageous prophet of peace, who guided the Church through turbulent times of war. In his footsteps, I place my ministry in the service of reconciliation and harmony between peoples. Additionally, I recall Saint Benedict of Nursia, co-patron of Europe, whose life evokes the Christian roots of Europe. I ask him to help us all to hold firm to the centrality of Christ in our Christian life: May Christ always take first place in our thoughts and actions![80]
Benedict's first trip in apopemobile, 2005Benedict in his Mercedes-Benz-M-Class popemobile in the Marian pilgrimage site of Etzelsbach, 2011
During Benedict's inaugural Mass, the previous custom of every cardinal submitting to the pope was replaced by being greeted by twelve people, including cardinals, clergy, religious, a married couple and their child, and some who were newlyconfirmed people; the cardinals had formally sworn their obedience upon the election of the new pontiff. He began using an open-toppedpapal car, saying that he wanted to be closer to the people. Benedict continued the tradition of his predecessor John PaulII and baptised several infants in theSistine Chapel at the beginning of each year, on theFeast of the Baptism of the Lord, in his pastoral role asBishop of Rome.[81]
During his pontificate, BenedictXVI beatified 870 people. On 9 May 2005, BenedictXVI began thebeatification process for his predecessor, Pope John PaulII. Normally, five years must pass after a person's death before the beatification process can begin. However, in an audience with Benedict,Camillo Ruini, vicar general of theDiocese of Rome and the official responsible for promoting thecause for canonization of any person who dies within that diocese, cited "exceptional circumstances" which suggested that the waiting period could be waived. (This had happened before, when Pope PaulVI waived the five-year rule and announced beatification processes for two of his own predecessors,Pope Pius XII andPope John XXIII. BenedictXVI followed this precedent when he waived the five-year rule for John PaulII.[82]) The decision was announced on 13 May 2005, the Feast ofOur Lady of Fátima and the 24th anniversary of the attempt on John PaulII's life.[83] John PaulII often credited Our Lady of Fátima for preserving him on that day. Cardinal Ruini inaugurated the diocesan phase of the cause for beatification in the Lateran Basilica on 28 June 2005.[84]
Unlike his predecessor, Benedict delegated the beatification liturgical service to a cardinal. On 29 September 2005, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints issued a communiqué announcing that henceforth beatifications would be celebrated by a representative of the pope, usually the prefect of that Congregation.[87]
As pope, one of Benedict's main roles was to teach about the Catholic faith and the solutions to the problems of discerning and living the faith,[104] a role that he could play well as a former head of the Church's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.(The main points of emphasis of his teachings are stated in more detail inTheology of Pope Benedict XVI.)
After his firsthomily as pope, Benedict referred to both Jesus Christ and John PaulII. Citing John PaulII's well-known words, "Do not be afraid! Open wide the doors for Christ!", Benedict said:
Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to Him, are we not afraid that He might take something away from us? ... And once again the Pope said: No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful, and great. No! Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation. ... When we give ourselves to Him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life.[105]
"Friendship with Jesus Christ" was a frequent theme of Benedict's preaching.[106][107] He stressed that on this intimate friendship, "everything depends".[108] He also said: "We are all called to open ourselves to this friendship with God ... speaking to Him as to a friend, the only One who can make the world both good and happy ... That is all we have to do is put ourselves at His disposal ... is an extremely important message. It is a message that helps to overcome what can be considered the great temptation of our time: the claim, that after theBig Bang, God withdrew from history."[109] Thus, in his bookJesus of Nazareth, his main purpose was "to help foster [in the reader] the growth of a living relationship" with Jesus Christ.[108] He took up this theme in his first encyclicalDeus caritas est. In his explanation and summary of the encyclical, he stated: "If friendship with God becomes for us something ever more important and decisive, then we will begin to love those whom God loves and who are in need of us. God wants us to be friends of His friends and we can be so, if we are interiorly close to them."[110] Thus, he said that prayer is "urgently needed ... It is time to reaffirm the importance of prayer in the face of the activism and the growing secularism of many Christians engaged in charitable work."[111]
Continuing what he said in the pre-conclave Mass about what he often referred to as the "central problem of our faith today",[112] on 6 June 2005, Benedict also said:
Today, a particularly insidious obstacle to the task of education is the massive presence in our society and culture of that relativism which, recognising nothing as definitive, leaves as the ultimate criterion only the self with its desires. And under the semblance of freedom it becomes a prison for each one, for it separates people from one another, locking each person into his or her own ego.[113]
Benedict said that "a dictatorship of relativism"[114] was the core challenge facing the Church and humanity. At the root of this problem, he said, isImmanuel Kant's "self-limitation of reason". This, he said, is contradictory to the modern acclamation of science whose excellence is based on the power of reason to know the truth. He said that this self-amputation of reason leads to pathologies of religion such as terrorism and pathologies of science such asecological disasters.[115] Benedict traced the failed revolutions and violent ideologies of the 20th century to a conversion of partial points of view into absolute guides. He said "Absolutizing what is not absolute but relative is called totalitarianism."[116]
In the discussion withsecularism andrationalism, one of Benedict's basic ideas can be found in his address on the "Crisis of Culture" in the West, a day before Pope John PaulII died, when he referred to Christianity as the "religion of theLogos" (the Greek for "word", "reason", "meaning", or "intelligence"). He said:
From the beginning, Christianity has understood itself as the religion of theLogos, as the religion according to reason ... It has always defined men, all men without distinction, as creatures and images of God, proclaiming for them ... the same dignity. In this connection,the Enlightenment is of Christian origin and it is no accident that it was born precisely and exclusively in the realm of the Christian faith. ... It was and is the merit of the Enlightenment to have again proposed these original values of Christianity and of having given back to reason its own voice ... Today, this should be precisely [Christianity's] philosophical strength, in so far as the problem is whether the world comes from the irrational, and reason is not other than a 'sub-product,' on occasion even harmful of its development – or whether the world comes from reason, and is, as a consequence, its criterion and goal ... In the so necessary dialogue between secularists and Catholics, we Christians must be very careful to remain faithful to this fundamental line: to live a faith that comes from theLogos, from creative reason, and that, because of this, is also open to all that is truly rational.[117]
Benedict also emphasised that "Only creative reason, which in the crucified God is manifested as love, can really show us the way."[117]
In his first encyclical,Deus caritas est, he said that a human being, created in the image of God who is love, can practise love: to give himself to God and others (agape) by receiving and experiencing God's love in contemplation. This life of love, according to him, is the life of the saints such asTeresa of Calcutta and theBlessed Virgin Mary, and is the direction Christians take when they believe that God loves them in Jesus Christ.[118] The encyclical contains almost 16,000 words in 42 paragraphs. The first half is said to have been written by Benedict in German, his first language, in the summer of 2005; the second half is derived from uncompleted writings left by his predecessor, Pope John PaulII.[119] The document was signed by Benedict on Christmas Day, 25 December 2005.[120] The encyclical was promulgated a month later in Latin and was translated into English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, and Spanish. It is the first encyclical to be published since the Vatican decided to assertcopyright in the official writings of the pope.[121]
Benedict's second encyclical titledSpe Salvi ("Saved by Hope"), about the virtue ofhope, was released on 30 November 2007.[122][123]
His third encyclical titledCaritas in veritate ("Love in Truth" or "Charity in Truth"), was signed on 29 June 2009 (the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul) and released on 7 July 2009.[124] In it, the Pope continued the Church's teachings on social justice. He condemned the prevalent economic system "where the pernicious effects of sin are evident," and called on people to rediscover ethics in business and economic relations.[124]
