Benedict Xvi

Benedict XVI Pope of the Catholic Church
Our ergo debemus sublevare huiusmodi, ut simus veritatis cooperatores ( 3Jo. 1 8 )
Birth name	Joseph Alois Ratzinger
Birth	16 April 1927 (1927-04-16) (age 83) Marktl , Germany
Election to the papacy	19 April 2005 (78 years)
Enthronement	24 April 2005 (02083 &&&&&&&&&&& 5 years, 8 months and 12 days)
Predecessor	John Paul II
Lists of Popes chronology Alphabetical
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Benedict XVI (in Latin : in Italian : in German : born Joseph Alois Ratzinger on 16 April 1927 at Marktl in the Land of Bavaria , in Germany , is the ^265th and current sovereign Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church , elected on 19 April 2005 to succeed John Paul II. It is the first German pope in nearly a millennium, with the end of the pontificate of Victor II in 1057.

Benedict XVI is a theologian, an author and advocate of the doctrines and values Catholics. He taught theology in German universities, was archbishop of Munich and Freising and Cardinal , in November 1981 , John Paul II named him Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

During the Second World War , he was enrolled against his will from his fourteenth birthday in the Hitler Youth , passage became mandatory in December 1936 for all young non-Jewish Germans. At the age of 16, in August 1943 , it is incorporated, with all his colleagues in the seminar Taunstein in the anti-aircraft (DCA) German . Joseph Ratzinger is found in the Telecommunications Section and is involved in the defense section of a factory BMW around Munich. In September 1944 he was posted to the Compulsory Work Service. He refuses to join the Waffen-SS , despite the pressure, arguing its intention to become a priest . In September 1944 he reached the age of military service and in December 1944, he was assigned to the Wehrmacht , in a unit responsible for digging antitank ditches to the Austro-Hungarian . He deserted a few days before the German surrender . He was then detained until 19 June 1945 in a camp for prisoners of war at Bad Aibling , where Gunter Grass said to have been his friend and playing dice with him . He was released after six weeks of confinement and returned to walk home .

Priestly formation

After his release, he began his training as a priest. Theologians like Romano Guardini and Josef Pieper , but also writers like Gertrud von Le Fort acquired a large audience. It was then that Joseph Ratzinger begins to read the French Catholic writers, Paul Claudel , Georges Bernanos , Francois Mauriac , he remained a fervent admirer . He continued studying philosophy and theology at the University of Munich , then at the Graduate School of Freising. He studied the works of Heidegger , Karl Jaspers , Nietzsche , Buber , Bergson , and the thought of Augustine , who had "struck by the power, passion and depth of his human" . Among other teachers, Shngen Gottlieb and Joseph Pascher exert significant influence on him . During his training he will find many Christian thinkers as Thomas Aquinas , which was presented during his education in a manner that qualified it as "rigid, neo scholasticism, which he described it was "simply too far from my own questions" . During his studies he will specialize in two theological aspects that will impact on his theology. The first is the study of the Bible. He considers that the "New Testament is nothing but an interpretation of" Law, Prophets and Scriptures "drawn from the story of Jesus or contained in it" . This theory is not new. Blaise Pascal, for example, defends the Thoughts in the Old Testament is the "face" of the New Testament. Any event Old Testament prepares foreshadows a corresponding event gives New Testament. This conception of the unity of the Bible will, in his statement, "the center of his theology" . The second aspect is the study of the liturgy , which he sees as the living part of the New Testament, the New Testament by Joseph Ratzinger as the "soul of theology" . This conception of the liturgy will have an impact during the Second Vatican Council in which it will support the reform of the Liturgy .

On 29 June 1951 , he was ordained priest at the same time as his brother in the cathedral of Freising , by Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber . After a year of parish ministry in the parish of the Precious Blood, in Munich , he was appointed professor at the seminary in Freising, with missions annexes chaplain and youth worship service at the cathedral.

Continued his studies

He completed his PhD in July 1953. It focuses on the People and the house of God in the Church doctrine of St. Augustine . Joseph Ratzinger becomes a doctorate in theology, but he must prepare a new work, habilitation thesis, in order to become a university professor. Under the influence of Gottlieb Shngen, he made a thesis on the Fathers of the Church in the Middle Ages , and especially on St. Augustine and St. Bonaventure. In this work he developed the idea that revelation is "an act in which God shows himself, but this revelation can not be reduced to the proposals arising from the neo scholastic thinkers. Indeed, for Joseph Ratzinger, the revelation has a subjective or personal because it exists only if there is someone to receive it: "where there is no one to collect" a revelation " there has been no revelation, because no veil has been lifted " . Part of his conception of revelation is so strongly criticized by Michael Schmaus, theologian of the University who co-directed the thesis of Joseph Ratzinger. This attitude is probably due to rumors suggesting that this thesis aspired to modernize education . Joseph Ratzinger should review their work, reducing the party's revelation and refocusing his thesis on the theology of history in the work of St. Bonaventure . On 21 February 1957 , he defended his habilitation thesis, partly revised, entitled The Theology of History in St. Bonaventure (Die Heiligen Bonaventura of Geschichtstheologie). It is accepted and Joseph Ratzinger was appointed lecturer at the University of Munich .

The theologian

Joseph Ratzinger in Rome, October 12, 1988.

In 1958 , after a year of parish work, during which he toured Munich on a bicycle, he was appointed professor of dogmatic and fundamental theology at the Higher School of Freising. He is one of the youngest German theologian . From 1959 to 1963 he is professor of fundamental theology at the University of Bonn. His inaugural lecture entitled The God of faith and the God of the philosophers . From 1963 to 1966 he taught dogmatic theology and history of dogma at the University of Mnster (inaugural lecture: Revelation and Tradition) .

