After 17 years, there is only one Pope again: Benedict XVI died this Saturday, at the age of 95, the Vatican announced this morning.
Until he was elected Pope in April 2005, he was called “God’s Rottweiler” – watchman of the traditional values of the Church, dogmatic, inflexible, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, responsible for maintaining “purity” of the Church Throughout the eight years of his pontificate, he was like that in many aspects, in others he adopted an unprecedented position.
Joseph Ratzinger chose the name in honor of Benedict XV, who led the church during a period ravaged by World War I, at a time when the institution was facing what would be another major crisis. When the first allegations of sexual abuse surfaced, Benedict surprised many by admitting “sin within the Church,” meeting with victims, apologizing, expelling big names from the Vatican.
He himself was the target of criticism, accused of inaction in the face of sexual abuse committed against minors when he was Archbishop of Munich, between 1977 and 1982. After the revelation of an independent report in Germany this year, he reiterated the request for “forgiveness” to the victims of sexual violence committed by members of the clergy, but guaranteed that he never covered up priests who committed abuses during the period in which he held positions in the Catholic Church.
We ourselves were dragged into this great fault when we neglected it or when we did not face it with the necessary decision and responsibility, as happens all too often and still happens,” said the emeritus pope.
The successor to John Paul II was also known for his conservative stance on issues such as sexuality, homosexuality, feminism, rock music, and even the Harry Potter books. He was also responsible for the elimination of more liberal theologians, such as the Brazilian Leonardo Boff or the American Charles Curran.
On the other hand, he was the first Pope to use Twitter, in 2012, and the first head of the Catholic Church to enter the Mosque of the Rock, the third holiest place in Islam, where he called for an opening of dialogue against “past misunderstandings.” “.
Benedict XVI made 24 trips abroad, including a visit to Portugal, between May 11 and 14, 2010, with visits to Lisbon, Fátima and Porto.
Before reaching the highest office in the Church, Joseph Ratzinger was named Cardinal in 1977 and Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1981, Dean of the College of Cardinals since 2002.
Ratzinger was born in Marktl am Inn, Germany, on April 16, 1927 – Hallelujah Saturday, the son of a police commissioner and a cook. He was six years old when the Nazi regime came to power and he was already in the seminary when, in 1941, he entered
to Hitler’s youth, despite the fact that the family was opposed to the regime, even going so far as to enlist in the German anti-aircraft auxiliary services during World War II.
After the conflict, he studied philosophy and theology in Munich and in June 1951 he was ordained a priest. He served as a professor of dogma and theology at various German universities before becoming a consultant to the Vatican and, in 1977, Archbishop of Munich.
In 2012, his butler Paolo Gabriele was sentenced to a year and a half in prison for “aggravated robbery” for having stolen confidential documents from the Pope’s private secretary, including top-secret correspondence addressed to Joseph Ratzinger, and for having photocopied them for transmission. To the exterior
Benedict XVI was the oldest pope to be elected pope since 1730 (he was 78 years old) and, in 2020, when he turned 93 years and almost five months old, he became the longest-serving Catholic pontiff. He goes down in history, above all, for being the first Pope to resign from office in seven centuries, citing health reasons. He spent the last years of his life secluded in the Vatican’s Mater Ecclesiae monastery, “like a candle that burns out slowly and serenely,” in the words of his personal secretary.
Source: TSF