At the time of his resignation, Benedict had completed a draft of a fourth encyclical entitledLumen fidei ("The Light of Faith"),[125] intended to accompany his first two encyclicals to complete a trilogy on the threetheological virtues offaith,hope, andlove. Benedict's successor,Francis, completed and publishedLumen Fidei in June 2013, four months after Benedict's retirement and Francis's succession. Although the encyclical is officially the work of Francis, paragraph 7 of the encyclical explicitly expresses Francis's debt to Benedict: "These considerations on faith – in continuity with all that the Church'smagisterium has pronounced on this theological virtue – are meant to supplement what BenedictXVI had written in his encyclical letters on charity and hope. He himself had almost completed a first draft of an encyclical on faith. For this I am deeply grateful to him, and as his brother in Christ I have taken up his fine work and added a few contributions of my own."[126]
Sacramentum caritatis (The Sacrament of Charity), signed 22 February 2007, was released in Latin, Italian, English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, and Polish. It was made available in various languages on 13 March 2007 in Rome. The English edition ofLibera Editrice Vaticana is 158 pages. Thisapostolic exhortation "seeks to take up the richness and variety of the reflections and proposals which emerged from the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops" which was held in 2006.[127]
On 7 July 2007, Benedict issued themotu proprio Summorum Pontificum, declaring that upon "the request of the faithful", the celebration ofMass according to theMissal of 1962 (of theTridentine Mass), was to be more easily permitted. Stable groups who previously had to petition their bishop to have a Tridentine Mass may now merely request permission from their local priest.[128] WhileSummorum Pontificum directs that pastors should provide the Tridentine Mass upon the requests of the faithful, it also allows for any qualified priest to offer private celebrations of the Tridentine Mass, to which the faithful may be admitted if they wish.[129] For regularly scheduled public celebrations of the Tridentine Mass, the permission of the priest in charge of the church is required.[130]
In an accompanying letter, the Pope outlined his position concerning questions about the new guidelines.[129] As there were fears that the move would entail a reversal of the Second Vatican Council,[131] Benedict emphasised that the Tridentine Mass would not detract from the council and that theMass of Paul VI would still be the norm and priests were not permitted to refuse to say the Mass in that form. He pointed out that the use of Tridentine Mass "was never juridically abrogated and, consequently, in principle, was always permitted."[129] The letter also decried "deformations of theliturgy ... because in many places celebrations were not faithful to the prescriptions of the new Missal" as the Second Vatican Council was wrongly seen "as authorising or even requiring creativity", mentioning his own experience.[129]
The Pope considered that allowing the Tridentine Mass to those who request it was a means to prevent or healschism, stating that, on occasions in history, "not enough was done by the Church's leaders to maintain or regain reconciliation and unity" and that this "imposes an obligation on us today: to make every effort to enable for all those who truly desire unity to remain in that unity or to attain it anew."[129] CardinalDarío Castrillón Hoyos, the president of thePontifical Commission established to facilitate full ecclesial communion of those associated with that Society,[132] stated that the decree "opened the door for their return". BishopBernard Fellay, superior general of the SSPX, expressed "deep gratitude to the Sovereign Pontiff for this great spiritual benefit".[128]
In July 2021, Pope Francis issued theapostolic letter titledTraditionis custodes, which substantially reversed the decision of BenedictXVI inSummorum Pontificum and imposed new and broad restrictions on the use of theTraditional Latin Mass. The decision was controversial and widely criticized by conservative andtraditionalist Catholics as lacking in charity and an attack on those attached to the liturgical patrimony of the Church.[133][134]
Unicity and salvific universality of the Catholic Church
Near the end of June 2007, theCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a document approved by BenedictXVI "because some contemporary theological interpretations ofVatican II's ecumenical intent had been 'erroneous or ambiguous' and had prompted confusion and doubt." The document has been seen as restating "key sections of a 2000 text the pope wrote when he was prefect of the congregation,Dominus Iesus."[135]
Benedict condemned excessiveconsumerism, especially among youth. He stated in December 2007 that "[A]dolescents, youths and even children are easy victims of the corruption of love, deceived by unscrupulous adults who, lying to themselves and to them, draw them into the dead-end streets of consumerism."[136] In June 2009, he blamed outsourcing for the greater availability of consumer goods which lead to the downsizing ofsocial security systems.[137]
Benedict on a throne in theApostolic Palace in the Vatican, 2011
Speaking at his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square on 7 June 2006, Benedict asserted that Jesus himself had entrusted the leadership of the Church to his apostlePeter. "Peter's responsibility thus consists of guaranteeing the communion with Christ. Let us pray so that theprimacy of Peter, entrusted to poor human beings, may always be exercised in this original sense desired by the Lord, so that it will be increasingly recognised in its true meaning by brothers who are still not incommunion with us."[138]
Also in 2006, Benedict met theAnglicanArchbishop of Canterbury,Rowan Williams. In their Common Declaration, they highlighted the previous 40 years of dialogue between Catholics and Anglicans while also acknowledging "serious obstacles to our ecumenical progress".[139]
When Benedict ascended to the papacy, his election was welcomed by theAnti-Defamation League who noted "his great sensitivity to Jewish history and theHolocaust".[145] However, his election received a more reserved response fromBritish Chief RabbiJonathan Sacks, who hoped that Benedict would "continue along the path of Pope JohnXXIII and Pope John PaulII in working to enhance relations with the Jewish people and theState of Israel."[146] Israeli foreign ministerSilvan Shalom also offered tentative praise, though Shalom believed that "this Pope, considering his historical experience, will be especially committed to an uncompromising fight againstanti-Semitism."[146]
Benedict's relations with Islam were strained at times. On 12 September 2006, he delivereda lecture which touched on Islam at the University of Regensburg in Germany. He had served there as a professor of theology before becoming Pope, and his lecture was entitled "Faith, Reason and the University – Memories and Reflections". The lecture received much attention from political and religious authorities. ManyIslamic politicians and religious leaders registered their protest against what they labelled an insulting mischaracterization of Islam, although his focus was aimed towards the rationality of religious violence, and its effect on the religion.[157][158] Muslims were particularly offended by a passage that the Pope quoted in his speech: "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."[158]
The passage originally appeared in theDialogue Held with a Certain Persian, the Worthy Mouterizes, in Anakara of Galatia[159] written in 1391 as an expression of the views of theByzantine emperorManuel II Palaeologus, one of the last Christian rulers before theFall of Constantinople to the MuslimOttoman Empire, on such issues asforced conversion,holy war, and the relationship betweenfaith andreason. According to the German text, the Pope's original comment was that the emperor "addresses his interlocutor in an astoundingly harsh – to us surprisingly harsh – way"(wendet er sich in erstaunlich schroffer, uns überraschend schroffer Form).[160] Benedict apologized for any offence he had caused and made a point of visitingTurkey, a predominantly Muslim country, and praying in itsBlue Mosque. Benedict planned on 5 March 2008, to meet with Muslim scholars and religious leaders autumn 2008 at a Catholic-Muslim seminar in Rome.[161] That meeting, the "First Meeting of theCatholic-Muslim Forum," was held from 4–6 November 2008.[162] On 9 May 2009, Benedict visited the King Hussein Mosque inAmman, Jordan where he was addressed byPrince Ghazi bin Muhammad.[163]
TheDalai Lama congratulated BenedictXVI upon his election,[164] and visited him in October 2006 in Vatican City. In 2007, the People's Republic of China was accused of using its political influence to stop a meeting between the Pope and the Dalai Lama.[165]
While visiting Brazil in May 2007, "the pope sparked controversy by saying that native populations had been 'silently longing' for the Christian faith brought to South America by colonizers."[166] The Pope continued, stating that "the proclamation of Jesus and of his Gospel did not at any point involve an alienation of thepre-Columbus cultures, nor was it the imposition of a foreign culture."[166] Venezuelan presidentHugo Chávez demanded an apology, and an indigenous organization in Ecuador issued a response which stated that "representatives of the Catholic Church of those times, with honourable exceptions, were accomplices, deceivers and beneficiaries of one of the most horrific genocides of all humanity."[166] Later, the Pope, speaking Italian, said at a weekly audience that it was "not possible to forget the suffering and the injustices inflicted by colonizers against the indigenous population, whose fundamental human rights were often trampled" but made no apology.[167]
As pontiff, Benedict carried out numerous Apostolic activities, including journeys in Italy and across the world.