He participates in the ecumenical council Vatican II (four sessions of 1962 to 1965 ) as a theological consultor ( Peritus ) with the Cardinal - Archbishop of Cologne Joseph Frings , it helps to prepare its interventions. One of his works is the need to undertake a reform of the Holy Office would become the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Cardinal Joseph Frings made a speech at the development which Joseph Ratzinger attended, noticed during the Second Vatican Council vigorously denounced the Holy Office in November 1963 claiming that the methods of the Holy Office "are not in harmony with modern times and are a source of scandal to the world " . Joseph Ratzinger was considered during the Council as a reformer. For Joseph Ratzinger, the church must return to the sources of Catholic theology back to the Bible and the Fathers of the Church in order to revitalize the teaching of theology and to revitalize the Catholic life . This revitalization can then Joseph Ratzinger to help make the aggiornamento , the updating practices, methods and structures of the Church . According to Joseph Ratzinger that homecoming is the only possibility for genuine dialogue with the modern world, the church then being "the continuation of the history of the relationship between God and man" . Instead of healing or homecoming vis--vis the "aggiornamento" is at the heart of the design are the reformers of Vatican II , some do not consider it essential that the homecoming Christianity in the quest for modernity. It supports the Council in the reform of the Liturgy. He sees the liturgy as "a matter of life or death" for the Church. The liturgy and the Eucharist is the main reason for the existence of the Church, because it enables the faithful worship of God . His emphasis in the liturgy is for him essential to the life of the Church. Later, he considers that the reform implementation did not correspond to that fathers gathered in council had desired . The thesis almost aborted Ratzinger on Bonaventure and the place of revelation of God was largely taken up by the Second Vatican Council in the Constitution Dei Verbum ^, , which considers that the revelation of God, No is not a simple affirmation of God, but must be understood as an encounter between God and man .

After the Council of 1966 to 1969 he taught dogmatic theology and the history of dogmas at the Faculty of Theology at the Eberhard Karls University Tbingen , at the request of the Director of the University theologian Hans Kng , . Joseph Ratzinger taught courses dogmas and undertook a project of courses for all students and faculty entitled "Introduction to Christianity, which became a reference in teaching introductory theology in the Catholic world .

During these years a major debate took part in the theologians of the university to give way to theories Marxists. The theologian Joseph Ratzinger, considered the Marxism as a deviation from Biblical faith who "took to the basic biblical hope but reversed by keeping the religious zeal but by eliminating God and replace it with the political activity of man. The hope remains, but the party takes the place of God and at the same time as the party, a totalitarian who practice a sort of atheist worship willing to sacrifice to his false god all sense of humanity " .

Participating in the drafting of the liberal Catholic journal Concilium , which intends to extend the work of Vatican II, he was part of the thousand three hundred and sixty theologians who, in 1968 , signing a petition calling for reform of the Holy Office in order to give more Photography theologians suspected of doctrinal error .

Facing rising tensions, as the petition of the summer of 1969 asking "What is the cross of Jesus if the expression of a sado-masochistic glorification of pain? "Joseph Ratzinger led to believe that" anyone who wanted in this context continue to be progressive was forced to abandon his integrity " , so he decided to teach in the new University of Regensburg.

In 1969 he became proprietor of the Chair of dogmatics and history of dogma at the University of Regensburg and Vice President thereof. It will have as many theologians doctoral student, the future Cardinal Christoph Schnborn and the Jesuit Joseph Fessio .

In 1972 , he co-founded the theological journal Communio , created by several theologians whose Urs von Balthasar , Henri de Lubac , Jean Danielou. This review aims to overcome the traditional divide between modernist theologians and traditionalists, enabling the emergence of a new trend that is more open than the journal Concilium. This journal gives a voice to lay theologians, and is interested in the cultural field .

He was appointed to the International Theological Commission by Pope Paul VI . He develops relationships with Henri de Lubac , Jorge Medina , Louis Bouyer and Hans Urs von Balthasar .

Archbishop and cardinal

Arms of Cardinal Ratzinger

On 24 March 1977 Pope Paul VI appointed him archbishop of Munich and Freising . On 28 May 1977 , he was consecrated archbishop . He chose as its motto the quote from the Third Epistle of John : cooperatores veritatis (coartisans of truth). This motto reflects the importance he places in the search for truth but also how he sees his ministry as bishop.

on June 27 of that year he was promoted to cardinal at the last consistory of Pope Paul VI .

At the Annual Synod on Catechesis of 1977 , he met briefly Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (known as John Paul II in 1978 ) with whom he exchanged correspondence since 1974 and books, including Introduction to Christianity Karol Wojtyla used to prepare his Lenten . The Conclave of August 1978 for the election of John Paul I , gives for the first time the opportunity to talk a little longer. There was, as later recalled Ratzinger, "this spontaneous sympathy between us, and we talked (...) what we should do in the situation of the Church" .

In 1980 , he was Rapporteur of the ^Fifth Synod of Bishops on the theme: "The mission of the Christian family in today's world."

Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

Cardinal Joseph Alois Ratzinger May 10, 2003

General

On 25 November 1981 , four and a half years after their first meeting, John Paul II named Ratzinger prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , one of the Congregations of the Roman curia , which leads the 15 February 1982 , to abandon the pastoral care of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.

John Paul II clarified the function of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1988 by a href = "Constitution_apostolique" title = "Apostolic Constitution"> Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus, "The proper task of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is to promote and protect the doctrine and morals according to the faith throughout the Catholic world: everything that in any way relates to this area is therefore within its jurisdiction " . The congregation follows the various theological currents, consults with bishops and experts, and issues statements on doctrinal issues that are relevant in the Church. It decides on the doctrines that may, in its view, be opposed to the principles of faith and morals as defined by the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church . The congregation is composed of twenty members, who are cardinals and bishops .

The position that Joseph Ratzinger is a load of capital positions of the curia, but is also considered by some as one of the most unpopular, because its owner is considered a champion of conservatives, an heir of the Holy Inquisition , an enemy creativity and openness.

23 years, he met John Paul II every Friday evening for an update on the work of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. They are also at lunch Tuesday, and sometimes before, to discuss, often with others, theological questions concerning the documents and procedures prepared by the pope (encyclicals, from Wednesday hearing, speech ...). Topics such as, for example, bioethics, liberation theology, ecumenical dialogue are also discussed . Both men have also shared many lunches to prepare teaching materials. The Encyclical Veritatis Splendor , that Joseph Ratzinger considers the text theologically the most elaborate of the pontificate of John Paul II, owes much to their collaboration .

Criticisms and condemnations

His detractors accuse him of having carried out his duties in a manner exceedingly repressive instead of making the congregation a tool for reflection on doctrine and theology, or a space for dialogue where to put new ideas to test and resolve differences, whereas the contrary many theologians as an "obstacle to the unity necessary to accomplish the mission of salvation of the Church" (Joseph A. Komonchak) .

Many Catholic theologians of renown have been condemned , as Hans Kng , Edward Schillebeeckx op , Charles Curran , Roger Haight SJ , Andrew Fox , Eugen Drewermann , Tissa Balasuriya OMI , Josef Imbach , and much of the theologians release as Leonardo Boff ofm and Jon Sobrino SJ The conviction of Jon Sobrino by the Congregation in 2007 caused a stir and consternation among many Catholic theologians . "The public, encouraged by the ghosts of the ancient Inquisition readily awakened by the media, especially the many successful convictions or disapproval," notes about this journalist Michel Kubler in the Catholic daily La Croix when The election of Benedict XVI.

