Pope

2022 - 12 - 31

Pope Francis - current pope - pope Benedict - pope benedict xvi - pope dead - the Pope

Post cover — Image courtesy of "ABC News"

Former pope Benedict XVI dies aged 95 as Vatican announces his ... (ABC News)

Benedict XVI, who headed the Roman Catholic church for almost eight years, dies at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican, a spokesman for the Holy ...

For nearly 25 years, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict was also the powerful head of the Vatican's doctrinal office, then known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). His funeral will be held in St Peter's Square on January 5, presided over by Pope Francis. Further information will be provided as soon as possible," the spokesman said in a written statement.

Pope Benedict XVI: A man at odds with the modern world who ... (The Conversation AU)

Pope Benedict XVI led the Catholic Church at a crucial time and had to confront a growing sexual abuse scandal.

[excommunication of bishops](http://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/letters/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20090310_remissione-scomunica.html) of the order of [St. Pius X bishop, [Richard Williamson](https://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=6806108&page=1), had made [antisemitic](https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101139679) comments and [denied the holocaust](https://abcnews.go.com/International/catholic-bishop-williamson-unrepentent-holocaust-denial/story?id=9717252). However, his official visits to [Beirut](https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-middle-east-19615616/pope-benedict-xvi-holds-beirut-open-air-mass) and [Istanbul](https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/29/world/europe/29pope.html) repaired some of the damage. [publicly downplayed](https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/will-ratzingers-past-trump-benedicts-present) the extent and seriousness of the crisis. He also [criticized](http://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/letters/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20100319_church-ireland.html) Irish bishops for their mishandling of the sexual abuse crisis. [Benedict of Nursia](https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/moversandshakers/benedict-of-nursia.html), the founder of Western monasticism, a religious movement that preserved Western culture after the fall of Rome. Most notable was the case of American priest and theologian [Charles Curran](https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/100/charles-curran-case), who was [fired](https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/charles-curran-retire-full-time-teaching) from [The Catholic University of America](https://www.catholic.edu/index.html) because he challenged official Catholic teachings on sexuality. Soon after, he was named a cardinal, a member of the [administrative body](http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/cardinals/index.htm) that elects the pope. [Benedict would later reject](https://onepeterfive.com/benedict-xvi-admits-qualms-of-conscience-about-vatican-ii/) more progressive interpretations of the council as a revolutionary event that was intended to remake the Catholic Church. The [Second Vatican Council](https://www.npr.org/2012/10/10/162573716/why-is-vatican-ii-so-important) attempted to renew the Catholic Church by engaging the modern world more constructively. [deserted the German military](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ratzingers-wwii-experiences/) and was held as a prisoner of war by the Americans; he was released when World War II concluded. 31, 2022 at the age of 95](https://apnews.com/article/pope-benedict-xvi-dead-9d486fd9b12eab1177b9eb8ab7be22f4?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=TopNews&utm_campaign=position_01), was known for criticizing what he saw as the [modern world’s](https://angelusnews.com/arts-culture/in-new-biography-pope-benedict-says-world-threatened-by-humanism/) rejection of God and Christianity’s [timeless truths](https://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/media/articles/dictatorship-of-relativism-cardinal-ratzinger).

Why retired pope Benedict's funeral will be so unusual (WJCT NEWS)

When retired Pope Benedict XVI is laid to rest on Thursday, it will be an event unprecedented in the modern history of the Catholic Church.

The former pope was [gravely ill](https://www.npr.org/2022/12/29/1145997483/benedict-xvi-health-vatican) over the past week. His remains are expected to be on public display in St. [statement](https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2022-12/pope-emeritus-benedict-xvi-tornielli-god-is-love.html). Benedict's funeral mass is scheduled to take place on Thursday in St. [since 1730](https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2022-12/pope-emeritus-benedict-xvi-official-biography.html). [announced](https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2022-12/pope-emeritus-benedict-xvi-dies-aged-95.html).

Germany mourns death of former Pope (Blue Mountains Gazette)

German politicians and church leaders are mourning the death of former Pope Benedict XVI, hailing his importance to...

"Some have said that this was perhaps the greatest act of his life. Benedict, who died earlier on Saturday aged 95, resigned in 2013, the first pontiff in 600 years to do so. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Twitter that the Catholic Church had lost a formative figure and clever theologian, adding that as a German he had been a special leader of the Church, not just to its members in Germany.

The pope of paradox: Benedict XVI (The Sydney Morning Herald)

Benedict was a conservative intellectual who managed to anger conservative Catholics. His actions normalised papal resignation. Witness all the media ...

This will have major implications for how Catholics see their popes in future: what of those grand claims to be Christ’s deputy, to hold a “plenitude of power”, or to be “infallible”? Yet, flawed as Benedict was, his manner of departing the pontifical office still marks him out as one of the millennium’s most significant Holy Fathers. In the so-called “Vatileaks” scandal, that butler, Paolo Gabriele, passed on Benedict’s private and confidential correspondence about sex, blackmail, and corruption scandals in the church to the Italian press. But then there were his seven years and 317 tumultuous days as pontifex maximus (he would have preferred we express the title in Latin). His death leaves a great void in the Catholic Church’s connection with its own past. Benedict XVI, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was one of the most important Catholics and religious leaders of the past century.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI dead at 95 (7NEWS.com.au)

Former pope Benedict XVI, who in 2013 became the first pontiff in 600 years to resign, has died aged 95 in a secluded monastery in the Vatican where he had ...

The Vatican said his body would lie in state from Monday in St.Peter’s Basilica and his funeral will be held on the morning of January 5. Earlier this week, Pope Francis disclosed that his predecessor was “very sick”. Francis himself said having Benedict at the Vatican was like a “grandfather living in the house” and would regularly visit his predecessor. But Benedict himself acknowledged that he was a weak administrator, saying he showed a “lack of resolve in governing and decision taking,” during his eight-year papacy which was marked by missteps and a leaks scandal. French President Emmanuel Macron said Benedict “worked with all his soul and intelligence for a more fraternal world”, while Markus Soeder, the state premier of his native Bavaria in Germany, hailed him as “one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century”. Bruni said he had received his last rites, called “the anointing of the sick”, on Wednesday.

Why did Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI resign, and how common is it ... (ABC News)

Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI is one of the very, very few Catholic popes ever to step down as leader instead of remaining in the role for life.

"A father does not stop being a father, but he is relieved of concrete responsibility," he said. Celestine V reportedly never wanted to be pope in the first place and, upon resigning, was said to have noted "the desire for humility" and the "longing for the tranquility of his former life". Pope Benedict XVI stunned not just the Catholic community but the world when he announced his decision to step down in February 2013, saying he He was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising by Pope Paul VI in 1977 and was ordained as a Bishop that same year, before his election as Dean of the College of Cardinals was approved in 1998. As Dean, he presided over the College's deliberations during the Vacancy of the Holy See after Pope John Paul II's death in 2005, and less than two weeks later, he was elected the 265th Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, selecting the name Benedict XVI. Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI is one of the very, very few Catholic popes in history to step down as leader instead of remaining in the role for life.