Benedict travelled extensively during the first three years of his papacy. In addition to his travels within Italy, he made two visits to his homeland, Germany, one forWorld Youth Day and another to visit the towns of his childhood. He also visited Poland and Spain, where he was enthusiastically received.[173] His visit to Turkey, an overwhelmingly Muslim nation, was initially overshadowed by the controversy about a lecture he had given at Regensburg. His visit was met by nationalist and Islamic protesters[174] and was placed under unprecedented security measures.[175] Benedict made a joint declaration withEcumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I in an attempt to begin to heal the rift between the Catholic andEastern Orthodox churches.[176]
In 2007, Benedict visited Brazil to address the Bishops' Conference there and canonize Friar Antônio Galvão, an 18th-centuryFranciscan. In June 2007, Benedict made a personalpilgrimage and pastoral visit toAssisi, the birthplace ofSt. Francis. In September, Benedict undertook a three-day visit to Austria,[177] during which he joined Vienna'schief rabbi, Paul Chaim Eisenberg, in a memorial to the 65,000Viennese Jews who perished in Nazi death camps.[178] During his stay in Austria, he also celebrated Mass at the Marian shrineMariazell and visitedHeiligenkreuz Abbey.[179]
In April 2008, Benedict made hisfirst visit to the United States since becoming pope.[180] He arrived in Washington, D.C., where he was formally received at theWhite House andmet privately with US presidentGeorge W. Bush.[181] While in Washington, the pope addressed representatives of US Catholic universities, met with leaders of other world religions, and celebrated Mass at the Washington Nationals'baseball stadium with 47,000 people.[182] The Pope also met privately with victims of sexual abuse by priests. The Pope travelled to New York City where he addressed theUnited Nations General Assembly.[183] Also while in New York, the Pope celebrated Mass atSt. Patrick's Cathedral, met with disabled children and their families, and attended an event for Catholic youth, where he addressed some 25,000 young people in attendance.[184] On the final day of the Pope's visit, he visited theWorld Trade Center site and later celebrated Mass atYankee Stadium.[185]
In July 2008, the Pope travelled to Australia to attendWorld Youth Day 2008 inSydney. On 19 July, inSt. Mary's Cathedral, he made an apology for child sex abuse perpetrated by the clergy in Australia.[186][187] On 13 September 2008, at an outdoor Paris Mass attended by 250,000 people, Benedict condemned the modernmaterialism – the world's love of power, possessions, and money as a modern-day plague, comparing it topaganism.[188][189] In 2009, he visited Africa (Cameroon andAngola) for the first time as pope. During his visit, he suggested that altering sexual behaviour was the answer toAfrica's AIDS crisis and urged Catholics to reach out and convert believers insorcery.[190] He visited the Middle East (Jordan, Israel, andPalestine) in May 2009.
Benedict's main arena for pastoral activity was the Vatican itself, his Christmas and Easter homilies and Urbi et Orbi were delivered fromSt. Peter's Basilica. The Vatican is also the only regular place where Benedict travelled via motor without the protective bulletproof case common to most popemobiles. Despite the more secure setting, Benedict was victim to security risks several times inside Vatican City. On Wednesday, 6 June 2007, during his General Audience, a man leapt across a barrier, evaded guards, and nearly mounted the Pope's vehicle, although he was stopped and Benedict seemed to be unaware of the event. On Thursday, 24 December 2009, while Benedict was proceeding to the altar to celebrate Christmas Eve Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, a woman later identified as 25-year-oldSusanna Maiolo, who holds Italian and Swiss citizenship, jumped the barrier and grabbed the Pope by hisvestments and pulled him to the ground. The 82-year-old Benedict fell but was assisted to his feet and he continued to proceed toward the altar to celebrate Mass.Roger Etchegaray, the vice-dean of the College of Cardinals, fell as well and suffered a hip fracture. Italian police reported that Maiolo had in a prior action attempted to accost Benedict at the previous Christmas Eve Mass, but was prevented from doing so.[191][192]
In his homily, Benedict forgave Susanna Maiolo[193] and urged the world to "wake up" from selfishness and petty affairs, and find time for God and spiritual matters.[191]
Between 17 and 18 April 2010, Benedict made an Apostolic Journey to the Republic of Malta. Following meetings with various dignitaries on his first day on the island, 50,000 people gathered in adrizzle for Papal Mass on the granaries inFloriana. The Pope also met with theMaltese youth at theValletta Waterfront, where an estimated 10,000 young people turned up to greet him.[194]
Prior to 2001, the primary responsibility for investigating allegations of sexual abuse and disciplining perpetrators rested with the individual dioceses. In 2001, Ratzinger convinced John PaulII to put the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in charge of all sexual abuse investigations.[195][196] According toJohn L. Allen Jr., Ratzinger in the following years "acquired a familiarity with the contours of the problem that virtually no other figure in the Catholic Church can claim. Driven by that encounter with what he would later refer to as 'filth' in the Church, Ratzinger seems to have undergone something of a 'conversion experience' throughout 2003–04. From that point forward, he and his staff seemed driven by a convert's zeal to clean up the mess."[197]
CardinalVincent Nichols wrote that in his role as head of the CDF "[Ratzinger] led important changes made in church law: the inclusion in canon law of internet offences against children, the extension of child abuse offences to include the sexual abuse of all under 18, the case by case waiving of thestatute of limitation and the establishment of a fast-track dismissal from the clerical state for offenders."[198] According toCharles J. Scicluna, a former prosecutor handling sexual abuse cases, "Cardinal Ratzinger displayed great wisdom and firmness in handling those cases, also demonstrating great courage in facing some of the most difficult and thorny cases,sine acceptione personarum [without respect of persons]".[199] According to Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Ratzinger "made entirely clear efforts not to cover things up but to tackle and investigate them. This was not always met with approval in the Vatican".[195][200] Ratzinger had pressed John PaulII to investigateHans Hermann Groër, an Austrian cardinal and friend of John Paul accused of sexual abuse, which resulted in Groër's resignation.[201]
In March 2010, Benedict sent a pastoral letter to the Catholic Church in Ireland addressing cases of sexual abuse by priests of minors, expressing sorrow and promising changes in the way in which accusations of abuse were addressed.[202] Victims' groups claimed the letter failed to clarify if secular law enforcement had priority over canon law confidentiality regarding internal investigation of abuse allegations.[203][204][205] The Pope then promised to introduce measures that would "safeguard young people in the future" and "bring to justice" priests who were responsible for abuse and the next month the Vatican issued guidelines on how existing church law should be implemented. The guidelines asserted that "Civil law concerning reporting of crimes ... should always be followed."[206][207]
Despite being more proactive than his predecessor in addressing sexual abuse, Benedict was nonetheless cited as failing to do so on more than one occasion. In January 2022, a report written by German law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl and commissioned by the Catholic Church concluded that Cardinal Ratzinger failed to adequately take action against clerics in four cases of alleged abuse while he was Archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1977 to 1982. The pope emeritus denied the accusations.[208][209][210] Benedict corrected his former statement that he had not been at a meeting of the ordinariate of theArchdiocese of Munich and Freising in January 1980, saying he mistakenly told German investigators he was not there. However, the error was "not done out of bad faith", but "the result of an error in the editorial processing" of his statement. According toReuters, lawyer Martin Pusch said that "in a total of four cases, we have come to the conclusion that the then Archbishop Cardinal Ratzinger can be accused of misconduct in cases of sexual abuse."[211][212]