Cardinal Ratzinger is also opposing the German theologian Hans Kng , another participant in Vatican II. This calls into question the First Vatican Council in his writings, and calls into question the dogma of papal infallibility proclaimed in 1870 by Pius IX. Hans Kng had stripped of the title Catholic theologian, losing his Missio Canonica in 1979, three years before the arrival of Joseph Ratzinger to head the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ^, , its teaching are declared inconsistent with that of the Church . Hans Kng in Tbingen continued to teach, but more as a professor of Catholic theology .

Joseph Ratzinger's opposition to liberation theology based on the fact that for him it is "fundamentally a hermeneutic "and" seems to carry an end land of inadmissibility opposed to modernity " in an attitude which, according to Juan Luis Segundo, himself a major figure in the theology of liberation, involves "the whole history of theology in recent times, that of the post-conciliar" . Cardinal Ratzinger summoned September 4, 1984 the liberation theologian Leonardo Boff , following the publication of his book criticizing the Church, regarding it as too hierarchical and as having "made a pact with the colonial ruling class" . The following year the Cardinal published a pastoral letter strongly criticized the serious theological deviation of part of the theology of liberation. This one is accused of betraying the cause of the poor and poorly located exclusively in the economic structures, social and political, to confuse evangelical poverty with the proletariat of Marx . He criticizes the idea of a Church of the people who enters a Logic class, and bears the danger of lead to a totalitarian society . In 1986 he published a note stating the positive aspects of liberation theology . One of his recent decisions to this function will be to dismiss Thomas J. Reese SJ , editor in chief of the American Jesuit journal America , regarded as progressive, at odds with the Congregation for several years.

Cardinal Ratzinger asked several times to Edward Schillebeeckx to explain the conformity of his writings with Catholic doctrine. This one is questioning the dogma of the perpetual virginity of Mary , doubts the resurrection of Christ, saying it did not matter in the faith of the apostles and the founding of the Church. He says the words of consecration are part of the liturgical tradition, but they were never uttered by Jesus. Similarly he says that Christ never intended to build the church, believing the end of the world. Finally he criticized the doctrine affirming the divinity of Jesus, speaking of "very abstract speculations," going against the Council of Chalcedon . Requesting extraordinary opportunity for laity to celebrate Mass, the cardinal gave him an ultimatum, and he retired from his later publications these issues

The historian Jan Grootaers, specialist in the history of the Catholic Church, Vatican II and ecumenism, notes that Joseph Ratzinger "did not support religious pluralism , certainly not inside the church ( Catholic), or with other Christian Churches or eventually with other religions ... " , opposing theologians who embody this trend, like the Jesuit Jacques Dupuis .

Sexual abuse of minors

The late John Paul II's pontificate was marked by the emergence of scandals involving of sexual abuse committed by priests against minors. Several observers noted that the Holy See had been slow to realize the magnitude of the problem of sexual abuse by priests ^{, ,} . Generally used to treat these cases with discretion and a certain gentleness to the guilty priests, did not promote public recognition of the suffering of victims . In this context, Cardinal Ratzinger seems to have participated in the 1980's, like most bishops, the culture of discretion in these cases . He did not immediately realize the severity and extent of facts . However, Ratzinger also appears to have been one of the first, within the Curia, to have wanted to be more rigorous ^, . According to Cardinal Christoph Schnborn , Cardinal Ratzinger proposed in 1995 to establish a commission of inquiry into the Cardinal Hans Hermann Gror , then suspected of sexually abusing seminarians. This proposal was not accepted by part of the Curia, including Cardinal Angelo Sodano , secretary of state of the Holy See ^{, , , ,} . Complaints of abuse of minors, filed in 1998 against Father Marcial Maciel , founder of the Legionaries of Christ, have not resulted, despite the request of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, a thorough investigation ^{, ,} . In late 2004, shortly before the death of John Paul II, Cardinal Ratzinger gives however that the investigation be reopened ^{, ,} . It will culminate in 2006, under Pope Benedict XVI to sanctions against Marcial Maciel ^{, ,} .

Concerning abuse by priests in different parts of the world, the fact that the files have been treated, until 2001, in dioceses ^, , could prevent a global consideration of this phenomenon. For several Vaticanists , a turning point, however, taken in 2001 with the motu proprio Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela John Paul II, decreed that the most serious crimes committed against morality, must be reported by the bishops, after preliminary inquiry, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ^{, , , ,} . Cardinal Ratzinger sends letter to bishops of delicta gravioribus (The most serious offenses) , requiring them to trace the records of sexual abuse in Rome ^{, ,} . Greater transparency is advocated, the fight against sexual abuse by clergy then become a priority of Pope Benedict XVI ^, .

Chronology of position

In January 1983 , during a trip to Lyon and Paris , he said that "it was a first and serious misconduct to remove the catechism , "denounces" the great poverty of the new catechism, which forgets "to distinguish the text his comment, "adding that" we must dare to present the catechism as a catechism, "a phrase that appears when applied directly to Living Stones French catechism. The bishops explained that the cardinal had no intention of "interfering in French affairs but comprehensively address the situation of catechesis." In 1983 , he was president ^of the sixth synod on the theme "Reconciliation and Penance in the mission of the Church."

Maintenance work on his faith ( 1985 ) outlines his vision of Catholicism after Vatican II and especially what he sees as the excesses of certain political currents, including liberation theology , which justified the revolutionary movements with religious arguments, it condemns without appeal: "Some are tempted to the urgency of sharing bread, put aside and procrastinate evangelization: the bread first, speak later . "This theology, which is the foundation of the Gospel message of struggle alongside the poor to improve their material living conditions, has often been perceived by the Vatican as the result of infiltration of Marxist theories within the Catholic Church . He also defended the Church's position on the refusal of contraception, the celibacy of priests and the lack of access of women to the priesthood. He also developed the idea that no ecumenism can not be built on the basis of the lowest common denominator.

In October 1986 , Pope John Paul II decided to establish a commission of cardinals and bishops to draft a universal catechism Roman and entrusts the presidency to Cardinal Ratzinger. February 22, 1987 , as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he signed Roman Instruction Donum Vitae states that the Church's position on artificial methods of reproduction: artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization and gives ethical reflection on the matter.

