Pope Benedict († 95) – civilly baptized Joseph Ratzinger – can look back on an eventful life in the service of the Catholic Church.
Born in 1927, on Holy Saturday, in Marktl am Inn near the Austrian border, he grew up with his siblings Georg and Maria in deep piety. The family often had to move because of a gendarme for a father.
A life in the service of the Catholic Church
In 1943, in the middle of World War II, Ratzinger was called up as a so-called anti-aircraft helper. Shortly before the end of the war, however, he decided to “go home”, as his autobiography puts it. He committed desertion. Two soldiers who caught him but were also “war-weary” let Ratzinger go. Shortly afterwards, however, he was made a prisoner of war by the Americans before, on June 19, 1945, he was “overjoyed to have the certificate of release” which marked the end of the war for him as well.
In 1951 – at the age of only 24 – he was ordained a priest. From the age of 31, Ratzinger taught and conducted research as a professor of theology. Ratzinger was an influential adviser to his predecessor John Paul II for nearly a quarter of a century until his death. In Germany, he was repeatedly criticized for his conservative stance on church political issues and was sometimes derided as “God’s Rottweiler”.
When the conclave elected Ratzinger as the first German pope in almost 500 years on April 19, 2005, the newspaper “Bild” rejoiced: “We are pope!” His pontificate was overshadowed by power struggles within the church and the abuse scandal.
The German was the first pope to apologize for child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy and meet with victims. But he acted hesitantly. His detractors have criticized him for failing to end the church’s cover-up over abuse scandals.
Recently, accusations again overshadowed the work of the former pope: a report on sexual abuse in the church presented in Munich accused Benedict of making serious mistakes in his dealings with a pedophile priest during his time as Archbishop of Munich.
Pope Benedict as a pioneer
As unprogressive as he was on some issues, in 2013 he surprised the church and the world with an unusual move. He resigned his position for health reasons. Since then he has lived in seclusion in a former convent in the Vatican Gardens. With his abdication, Ratzinger wrote church history: Benedict was the first pope since 1415 to relinquish his office as head of the Catholic Church.
Thus Benedict opened a way out of the pontificate for his successors, should their powers wane. According to his own statements, the current Pope Francis (86) was already preparing for a possible resignation when he took office. He has pain in his right knee.
Benedict recently withdrew almost completely from the public eye. But in recent weeks he has continued to receive visitors while in a wheelchair. Some photos published on online networks showed him increasingly vulnerable.
In April, his longtime private secretary Georg Gänswein told Vatican News that Benedict was “of course relatively frail and frail physically”, but “in good spirits”. A recent video released by the Vatican in August shows a weakened, emaciated Benedict with a hearing aid who can no longer speak but still has an alert look. (chs/AFP)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