In February 2022, Benedict admitted that errors were made in the treating of sexual abuse cases when he was Archbishop of Munich. According to the letter released by the Vatican, he asked forgiveness for any "grievous fault" but denied personal wrongdoing. Benedict stated: "I have had great responsibilities in the Catholic Church. All the greater is my pain for the abuses and the errors that occurred in those different places during the time of my mandate."[213] Public prosecutor's office in Munich had begun investigations as a result of the 2022 report against both Benedict andCardinal Friedrich Wetter. The investigation was "discontinued" in March 2023 after it "did not reveal sufficient suspicion of criminal activity". The case of the investigation "was not acts of abuse committed by the Church personnel managers themselves, but possible acts of aiding and abetting by active action or omission".[214]
One of the cases Ratzinger pursued involvedMarcial Maciel, a Mexican priest and founder of theLegionaries of Christ who had been accused repeatedly of sexual abuse. Biographer Andrea Tornielli suggested that Cardinal Ratzinger had wanted to take action against Maciel but that John PaulII and other high-ranking officials, including several cardinals and the Pope's influential secretaryStanisław Dziwisz, prevented him from doing so.[196][201]
According toJason Berry, CardinalAngelo Sodano "pressured" Ratzinger, who was "operating on the assumption that the charges were not justified", to halt the proceedings against Maciel in 1999.[215] When Maciel was honoured by the Pope in 2004, new accusers came forward[215] and Cardinal Ratzinger "took it on himself to authorize an investigation of Maciel".[196] After Ratzinger became pope, he began proceedings against Maciel and the Legion of Christ that forced Maciel out of active service in the Church.[195] On 1 May 2010, the Vatican issued a statement denouncing "the most serious and objectively immoral behaviour of Father Maciel, confirmed by incontrovertible witnesses, which amount to true crimes and show a life deprived of scruples and authentic religious feeling."[216]
In November 2020, the Vatican published a report blaming Popes John PaulII and BenedictXVI for allowing defrocked former cardinalTheodore McCarrick to rise in power despite the fact that they both knew of sex abuse allegations against him.[217][218] Despite the fact that Benedict pressured McCarrick to resign as Archbishop of Washington D.C. in 2006, McCarrick remained very active in ministry throughout Benedict's papacy and even made a very public appearance when he presided over US senatorTed Kennedy's burial service at Arlington National Cemetery in 2009.[217][218][219]
In 2019, Benedict released a 6,000-word letter that attributed the Church's sexual abuse crisis to an erosion of morality driven bysecularization and thesexual revolution of the 1960s.[220] The letter was in sharp contrast to the viewpoint of his successor, Francis, who saw the issue as a byproduct of abuses of power within the Church's hierarchical structure.[220]The New York Times later reported that "given his frail health at the time, however, many church watchers questioned whether Benedict had indeed written the letter or had been manipulated to issue it as a way to undercut Francis."[221]
Upon Benedict's death, his efforts to combat sexual abuse in the Church were remembered with mixed reactions, in particular by victims' groups. Francesco Zanardi, founder of the Italian victims' groupRete l'Abuso stated that "Ratzinger was less communicative than Francis but he moved" in the right direction, and that he was the first pontiff to effectively do so.[222] Anne Barrett Doyle, a co-director of BishopAccountability.org, an advocacy and research group, said that Benedict would be "remembered chiefly for his failure to achieve what should have been his job one: to rectify the incalculable harm done to the hundreds of thousands of children sexually abused by Catholic priests."[222] She stated that his tenure had "left hundreds of culpable bishops in power and a culture of secrecy intact," while theSurvivors Network of those Abused by Priests said in a statement that "Benedict was more concerned about the church's deteriorating image and financial flow to the hierarchy versus grasping the concept of true apologies followed by true amends to victims of abuse".[222]
Benedict re-introduced severalpapal garments which had fallen into disuse. He resumed the use of the traditional redpapal shoes, which had been used since Roman times by popes but which had fallen into disuse during the pontificate of John PaulII. Contrary to the initial speculation of the press that the shoes had been made by the Italian fashion housePrada, theVatican announced that the shoes were provided by the Pope's personal shoemaker.[223]
The journalist Charlotte Allen described Benedict as "the pope of aesthetics": "He has reminded a world that looks increasingly ugly and debased that there is such a thing as the beautiful – whether it's embodied in a sonata or an altarpiece or an embroidered cope or the cut of a cassock – and that earthly beauty ultimately communicates a beauty that is beyond earthly things."[16]
Prior to his election as pope in 2005, Ratzinger had hoped to retire – on account of age-related health problems, a long-held desire to have free time to write, and the retirement age for bishops (75) – and submitted his resignation as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith three times, but continued at his post in obedience to the wishes of John PaulII. In September 1991, Ratzinger suffered a haemorrhagic stroke, which slightly impaired his eyesight temporarily but from which he recovered completely.[224] This was never officially made public – the official news was that he had fallen and struck his head against a radiator – but was an open secret known to the conclave that elected him pope.[225]
Following his election in April 2005 there were several rumours about the Pope's health, but none of them were confirmed. Early in his pontificate Benedict predicted a short reign, which led to concerns about his health.[226] In May 2005 the Vatican announced that he had suffered another mild stroke. French cardinalPhilippe Barbarin said that since the first stroke Ratzinger had been suffering from an age-related heart condition, for which he was on medication. In late November 2006 Vatican insiders told the international press that the Pope had had a routine examination of the heart.[225] A few days later an unconfirmed rumour emerged that Benedict had undergone an operation in preparation for an eventual bypass operation, but this rumour was only published by a small left-wing Italian newspaper and was never confirmed by any Vatican insider.[227]
On 17 July 2009, Benedict was hospitalized after falling and breaking his right wrist while on vacation in the Alps; his injuries were reported to be minor.[228]
Following the announcement of his resignation, the Vatican revealed that Benedict had been fitted with apacemaker while he was still a cardinal, before his election as pope in 2005. The battery in the pacemaker had been replaced three months earlier, a routine procedure, but that did not influence his decision.[229]
On 11 February 2013, the Vatican confirmed that Benedict wouldresign the papacy on 28 February 2013, as a result of his advanced age,[230] becoming the first pope to resign sinceGregory XII in 1415.[231] At the age of 85 years and 318 days on the effective date of his retirement, he was the fourth-oldest person to hold the office of pope. The move was unexpected,[232] as all popes in modern times had held office until death. Benedict was the first pope to resign without external pressure sinceCelestine V in 1294.[233][234]
In his declaration of 10 February 2013, Benedict resigned as "Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter".[235] In a statement, he cited his deteriorating strength and the physical and mental demands of the papacy;[236] addressing his cardinals in Latin, he gave a brief statement announcing his resignation. He also declared that he would continue to serve the Church "through a life dedicated to prayer".[236]
According to a statement from the Vatican, the timing of the resignation was not caused by any specific illness but was to "avoid that exhausting rush of Easter engagements".[237] After two weeks of ceremonial farewells, the Pope left office at the appointed time andsede vacante was declared. Benedict was succeeded by CardinalJorge Mario Bergoglio, who took the papal name of Francis on 13 March 2013.