On 27 November 1999 , Cardinal Ratzinger participated in the symposium 2000 years after what? organized by the Sorbonne on the occasion of the celebrations of passage in XXI ^century. The long excerpts from his speech Truth of Christianity reproduced in the newspaper La Croix generate a strong reaction in the same newspaper columns from the Cardinal Archbishop of Bordeaux Pierre Eyt , president of the Doctrinal Commission of the Bishops' Conference France , who criticized him for not sufficiently take into account the structural problems of the Church. On 26 June 2000 , he signed a document giving an official interpretation of the message of Fatima .

On 6 August 2000 , he published the declaration Dominus Iesus which is affirmed the superiority of Catholicism over other Christian denominations and non-Christian ^, , and pretend to take the cons-up efforts of ecumenism in action set with the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification co-signed last year by the board (the Holy See) for Christian Unity and the Lutheran World Federation. Fifty-three Belgian Catholic theologians protest against the proposed declaration as a true return pre-Vatican II . A letter sent in June of that year the presidents of episcopal conferences with the Catholic Church as the "mother church of all the particular Churches" rather than "sister Church", challenging the declaration of Balamand had already disturbed the ecumenical dialogue.

On 24 January 2001 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith decided to draft a notification, he signs, "in order to safeguard the doctrine of the Catholic faith from errors, ambiguities or harmful interpretations" that it has identified in the book Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism . In an interview given to the agency Zenit on 3 May 2003 , it reaffirmed the Vatican's opposition to the Iraq war waged by the United States , according to him impossible to justify under the doctrine of just war.

In January 2004 , during a debate with the philosopher Jrgen Habermas at the Catholic Academy of Bavaria , he recognizes, in a globalizing world, the "non-universality made two great cultures of the West, that of the Christian faith and that of secular rationality .

After being seen as a progressive theologian during his participation at the council, Cardinal Ratzinger at the time of his election known for his conservative views on faith and morals, on topics such as abortion or ecumenism. It is sometimes called the media "the Panzerkardinal", an allusion to his supposed intransigence and his German nationality.

It is known to have a traditional stance vis--vis homosexual ( homosexuality and Christianity ) and the abortion line. It supports the Pope John Paul II against the wishes of a majority of German bishops, in its decision in the late 1990's to close some 260 centers "for pregnancies conflicting advice" given by the Catholic Church German. These centers should be reorganized as an association is not recognized by the Church.

According to the specialist in the history of the Church Philippe Levillain - Member of the Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences and professor at the University of Nanterre - Pope Benedict XVI is a restoration , as the term he had already used in 1985, while he was prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which had been so sharply criticized by advocates of Vatican II which became pope, he called for a new reading strategy designed to position the council in the continuity of tradition .

Awards, charges and prices

• On 13 January 1992 , the Institute of France , elected him as a foreign associate at the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences at the chair of the late physicist nuclear Russian and Nobel Peace Andrei Sakharov.
• In 1993 , the April 5 , he was promoted to cardinal-bishop of the church holds suburbicarian of Velletri - Segni in the suburbs of Rome. In 1998 he was appointed Commander of the French Order of Legion of Honor and received the insignia of the Order on May 11 of that year at the Villa Bonaparte by Jean-Louis Lucet , Ambassador of France to the Holy Headquarters.
• On 10 November 1999 he was made doctor honoris causa in jurisprudence from the Free University of Mary Most Holy Assumption of Rome.
• On 13 November 2000 , he was named honorary academician of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
• In 2002 , on the occasion of his ^75th birthday, he proposed, as usual, his resignation to the pope but John Paul II does not wish to separate from the employee, and November 6 , he was elected dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals, approved by the pope on November 30 , and holder of the Church of Ostia , which already has one of Sainte-Marie Comforter Tiburtino al.
• On 8 April 2005 , being the dean of the College of Cardinals , he is responsible for leading the church service for the funeral of Pope John Paul II.

He was a member of the Council of ^the Second Section of the Secretariat of State, Congregations for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, for Bishops, for the Evangelization of Peoples, for Catholic Education, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Pontifical Commissions for Latin America, Ecclesia Dei. Pope Benedict XVI is Bailiff Grand Cross of the Order of Malta. It is thus, after John XXIII , Pope's second member of the Order.

New Pope

The election

After a conclave of just over twenty-four hours, 19 April 2005 , white smoke appears on the roof of the Sistine Chapel at 17:56. At 18:35 the Cardinal Protodeacon Chilean Jorge Arturo Medina Estvez , announced publicly on the Place Saint-Pierre the traditional Habemus papam and the election of Cardinal Ratzinger as successor to John Paul II as the ^265th pope on the papal throne.

In his first public appearance this April 19, 2005, before the first blessing urbi et orbi of his pontificate, the new pope under the name of Benedict XVI, addressed the following words:

"Dear brothers and sisters, after the great Pope John Paul II , the Cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord. The fact that the Lord knows how to work and act even with insufficient instruments comforts me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers, in the joy of the risen Christ, trusting in his constant aid. We are moving forward, the Lord will help us and Mary, His Most Holy Mother, is on our side. Thank you . "

Benedict XVI at the Mass of his pontificate the inaugural 24 April 2005.

After Albino Luciani (John Paul ^I) and Karol Wojtyla (John Paul II) , the third named cardinal by Paul VI to become pope. Yet, on the one hundred fifteen cardinals who participated in the conclave , only two had not been appointed by John Paul II.

At 78, he was the oldest pope on the day he took office since Clement XII in 1730. This is the first pope original Germanic since Victor II ( 1,055 - in 1057 ), a native of Swabia , and Adrian VI ( 1,522 - 1523 ), Dutch native of Utrecht ( Spanish Netherlands ), whereas under the Saint Roman Empire.

Mass of inauguration of the pontificate took place on 24 April 2005 attended by many dignitaries of the planet. France is represented by the President of the Republic Jacques Chirac and his wife, and the United States by its President George W. Bush and his two predecessors Bill Clinton and George Bush. In his first homily , Pope Benedict XVI says he will not deliver "program." We note however that unlike the dialogue with the Jewish and ecumenism , dialogue with Islam is not listed among its priorities.

In the months that followed, the pope has put into practice a proverb which recommends a Bavarian bishop observed for at least one year and not touch anything in the administration of his diocese. Since then, the pope returned the president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue ^, Archbishop Fitzgerald, "promoted" apostolic nuncio in Egypt , when we gave it as being promoted to cardinal , and merged it with the council culture.