On the eve of the first anniversary of Benedict's resignation he wrote toLa Stampa to deny speculation he hadbeen forced to step down. "There isn't the slightest doubt about the validity of my resignation from the Petrine ministry," he wrote in a letter to the newspaper. "The only condition for the validity is the full freedom of the decision. Speculation about its invalidity is simply absurd," he wrote.[238] In an interview on 28 February 2021, Benedict again repeated the legitimacy of his resignation.[239][240][241]
On the morning of 28 February 2013, Benedict met with the full College of Cardinals and in the early afternoon flew by helicopter to the papal summer residence ofCastel Gandolfo. He stayed there until refurbishment was completed on his retirement home, theMater Ecclesiae Monastery in theVatican Gardens near St. Peter's, former home of twelve nuns, where he moved on 2 May 2013.[242][243]
After his resignation, Benedict retained his papal name rather than reverting to his birth name.[9] He continued to wear the white cassock but without thepellegrina or thefascia. He ceased wearing red papal shoes.[244][245] Benedict returned his officialFisherman's Ring, which was rendered unusable by two large cuts across its face.[246]
According to a Vatican spokesman, Benedict spent his first day asPope emeritus with ArchbishopGeorg Gänswein,Prefect of the Papal Household.[247] In the monastery, the pope emeritus did not live a cloistered life, but studied and wrote.[243] He joined Pope Francis several months later at the unveiling of a new statue ofSaint Michael the Archangel. The inscription on the statue, according to CardinalGiovanni Lajolo, has the coat of arms of the two popes to symbolize the fact that the statue was commissioned by Benedict and consecrated by Francis.[248]
In 2013 it was reported that Benedict had multiple health problems includinghigh blood pressure and had fallen out of bed more than once, but the Holy See denied any specific illnesses.[249] The former pope made his first public appearance after his resignation at St. Peter's Basilica on 22 February 2014 to attend the firstpapal consistory of his successor Francis. Benedict entered the basilica through a discreet entrance and was seated in a row with several other cardinals. He doffed hiszucchetto when Francis came down the nave of St. Peter's Basilica to greet him.[250] He then made an appearance at thecanonization mass of Popes JohnXXIII and John PaulII, greeting the cardinals and Francis.
Benedict in 2014
In August 2014, Benedict celebrated Mass at the Vatican and met with his former doctoral students, an annual tradition he had kept since the 1970s.[251] He attended thebeatification of Pope Paul VI in October 2014.[252] Weeks before this, he joined Francis in Saint Peter's Square for an audience with grandparents to honour their importance in society.[253]
Benedict wrote the text of a speech, delivered by Archbishop Georg Gänswein, on the occasion of the dedication of the Aula Magna at thePontifical Urbaniana University to the pope emeritus, "a gesture of gratitude for what he has done for the Church as a conciliar expert, with his teaching as professor, as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and, finally, the Magisterium." The ceremony took place on Tuesday, 21 October 2014, during the opening of the academic year.[254]
Benedict attended the consistory for new cardinals in February 2015, greeting Francis at the beginning of the celebration.[255] In the summer of 2015, Benedict spent two weeks at Castel Gandolfo, at the invitation of Pope Francis. While at Castel Gandolfo, Benedict participated in two public events. He received two honorary doctorates given to him by CardinalStanislaw Dziwisz, Pope John PaulII's longtime aide, from thePontifical University of John Paul II and the Kraków Academy of Music.[256] In his reception address, Benedict paid homage to his predecessor, John PaulII.[256]
The Joseph Ratzinger–Benedict XVI Roman Library at thePontifical Teutonic College was announced in April 2015 and was scheduled to open to scholars in November 2015.[257] The library section dedicated to his life and thought is being catalogued. It includes books by or about him and his studies, many donated by Benedict himself.[258][259]
Benedict, in August 2015, submitted a handwritten card to act as a testimony to the cause of canonization ofPope John Paul I.[260][261]
In March 2016, Benedict gave an interview expressing his views onmercy and endorsing Francis's stress on mercy in his pastoral practice.[262] Also that month, a Vatican spokesman stated that Benedict was "slowly, serenely fading" in his physical health, although his mental capacity remained "perfectly lucid".[263]
The pope emeritus was honoured by the Roman Curia and Francis in 2016 at a special audience, honouring the65th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. That November, he did not attend the consistory for new cardinals, rather meeting with them and Francis at his residence afterward.[264] Following the death of CardinalPaulo Evaristo Arns in December 2016, Benedict became the last living person appointed cardinal by Pope PaulVI.[265]
Benedict in 2019
In June 2017, Benedict received newly created cardinals in his chapel and spoke with each of them in their native language.[266] In July 2017, he sent a message through his private secretary for the funeral of CardinalJoachim Meisner, who had suddenly died while on vacation in Germany.[267]
In November 2017, images emerged on the Facebook page of theBishop of Passau, Stefan Oster, of Benedict with a black eye; the bishop and authorPeter Seewald visited the former pope on 26 October since the pair were presenting Benedict with the new bookBenedict XVI – The German Pope which the Passau diocese created. The former pope suffered thehematoma earlier after having slipped.[268]
In late 2019, Benedict collaborated on a book expressing that the Catholic Church must maintain its discipline ofclerical celibacy, in light of ongoing debate on the issue, though later requested his name to be removed from the book as co-author.[269][270][271]
In June 2020, Benedict visited his dying brother Georg in Germany for the last time.[272][273] Georg died on 1 July, aged 96.[274]
On 3 August 2020, Benedict's aides disclosed that he had aninflammation of the trigeminal nerve.[275] On 2 December of the same year, Maltese cardinalMario Grech announced toVatican News that Benedict had difficulty speaking and that he had told the new cardinals after the consistory that "the Lord has taken away my speech in order to let me appreciate silence".[276]
Benedict became the longest-lived pope, whose age can be verified, on 4 September 2020 at 93 years, 141 days, surpassing the age ofPope Leo XIII.[277][278] There are two popes that are claimed to have lived longer than Benedict:Pope St Agatho (574–681), who died at the age of 107;[279] andPope Gregory IX (1145–1241), who died at the age of 96.[280] However, although there is some contemporary documentation attesting to their ages, there is not sufficient evidence for them to be verified with complete certainty.