The Pope has made several trips in Italy (including Bari , in Puglia ), in Germany ( August 2005 for World Youth Days and September 2006 ), in Poland ( May 2006 ), in Spain ( July 2006 ) in Turkey ( November 2006 ) to Brazil ( May 2007 ), in Austria (September 2007 ), the United States ( April 2008 ), in Australia ( in July 2008 for World Youth Days ) and France ( September 2008 ).

The Conclave

In September 2005 , the Italian magazine Limes Geopolitical publishes a text presented as the Journal of the conclave a cardinal who took part in the vote. This text states that the cardinal Argentine Jorge Mario Bergoglio would have been his most serious rival. These figures have been kept secret, even more than before returning to the conclave the cardinal electors were all solemnly sworn never to violate the secrecy of the election, unless authorized Pope. However, right out of the conclave, many cardinals have not failed to tell some secrets and anecdotes, like the difficulties of operating the old iron stove designed to burn the ballots, tally sheets and announce the election of a new pope with a white smoke. Recent history had already known of anonymous witnesses .

Benedict XVI has chosen motto a word taken from the third epistle of John : "Cooperators of the truth."

Pontificate

Benedict XVI in January 2006.

The organization of the Holy See

Election of popes

On June 26, 2007, Benedict XVI has changed the rules for electing the pope, returning to those before the change decided in 1996 by John Paul II. John Paul II had made it possible, in cases where no candidate received, after 34 ballots, a majority of two-thirds plus one vote to elect the new pope by a simple majority . Following the decision of Benedict XVI: The next pope will have to again collect two-thirds vote of the cardinals met in conclave to be elected, regardless of the number of votes .

The College of Cardinals

On 22 February 2006 , he created 15 cardinals and 17 November 2007 at a new consistory , he adds 23 new cardinals in the College of Cardinals. 20 October 2010, he announced the holding of a consistory on 20 November 2010 to create 24 new cardinals.

Unlike his predecessor, he adheres strictly to each Presbytery, the number of 120 cardinal electors has set Paul VI.

The Curie

Since the beginning of his pontificate, Benedict XVI reiterated many of the leaders of Congregations (equivalent to departments) of the Roman Curia. He expressed a desire to reduce the Curie , determination which resulted in the merger in a joint chairmanship of multiple instances. Thus, the president of the pontifical council for culture , also takes the presidency of the pontifical commission for the cultural heritage of the Church and the Sacred Archaeology.

But he returned quickly to reconcile the pontifical councils for culture and for interreligious dialogue initiated in 2006. Similarly, the pontifical councils for Justice and Peace " and for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People under joint chairmanship in 2006 are again separated in 2009.

On 28 June 2010 , he announced the forthcoming creation of a new Congregation: the pontifical council for the new evangelization .

It promotes within the curia several of his former colleagues in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , the first of which Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone , former secretary of the congregation, appointed Secretary of State and Camerlengo or Angelo Amato , also a former secretary of the congregation called to head the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Similarly, Cardinal Antonio Caizares Llovera appointed prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and ^Bishop Zygmunt Zimowski , named president of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health have worked with him in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Vatican sources point that the pontiff would have been content to surround himself with his former colleagues without their necessarily skills .

Benedict XVI and place of the prisoners, but according to the Vatican journalist Sandro Magister, whole sectors of the Curia will "drift", especially that of communication, "unproductive model . Some analysts also described the appointments as a takeover uncompromising traditionalists and while some claim that Benedict XVI would be unable to govern, pointing dealing with schismatics Lefebvrists whose management would have fallen into the hands of the extreme right of the Curia .

Accession to the priesthood and sexual orientations

The homosexuality is condemned in Judaism as in Christianity , because of the Bible ( Leviticus ). The attitude of the Church, especially since Vatican II , is to exclude from the priesthood of future priests eventually homosexuals while avoiding an attitude of rejection towards homosexuals.

Benedict XVI has endorsed the 31 August 2005 the provisions of the letter of the Congregation for Education and has made effective as of 4 November 2005. This text, while reiterating the need to avoid "against homosexuals any sign of unjust discrimination," states that the students will now be subjected during their studies, an investigation to examine whether they "practice homosexuality, or present deeply rooted homosexual tendencies or whether they support the so-called gay culture . This survey will be conducted under the authority of the hierarchy ^, .

On 17 April 2008 , Benedict XVI made a clear distinction between pedophilia and homosexuality .

Yet the 12 April 2010 , Tarcisio Bertone , Cardinal Secretary of State of the Holy See , said that the pedophilia scandals that have shaken the Church related to homosexuality: "Many psychiatrists and psychologists have shown that n 'there was no connection between celibacy and pedophilia, and many others, I was told recently that there was a relationship between homosexuality and pedophilia. " It states that "the Pope would soon take bold initiatives on cases of pedophilia in the Church" . On 14 April, the Vatican said it was "not competent to make medical or psychological claims ^, . "

Pastoral

Beatification and canonization

On 13 May 2005 , he announced the start of the trial beatification of John Paul II , in exercising its prerogative to disregard the period of five years after the death normally required by the law of the Church.

Unlike John Paul II, but according to ancient custom, Benedict XVI does not usually preside himself beatification ceremonies.

In the tradition of his predecessor John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI continues - but at a much slower pace - to canonize Christians who can be considered as models of evangelical life.

Public exhortations

In May 2005 , he reduced and inspection of the ecumenical initiatives of the Franciscans of Assisi .

In his first message of Christmas , addressed the world from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome on 25 December 2005 , Pope Benedict XVI calls the humanity of the ^3rd millennium to a "spiritual awakening", without which any he said "man of the technological age risk becoming victims of success of his intelligence."

In early 2007 , he published an Apostolic Exhortation post-synodal called Sacramentum Caritaris which aims to defend the beauty and the need of Eucharistic worship, central to the Christian liturgy.

In June 2008 , according to an AFP report , taken by some newspapers , Pope launched a movement to rehabilitate the communion on his knees, in words and in fact, stating wanting to "return to genuflect" and referring to "give new urgency to the host directly to the faithful in the mouth", which he made during a Mass at Brindisi, 15 June 2008 . It appears, however, according to the newspaper La Croix that the statement "the urgency to give the new host directly to the faithful in the mouth" were not held in June 2008 by the pope, but were delivered February 2008 by Bishop Malcolm Ranjith, secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship. As for passing on the genuflection, it was not about communion but the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (homily of Benedict XVI's May 22, 2008) .