In January 2021, Benedict and Francis each received doses of aCOVID-19 vaccine.[281] On 29 June 2021, the pope emeritus celebrated hisplatinum jubilee (70th anniversary) as a priest.[282]
Following theconsistory of 27 August 2022, Francis and the newly created cardinals paid a brief visit to Benedict at Mater Ecclesiae Monastery.[283]
On 28 December 2022, Pope Francis said at the end of his audience that Benedict was "very sick" and asked God to "comfort him and support him in this testimony of love for the Church until the end".[284] The same day,Matteo Bruni, the director of the Holy See Press Office, stated that "in the last few hours there has been an aggravation of Benedict's health due to advancing age" and that he was under medical care. Bruni also stated that Francis visited Benedict at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery after the audience.[285][286]
Benedict died on 31 December 2022 at 9:34amCentral European Time at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery at the age of 95, due to cardiogenic shock, resulting from respiratory failure that evolved from a parenchymal insufficiency.[287] His long-time secretary, Georg Gänswein, reported that his last words were"Signore ti amo" (Italian for 'Lord, I love you').[288][289][290]
The tomb of Benedict XVI in the crypt of St. Peter's Basilica
From 2 to 4 January 2023, Benedict's bodylay in state in St. Peter's Basilica, during which around 195,000 people paid their respects.[291] His funeral took place on 5 January 2023 in St. Peter's Square at 9:30am, presided over by Pope Francis and celebrated by CardinalGiovanni Battista Re.[292] This was the first time since 1802 that a pope had attended a funeral for his predecessor.[293] The funeral was attended by an estimated 50,000 people.[294] Some attendees held signs reading or shouted "Santo subito", calling for his quick elevation tosainthood, a cry heard previously at thefuneral of John Paul II.[295] Benedict was interred in the crypt beneath St. Peter's Basilica, in the same tomb originally occupied by John PaulII and JohnXXIII.[294] The tomb was opened to the public on 8 January 2023.[296]
The best-known title, that of "Pope", did not appear in the official list of titles, but is commonly used in the titles of documents, and appears, in abbreviated form, in their signatures as "PP." standing for "Papa" ("Pope").[298][299][300][301]
Before 1 March 2006, the list of titles also used to contain that of a "Patriarch of the West", which traditionally appeared in that list of titles before "Primate of Italy". The title of "Patriarch of the West" was removed in the 2006 edition ofAnnuario Pontificio. According toAchille Silvestrini, Benedict chose to remove the title at a time as a "sign of ecumenical sensitivity" on the issue ofpapal primacy.[302]
After his resignation, the officialstyle of the former pope in English wasHis Holiness BenedictXVI, Supreme Pontiff emeritus orPope emeritus.[303] Less formally he was referred to as emeritus pope or Roman pontifex emeritus.[304] Moreover, according to the1983Code of Canon Law, he was alsobishop emeritus of Rome, retaining the sacred character received at his ordination as a bishop and receiving the title of emeritus of his diocese; although he did not use this style.[305] The pope emeritus had personally preferred to be simply known as "Father Benedict".[306]
In 2005, the Pope listed several ways to combat the spread of HIV, including chastity, fidelity in marriage, and anti-poverty efforts; he also rejected the use of condoms.[307] The alleged Vatican investigation of whether there are any cases when married persons may use condoms to protect against the spread of infections surprised many Catholics in the wake of John PaulII's consistent refusal to consider condom use in response to AIDS.[308] However, the Vatican has since stated that no such change in the Church's teaching can occur.[309]TIME also reported in its edition of 30 April 2006 that the Vatican's position remains what it always has been with Vatican officials "flatly dismiss[ing] reports that the Vatican is about to release a document that will condone any condom use."[309]
In March 2009, the Pope stated:
I would say that this problem of AIDS cannot be overcome merely with money, necessary though it is. If there is no human dimension, if Africans do not help, the problem cannot be overcome by the distribution of prophylactics: on the contrary, they increase it. The solution must have two elements: firstly, bringing out the human dimension of sexuality, that is to say a spiritual and human renewal that would bring with it a new way of behaving towards others, and secondly, true friendship offered above all to those who are suffering, a willingness to make sacrifices and to practise self-denial, to be alongside the suffering.[310]
In November 2010, in a book-length interview, Benedict, using the example of male prostitutes, stated that the use of condoms, with the intention of reducing the risk of HIV infection, may be an indication that the prostitute is intending to reduce the evil connected with his immoral activity.[311] In the same interview, the Pope also reiterated the traditional teaching of the Church that condoms are not seen as a "real or moral solution" to theHIV/AIDS pandemic. Further, in December 2010, theCongregation of the Doctrine of the Faith explained that Benedict's statement did not constitute a legitimization of either contraception or prostitution, which remains gravely immoral.[311]
During his time as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), Cardinal Ratzinger made several efforts to tackle the issue of homosexuality within the Catholic Church and the wider world. In 1986 the CDF sent a letter to all bishops entitled:On the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons. The letter condemned a liberal interpretation of the earlier CDF documentDeclaration on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics, which had led to a "benign" attitude "to the homosexual condition itself".On the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons clarified that the Church's position on homosexuality was that "although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil; and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder."[312] However, the document also condemned homophobic attacks and violence, stating that "It is deplorable that homosexual persons have been and are the object of violent malice in speech or in action. Such treatment deserves condemnation from the Church's pastors wherever it occurs."[312]
In 1992, Ratzinger again approved CDF documents declaring that homosexual "inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder" and extended this principle to civil law. "Sexual orientation", the document said, was not equivalent to race or ethnicity, and it declared that it was "not unjust discrimination to take sexual orientation into account."[313]
On 22 December 2008, Benedict gave an end-of-year message to the Roman Curia in which he talked about gender and the important distinction between men and women. He said that the Church viewed the distinction as central to human nature, and "asks that this order of creation be respected". In his words, the Church must "protect man from self-destruction". He said "something like a human ecology" was needed, and added: "Rain forests deserve indeed to be protected, but no less so does man." He attacked "gender theories", which he described as "man's attempt at self-emancipation from creation and the Creator."[314][315][316]
LGBT groups, such as the ItalianArcigay and GermanLSVD, announced that they found Benedict's comments homophobic.[317] Aurelio Mancuso, head of Arcigay, said "A divine programme for men and women is out of line with nature, where the roles are not so clear."[315] Canadian authorDaniel Gawthrop, in a critical biography,The Trial of Pope Benedict, said that the Pope blamed homosexuality "for a problem the church had willingly enabled for hundreds of years".[318]
Vatican spokesmanFederico Lombardi claimed the Pope had not wished specifically to attack people with homosexual inclinations, and had not mentioned gays or lesbians in his text. Lombardi insisted that there had been an overreaction to the pope's remarks, saying: "He was speaking more generally about gender theories which overlook the fundamental difference in creation between men and women and focus instead on cultural conditioning." Nevertheless, the remarks were interpreted as a call to save mankind from homosexuals and transsexuals.[315]
In an address to a conference of the Diocese of Rome held at the basilica ofSt. John Lateran 6 June 2005, Benedict remarked on the issues ofsame-sex marriage and abortion:[319]
The various forms of the dissolution of matrimony today, like free unions, trial marriages and going up to pseudo-matrimonies by people of the same sex, are rather expressions of an anarchic freedom that wrongly passes for true freedom of man ... from here it becomes all the more clear how contrary it is to human love, to the profound vocation of man and woman, to systematically close their union to the gift of life, and even worse to suppress or tamper with the life that is born.