Travel and Pilgrimages

The Pope Benedict XVI in Poland in 2006 with Polish President Lech Kaczynski.

In Italy, Benedict XVI visited Bari in 2005 (close of ^XXIV Italian National Eucharistic Congress) in 2006 to Manoppello (visit the Shrine of the Holy Face) and Verona (Fourth National Ecclesial Convention of the Church Italian) in 2007 in Vigevano and Pavia, Assisi ^(7th centenary of the conversion of Saint Francis), Loreto (Agora 2007 meeting with young Italians), and Naples in Velletri (International Meeting for Peace), in 2008 in Savona and Genoa.

Measures concerning sexual abuse of minors

The pontificate of Benedict XVI is marked by the revelation of several scandals involving sexual abuse by priests against minors. While most of these events were concentrated in the decades preceding their uncovering takes place mainly in the 2000s. In 2002, these cases had already caused a stir in the United States and prompted American bishops to take significant steps to reduce the risk of abuse .

According to Henry Tincq , Pope Benedict XVI has repeatedly demonstrated its intransigence on matters of sexual abuse . Shortly before his election in 2005, he denounced the "filth in the Church" and especially among the priests ^, . From the beginning of his pontificate, he has words of sympathy to the victims . On board the plane that took him to Washington, April 15, 2008, the pope was particularly ashamed of all cases recorded in the Church, adding that "a pedophile can not be a priest" . During this trip to the United States, he met victims of priests, a move that will renew in Australia, July 2008 in the Vatican in April 2009, where he received Indians from Canada and Malta, April 2010 . For the journalist Vatican Giancarlo Zizola, Benedict XVI "has advocated zero tolerance, urged the bishops to denounce the offending priests and allowed material assistance to the victims" .

In 2009 and 2010, it is in Europe that cases are revealed, mainly in Ireland, Germany, Austria, Netherlands and Belgium ^, . Pope challenges collectively the Bishops of the countries involved in the scandals . In February 2010, it shall, exceptionally, all the Irish Catholic bishops, the latter being accused by Ryan Murphy and reports . On March 2010, Pope makes public the Irish Pastoral Letter to Catholics , where he addresses these painful questions ^{, ,} . He reiterated his sympathy for the victims. He understands that they are difficult to forgive or be reconciled with the Church . Pope acknowledges the responsibility of bishops and priests strongly condemns the perpetrators ^, . Benedict XVI identifies several factors to this crisis: inadequate procedures for evaluating candidates for the priesthood and religious life, defects in the formation of seminarians, a tendency to promote in society, the clergy and other figures of authority, "a misplaced concern" for the reputation of the Church, non-application of canonical penalties in force ^, . He asked the bishops "to apply the norms of canon law in addressing cases of child abuse" and "continue to cooperate with civilian authorities" . He encouraged priests and religious who are innocent are sometimes perceived as "guilty by association" because of the misconduct of their colleagues .

In May 2010, during his trip to Portugal, the pope answered a question from a reporter about sexual abuse by priests and religious. Benedict XVI said "that the greatest persecution of the Church is not from external enemies but born of the sin of the Church. "For the pope, the Church has a deep need to learn and accept the penance and purification. He reiterated the importance of forgiveness in the church, while stressing the need for justice, stressing that "forgiveness does not replace justice" ^, .

Lessons

Vision of Vatican II

Benedict XVI was one of the actors of Vatican II. He said: "I lived, too, the era of Vatican II, I was in St. Peter's Basilica with great enthusiasm. " He recounts his vision of the post-council, which he said is always difficult and one of crises in an interview with priests during his vacation July 24, 2005 .

The day after his election as pope, he asserts that "the implementation of Vatican II "is a priority" in faithful continuity with the millennia-old tradition of the Church, "a phrase that has been discussed. Benedict XVI criticizes the vision of Vatican II, which would be a break in the history of the Church. He sees the contrary, not a radical but a "renewal in continuity 'of the Church. Benedict XVI in a speech of 22 December 2005 is longer , and he denounced a vision of Vatican II he calls a "spirit of the council, who oppose" the letter and spirit of the Council " A central debate that divides the interior of the church for forty years between those who rejoice to see that the Church Catholic was "open to the world" (the spirit of the council) and those who mourn his loss substance and call for new roots (those who see only the letter of the council). Benedict XVI considers that the Church, with Vatican II, "continued and deepened her inmost nature and its profound identity." He asserts that "Those who expected that with''yes''fundamental to the modern era (the Second Vatican Council) that all tensions disappear and the opening to the world becomes a pure harmony have underestimated the internal tensions and contradictions as this modern age .

The theologian Hans Kng , who was a linchpin of the council along with what was then a young theologian Joseph Ratzinger, said in 2009 that the teachings of the council are being undermined by various errors of Benedict XVI, particularly in interfaith relations stressing that the Jewish and Muslim dignitaries have lost confidence in this regard. He also believes that the type of absolutist government of the Church is anachronistic and that it is committed again the path of the reaction of anti-modernism and return "to the Middle Ages" .

Encyclicals

Deus Caritas Est

On 25 January 2006 , he published his first encyclical Deus Caritas Est , God is love. In this encyclical the Pope tries to explain the Christian meaning of love, criticizing the fact that God's name is associated with vengeance or violence. Why he speaks of love that the Church must pass. The encyclical gets a publishing success (selling over 1, 45 million copies).

Spe Salvi

On 30 November 2007 , Benedict XVI published his second encyclical: Spe Salvi (Saved by Hope) which is a reflection on the theme of Christian hope, taking as reference the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans, "it is hoping that we were saved "(Chapter VIII, verse 24).

Caritas in Veritate

An encyclical devoted to social problems entitled Caritas in Veritate (Love in Truth) signed by the pope on 29 June 2009 was published on July 7 . It deals with the integral human development , and addresses the particular issue of brotherhood and Economic Development in conjunction with civil society and the development of peoples and respect for the environment.

Paper

Benedict XVI in May 2007 published his first book as pope. The book is the first volume of the life of Christ, Jesus of Nazareth. He signed "Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict XVI" because he wants to say the very fact that this book is a personal vision of Jesus' life and not a dogmatic teaching, under the papal magisterium. By signing Joseph Ratzinger, he insists that "this book is in no way an act of the magisterium , but only the expression of a personal quest for the "face of the Lord" .

Benedict XVI says July 17, 2007 work on the second volume of the life of Christ .

Ecumenical Dialogue

Benedict XVI in 2006

With the Orthodox

March ^1,2006 , Benedict XVI has decided to renounce the title of " Patriarch of the West. " . This renunciation has two goals, the first is to retain only the universal title of the pope and not more than the Patriarch of the West, the second reason is to get closer to Orthodox Christians, as the title of Patriarch of the West was created largely by opposition to the Patriarch of the East, and therefore orthodox.

On March 16, 2006, exchanges of letters between Benedict XVI and Patriarch of Moscow Alexy II are published, this exchange shows the beginning of rapprochement, Benedict XVI wanted "a more intense collaboration in the spirit of truth and charity", the patriarch meanwhile says that the West "is facing serious challenges that require shared commitments." The relationship between John Paul II and Alexy II were much more strained .

On June 28, 2008, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople , Bartholomew ^I attended in Rome, alongside Benedict XVI, at the opening of the Pauline Year to commemorate the second millennium of the birth of Paul.

With Anglicans

On November 23, 2006, Pope and Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams , head of the Anglican Church , have acknowledged in a joint statement "the long road that the two churches have come together for 40 years requires publicly acknowledge the challenge presented by new developments (...) constitute serious obstacles to ecumenical progress, "the statement said. They pledge to "continue dialogue". The two religious leaders have also called their faithful witness and work together for "peace in the Middle East and other parts of the world" .

During the pontificate continued dialogue with the Traditional Anglican Communion , founded in 1991 following disagreements within the Anglican Communion. It claims hundreds of thousands of faithful divided into 33 dioceses in 44 countries, speaking more than seven languages. Traditional Anglican Communion formula, 5 October 2007, an application connecting to the Roman Catholic Church on the principle of a communion, full and sacramental . This application was considered by the Holy See in October 2009 , with the announcement of the publication of the apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Ctibus to facilitate the communion between Rome and the Anglican groups .

In November 2009, Benedict XVI signed the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Ctibus (In groups of Anglicans) which provides a framework in which groups of faithful Anglicans may join Catholic communion. The Constitution creates a structure canonical specific designed to accommodate and integrate the institutions and Anglican groups within the Catholic Church , while ensuring "that are maintained within the Catholic Church's liturgical traditions, spiritual and pastoral Anglican Communion as a precious gift that nurtures the faith of members ordinariate and as a treasure to share "(CA, iii). The Constitution is signed by Pope Benedict XVI November 4, 2009, published on November 9 . It was jointly announced October 20, 2009 , Rome, by Cardinal William Levada , and London, by Rowan Williams ( Archbishop of Canterbury ) and Vincent Nichols (Catholic Archbishop of Westminster).

Interreligious Dialogue

With Judaism

On May 29, 2006, during a trip to Poland, a country of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI travels to Auschwitz, highly symbolic visit because of his German nationality . In February 2008, Pope Benedict XVI, in his willingness to allow the old rite of Mass in Latin, has decided to continue, with some modifications, a prayer for the "conversion of the Jews" contained in the missal in Latin for Friday. This authorization then raises protests from members of the Jewish community . In April 2008, during his trip to the United States , the pope - during a visit not initially planned - has met with the Jewish community and visited a synagogue in New York , sending a message to the Jewish community / Sup>. On this occasion, he said he wanted "to reiterate the commitment of the Church in dialogue, in forty years, has led to fundamentally change and improve our relations."

In spring 2009, Benedict XVI visited Israel and Jordan. At the memorial Yad Vashem , he uttered the word " Holocaust "in his speech and spoke unambiguously of" six million Jews "murdered by the Nazis. In August 2009, Benedict XVI says that the Nazi extermination camps were "symbols of hell on earth" . During his speech, the pope recalled that Pius XII Rescued Jews "so often hidden and discreet" and the president of the Jewish community of Rome, Riccardo Pacifici said that "the silence of Pius XII during the Holocaust" remains painful .

With Islam

The Regensburg speech and its consequences

On 12 September 2006 , in his speech at the University of Regensburg , the pope strongly deplores all violence committed for religious purposes. In his speech, the Pope means that God is the Word, the Logos, primordial reason. However, the reason is opposed to violence and passions.

In this speech, he cites the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaeologus ( 1,391 - one thousand four hundred and twenty-five ): "(...) the emperor, with a rudeness quite surprising that surprises us, addresses his interlocutor with the central question the relationship between religion and violence in general, saying: "Show me just what Mohammed 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 that he preached. " The emperor, after having expressed himself so forcefully, goes on to explain in detail the reasons why spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable. Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul. " . This quote from Manuel II in his speech triggered strong reactions in the political and religious world, mostly negative in countries with Muslim majorities, rather positive in Western countries taking the defense of the pope on behalf of religious dialogue and freedom expression. The reactions take the form of popular protests and sometimes violent acts ranging up to murder of Christians in Muslim majority countries such as Iraq and Somalia ^, .

An official announcement from the Vatican on Sept. 16, and Benedict XVI himself the next day, stressing that the quotation from Emperor Manuel II did not represent the personal beliefs of Pope ^, . These statements and a diplomatic initiative Vatican soothe some of the critics, including those coming from Iran and Malaysia .

On 20 September during the general audience in Rome, the pope returned again to the speech he made at Regensburg. He recalls his "profound respect" for the great religions, "and thus also for Muslims who" worship the one God. " He insists on the central idea of his speech: "It is not religion and violence go together but religion and reason." He also hoped that this speech and the ensuing debate may "constitute an impulse and encouragement to a positive dialogue, even self-critical, both between religions and between modern reason and Christian faith" . This invitation to dialogue is heard by Muslim personalities. One month after the Regensburg speech, 38 Muslim scholars wrote an open letter to the pope, in order to "reach a mutual understanding" . In October 2007, 138 Muslim leaders sent to the Pope and leaders of other Christian denominations, an open letter entitled A Common Word between us ^, . This initiative followed the establishment of a permanent forum of Catholic-Muslim dialogue, the first session held in Rome from 4 to 6 November 2008 .

Meeting with Muslim leaders

On November 6, 2007, Pope receives Abdallah ¹ , King of Saudi Arabia. This is the first time a meeting takes place between a pope and a sovereign country, custodian of the holy places of Islam. The interview is to interreligious dialogue, with the backdrop of the issue of religious freedom for Christians in Saudi Arabia present .

In May 2009, during his trip to Jordan , before his stay in Israel, the pope met Prince Ghazi Bin Muhammad Bin Talal, a cousin of King Abdullah II and inspired the letter A common word between us. This recalls the injury represented only for Muslims citing Manuel II's speech in Regensburg. He thanked the pope for having expressed regret over his remarks and noted that "Muslims are also particularly appreciated the clarification by the Vatican, that what was said in Regensburg did not reflect the opinion of Your Holiness, but was simply a citation in an academic discourse. " .