During a 2012 Christmas speech,[320] Benedict made remarks about the present-day interpretation of the notion ofgender. He stated that a new philosophy of sexuality, which he rejects, suggests that "sex is no longer a given element of nature, that man has to accept and personally make sense of: it is a social role that we choose for ourselves", and "The words of the creation account: 'male and female he created them' (Gen 1:27) no longer apply". Although he did not mention the topic, his words were interpreted by news media as denunciations of same-sex marriage,[321] with some outlets adding that Benedict would have called it a threat to world peace similar to abortion and euthanasia.[322] In March 2012, he stated that heterosexual marriages should be defended from "every possible misrepresentation of their true nature".[323]
In a message released 14 November 2006, during a Vatican press conference for the 2007 annual observance ofWorld Day for Migrants and Refugees, the Pope urged the ratification of international conventions and policies that defend all migrants, including refugees, exiles,evacuees andinternally displaced persons. "The church encourages the ratification of the international legal instruments that aim to defend the rights of migrants, refugees and their families," the Pope said. "Much is already being done for the integration of the families of immigrants, although much still remains to be done."[324]
Benedict also promoted various UN events, such asWorld Refugee Day, on which he offered up special prayers for refugees and called for the international community to do more to secure refugees' human rights. He also called on Catholic communities and organizations to offer them concrete help.[325]
In 2015, it was reported that Benedict was "praying for migrants and refugees" from Syria.[326]
In 2007, Benedict sent a letter at Easter to Catholics in China that could have wide-ranging implications for the Church's relationship with China's leadership. The letter provides long-requested guidance to Chinese bishops on how to respond to illicitly ordained bishops, as well as how to strengthen ties with thePatriotic Association and the Communist government.[327] Benedict wrote that despite the twoCatholic communities in China (i.e. the "Patriotic" Church and the"Underground" Church) there is noschism between them.[328]: 185 Benedict stated that sacraments performed by the priests not in unity with the Vatican werevalid but also illicit.[328]: 185 He stated that the Catholic Church accepts the legitimacy of the civil authorities in secular matters and that the Pope has authority in ecclesial matters, and therefore the involvement of the Catholic Patriotic Association in the appointment of bishops (and its bishops conference) violated Catholic doctrine.[328]: 185 The letter also removed the permission granted by the Vatican in 1978 to the Underground church to appoint bishops without Vatican approval.[328]: 185
On 13 November 2006, Benedict said that the dispute over theNorth Korea nuclear weapons program should be resolved through negotiations, in his first public comment on the security issue, a news report said. "The Holy See encourages bilateral or multilateral negotiations, convinced that the solution must be sought through peaceful means and in respect for agreements taken by all sides to obtain the denuclearisation of theKorean Peninsula." Benedict was talking to the new Japanese ambassador to the Vatican.[329]
In a 2004Le Figaro interview, Ratzinger said that Turkey, which is demographically Muslim but governmentallysecular by virtue of its state constitution, should seek its future in an association ofMuslim nations rather than the European Union, which Ratzinger stated has Christian roots. He said Turkey had always been "in permanent contrast to Europe and that linking it to Europe would be a mistake".[330]
Later visiting the country to "reiterate the solidarity between the cultures," it was reported that Benedict made a counter-statement backingTurkey's bid to join the EU. Turkish prime ministerRecep Tayyip Erdoğan said that the Pope told him in their meeting that while the Vatican seeks to stay out of politics, it desires Turkey's membership in the EU.[331][332] However, the Common Declaration of Pope BenedictXVI andPatriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople implied that support for Turkey's membership in the European Union would be contingent on the establishment of religious freedom in Turkey:[333] "In every step towards unification, minorities must be protected, with their cultural traditions and the distinguishing features of their religion."[176]
In May 2009, Benedict visited Israel.[334][335] This was the third Papal visit to the Holy Land, the previous ones being made by PaulVI in 1964 and John PaulII in 2000.
Vietnamese prime ministerNguyễn Tấn Dũng met with Benedict at the Vatican on 25 January 2007 in a "new and important step towards establishing diplomatic ties".[336] The Pope met with Vietnamese presidentNguyễn Minh Triết on 11 December 2009. Vatican officials called the meeting "a significant stage in the progress of bilateral relations with Vietnam."[337]
In July 2009, Benedict published his third encyclical,Caritas in veritate[338] (Charity in truth), setting out the philosophical and moral foundations for human development, individually and collectively, in striving for thecommon good. This was the last encyclical of BenedictXVI's papacy.
Caritas in veritate makes a case for the charitable distribution of wealth in considerable detail and discusses the environment, migration, terrorism, sexual tourism, bioethics, energy and population.The Financial Times reported that Benedict's advocacy for a fairer redistribution of wealth helped set the agenda for the 2009 July G8 summit.[339][340]
Also included inCharity in Truth is advocacy fortax choice:
One possible approach to development aid would be to apply effectively what is known as fiscal subsidiarity, allowing citizens to decide how to allocate a portion of the taxes they pay to the State. Provided it does not degenerate into the promotion of special interests, this can help to stimulate forms of welfare solidarity from below, with obvious benefits in the area of solidarity for development as well.[338]
Benedict supported the peaceful use ofnuclear energy as a tool for development and the fight against poverty. In his message for the 50th anniversary of the founding of theInternational Atomic Energy Agency, he confirmed: "The Holy See, fully approving of the IAEA's goal, has been a member from the organisation's foundation and continues to support its activity."[341]
Benedict was known to be deeply interested in classical music,[342] and was an accomplished pianist.[343] His favourite composer wasWolfgang Amadeus Mozart, of whose music he said: "His music is by no means just entertainment; it contains the whole tragedy of human existence."[344] Benedict also stated that Mozart's music affected him greatly as a young man and "deeply penetrated his soul".[344] Benedict's favourite works of music were Mozart'sClarinet Concerto andClarinet Quintet.[345] He recordedan album of contemporary classical music in which he sings and recites prayers to theBlessed Virgin Mary.[346] The album was set for release on 30 November 2009.
Benedict was also known to be fond of cats.[342] As Cardinal Ratzinger, he was known (according to former neighbours) to look afterstray cats in his neighbourhood,Borgo. A book calledJoseph and Chico: A Cat Recounts the Life of Pope Benedict XVI was published in 2007 which told the story of the Pope's life from the feline Chico's perspective. This story was inspired by an orange tabby Pentling cat, which belonged to the family next door.[347] During his trip to Australia for World Youth Day in 2008, the media reported that festival organizers lent the Pope a grey cat called Bella[348] to keep him company during his stay.[349]
In December 2012, the Vatican announced that BenedictXVI had joined social networking website Twitter, under the handle @Pontifex.[350] His first tweet was made on 12 December and was "Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart."[351] On 28 February 2013, the day he retired, the tweets were archived, and @Pontifex read "Sede Vacante".[352] Pope Francis took control of the @Pontifex account upon his election.[353]
2010 honorary citizen ofLisbon, honouring his visit to the city on 11–12 May 2010[356]
The asteroid8661 Ratzinger was named in his honour for the role he played in supervising the opening of theVatican Apostolic Archive in 1998 to researchers investigating judicial errors againstGalileo and other scientists. The name was proposed by the asteroid's discoverers, L. D. Schmadel and F. Borngen at Tautenburg.[357]
Thecoat of arms of Pope Benedict XVI was designed by then ArchbishopAndrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo (who later was created a Cardinal) soon after the papal election. Benedict's coat of arms omitted thepapal tiara, which traditionally appears in the background to designate the pope's position as a worldly ruler such as a king, replacing it with a simplemitre, emphasising his spiritual authority.[358]
Escutcheon
Gules chapé ployé or, in base an escallop of the same, in dexter chief a Moor's head proper, crowned and collared of the field, and in sinister chief a bear trippant proper, carrying a pack gules belted sable.
Symbolism
Scallop shell: The symbolism of the scallop shell is multiple; one reference is toSaint Augustine. While a doctoral candidate in 1953, Ratzinger wrote his thesisThe People and the House of God in St Augustine's Doctrine of the Church,[359] and therefore has a personal connection with the thought of this Doctor of the Church. Moor of Freising: The Moor's head is an heraldic charge associated with Freising, Germany. Corbinian's bear: A legend states that while travelling to Rome,Saint Corbinian's pack horse was killed by a bear. He commanded the bear to carry the load. Once he arrived, he released it from his service, and it returned to Bavaria. The implication is that "Christianity tamed and domesticated the ferocity of paganism and thus laid the foundations for a great civilisation in the Duchy of Bavaria." At the same time, Corbinian's bear, as God's beast of burden, symbolizes the weight of office that Benedict carried.
Both Archbishop of CanterburyJustin Welby andPatriarch Kirill of Moscow expressed their condolences at Benedict's death. Welby referred to the former pope as "one of the greatest theologians of his age", while Kirill praised conciliatory efforts undertaken between the Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches during Benedict's pontificate.[362]
^ab"Benedict XVI will be 'Pope emeritus'". The Vatican Today. Archived fromthe original on 1 March 2013. Retrieved28 February 2013.Benedict XVI will be "Pontiff emeritus" or "Pope emeritus", as Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., director of the Holy See Press Office, reported in a press conference on the final days of the current pontificate. He will keep the name of "His Holiness, Benedict XVI" and will dress in a simple white cassock without the mozzetta (elbow-length cape).
^Walsh, Mary Ann (2005).From Pope John Paul II to Benedict XVI: an inside look at the end of an era, the beginning of a new one, and the future of the church. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 135.ISBN1-58051-202-X.
^Mrugala, Anette (10 July 2009)."'Papst-Schule' eingeweiht" ['Pope school' opened] (in German). Innsalzach24.de. Archived fromthe original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved17 September 2011.
^Cardinal Ratzinger: the Vatican's enforcer of the faith. John L. Allen, 2000. p. 14
^Cardinal Ratzinger: the Vatican's enforcer of the faith. John L. Allen, 2000. p. 15
^Ratzinger, Josef Kardinal; et al. (Seewald, Peter) (2004).Salz der Erde (in German) (2nd ed.). Munich, Germany: Wilhelm Heyne Verlag. p. 61.ISBN3-453-87942-2.
^Fahlbusch, Erwin; Bromiley, Geoffrey William; Barrett, David B. (1999). "Evangelical Catholicity".The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.ISBN90-04-11695-8.
^"Segretaria di Stato" [Secretariat of State](PDF). Diarium Romanae Curiae.Acta Apostolicae Sedis – Commentarium Officiale (in Italian).LXVIII (9): 589. 30 September 1976.Archived(PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved9 July 2022.
"The man in charge of enforcing it for 20 years was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the man made Pope last year. In 2001 he created the successor to the decree."
The latest issue of the SSPX's newsletter for German-speaking countries ... contains several anti-Semitic statements. 'The Jewish people were once the chosen people. But the majority of the people denied the Messiah on his first coming,' reads the February issue's cover story .... According to the newsletter article, this is why the Bible's Gospel of Matthew states, 'His blood be upon us and upon our children,' a phrase historically used by some Christians to justify anti-Semitism.
^Liphshiz, Cnaan"Report: Vatican readmits society that propagates anti-Semitism".Haaretz. 19 February 2009.Archived from the original on 10 November 2011. Retrieved3 October 2011.Haaretz. 19 February 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2011 "The [web]site from Germany ... clarifies that 'contemporary Jews are for sure guilty of the murder of God, as long as they don't recognise Christ as God.'"
^abcdMoody, Peter (2024). "The Vatican and Taiwan: An Anomalous Diplomatic Relationship". InZhao, Suisheng (ed.).The Taiwan Question in Xi Jinping's Era: Beijing's Evolving Taiwan Policy and Taiwan's Internal and External Dynamics. London and New York:Routledge.ISBN9781032861661.
Peter Seewald:Benedict XVI: A Life, in two volumes:Volume One: Youth in Nazi Germany to the Second Vatican Council 1927–1965,Volume Two: Professor and Prefect to Pope and Pope Emeritus, 1966 – The Present, translated from the German by Dinah Livingstone, London: Bloomsbury, 2020.
Joseph Ratzinger (= Benedikt XVI. – autobiographical):Aus meinem Leben. (1927–1977). Stuttgart 1998,ISBN3-453-16509-8.
Alexander Kissler:Papst im Widerspruch: Benedikt XVI. und seine Kirche 2005–2013. Pattloch 2013,ISBN978-3629022158.
Pursell, Brennan, Benedict of Bavaria: An Intimate Portrait of the Pope and His Homeland (Circle Press, 2008).ISBN1-933271-17-5.
Allen, John L.The Rise of Benedict XVI: The Inside Story of How the Pope Was Elected and Where He Will Take the Catholic Church. NY: Doubleday, 2005.ISBN0-385-51320-8.
Allen, John L.Pope Benedict XVI: A Biography of Joseph Ratzinger. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005.ISBN0-8264-1786-8. This is a reprint of Allen's 2000 bookCardinal Ratzinger: the Vatican's Enforcer of the Faith.
Bardazzi, Marco.In the Vineyard of the Lord: The Life, Faith, and Teachings of Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI. New York: Rizzoli International, 2005.ISBN0-8478-2801-8
Tobin, Greg.Holy Father: Pope Benedict XVI: Pontiff for a New Era. Sterling, 2005.ISBN1-4027-3172-8.
Weigel, George.God's Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Catholic Church, HarperCollins, 2005.ISBN0-06-621331-2.
Jeanne Perego.Joseph eChico: Un gatto racconta la vita di Papa Benedetto XVI(in Italian), EMP, 2007.ISBN978-8825018820.
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