Tracks in the dialogue with Islam

In the post-synodal apostolic exhortation "Verbum Domini," published in November 2010, the Pope wants "inspired by the confidence reports, which were introduced several years ago between Christians and Muslims, continue and develop in a spirit of sincere and respectful dialogue ". It also retains the tracks of dialogue proposed by the bishops present at the Synod as "respect for life as a fundamental value, and the inalienable rights of man and woman and their equal dignity" and "contribution religions for the common good. " The Synod also plans to encourage meetings between Christians and Muslims so that they know each other better .

The conditions of this dialogue are those who, for the pope, prevail in the dialogue between different religions, as "the need is effectively assured to all believers the freedom to profess their own religion in private and in public, as that freedom of conscience. " Benedict XVI evokes the words of John Paul II to Muslims to Casablanca , during his trip to Morocco in August 1985: "Respect and dialogue require reciprocity in all spheres, especially in respect of basic freedoms, more particularly religious freedom. They promote peace and understanding between peoples " .

With Buddhism

On 13 October 2006 , Pope Benedict XVI received the ^14th Dalai Lama , spiritual leader of Buddhist Tibet as part of a "private meeting, courtesy, with religious content" . On 13 December 2007 , he was also to receive the Dalai Lama at the Vatican . However, following pressure from the Chinese government, the Vatican said the pope does not intend to meet with the Dalai Lama at that time, raising criticism . The Dalai Lama said he was sorry not to see the Pope during his visit of 10 days in Italy .

With Native Americans

On May 13, 2007, in his opening speech at the Fifth General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean in Aparecida , Brazil, Benedict XVI said that the natives were silently waiting for Christ. He cited the Catholic doctrine on non-Christian religions, but it drew protests from religious leaders and experts in Native American communities . He later said that the Conquistadors had committed serious crimes but that the Church had already condemned these same mistakes in the past .

Other public pronouncements

Ecology & Environment

Like his predecessor, Benedict XVI has taken a position on many occasions on issues of ecology and environment.

In his message for World Day of Peace 2008, he expressed his concern for the spoliation of the environment in many regions of the planet due to human action, in a way that seriously compromises the ecosystem. The pope has connected a strong moral appeal for solidarity on the basis of recognition of the universal destination of goods of creation, which also affects the poor and future generations. During World Youth Day in Sydney in July 2008, Benedict XVI explained what are the foundations of ecology human that takes into account both the natural and social environment. He said that the crisis of the natural ecology and social ecology is the fact that "freedom and tolerance are so often separated from truth."

The concept of human ecology (ecology or human) set during the 2008 Christmas greeting from the pope, led by the Sunday newspaper, "the wrath of homosexual organizations" .

Politics

In general, the pope did not take as much as his predecessor participated in political debate . The weakness of democracy in spite of the Weimar Republic led to develop a conception of democracy that it is necessary for proper operation of Virtue .

International Relations

On ¹ January 2006 , during the Mass celebrated at the Vatican on the occasion of World Day of Peace, Benedict XVI has called the United Nations (UN) in a renewed awareness of its responsibilities to promote justice, solidarity and peace in the world.

On the AIDS epidemic in Africa

On 17 March 2009 , the plane that took him to Africa , Benedict XVI said: "I would say we can not overcome the problem of AIDS only with money that is necessary. If there is no soul, if Africans do not help, we can solve it by handing out condoms. Instead, they increase the problem . " . He added that the solution to the epidemic can be found only in the "humanization of sexuality" and a "spiritual renewal" of human relations on the one hand, and secondly in a total dedication to the People who suffer .

These remarks are widely criticized by organizations involved in the fight against AIDS, like the Global Fund to Fight against AIDS and UNAIDS , and by various governments or political figures, including Belgium , the Netherlands and France ^, . The immunologist Quentin Sattentau, Oxford University, speaks of a "big step backward in health education" and increasing fears of contamination while a researcher, Edward Green , director of AIDS Prevention Research Project Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies of Harvard University , says in an editorial that "empirical evidence" gives reason to the pope, noting that condom use is not effective when AIDS epidemic affects the entire population, while confirming its effectiveness in other situations ^, .

Several personalities of the Catholic Church relativize about Benedict XVI, like the French Bishop Jean-Michel di Falco, who says that "it must be neither criminal nor suicidal, and should use condoms," the priest Guy Gilbert expressing his feeling of having saved several lives by distributing condoms, or the auxiliary bishop of Hamburg, explaining that any person with HIV or sexually active "must protect others and .

Several French bishops and African support for their pope's remarks, saying, as the Archbishop of Kinshasa , Laurent Monsengwo , that condoms exacerbates the problem by "giving a false sense of security .

Shortly thereafter, the Osservatore Romano acknowledges "some effectiveness" of condoms as part of campaigns against AIDS based primarily on abstinence and faithfulness ( ABC strategy ), for example in Uganda .

Following this speech upon arrival at the airport in Yaounde Pope calls for free health care and facilitating access to hospitals for people suffering from this disease ^, .

In November 2010 , in a book of interviews with Peter Seewald (Light of the World) , Benedict XVI reflects on his speech a year and a half earlier . He said he then wanted to insist that the AIDS problem could be solved by merely distributing condoms. Prevention through abstinence and fidelity, and the refusal of the trivialization of sexuality in his eyes are much more crucial to the fight against AIDS. However, the pope also reflects in this interview with Peter Seewald exceptional situations where sex can be dangerous for the life of another. Without endorsing these relationships and the disordered exercise of sexuality, the pope believes that the use of condoms to reduce the danger of contagion is, in these situations, "the first act of responsibility", "a first step on the path to more human sexuality " ^, . According to Father Lombardi, director of the Press Office of the Holy See, theologians and clergy have supported similar analysis. Father Lombardi observed, however, as did many observers, this is the first time a pope gives his opinion in this way on this subject . Finally, following the various misinterpretations that have been released on the occasion of the publication of the book, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published a note which states: "In reality, the Pope's words that refer in particular to seriously disordered behavior, namely prostitution (see Light of the World, pp. 159-161), do not modify or moral doctrine, nor the Church's pastoral practice. As is clear from reading the passage in question, the Holy Father speaks neither of conjugal morality, or even moral norm on contraception.

Relations with the traditionalists

The motu proprio Summorum Pontificum

Early in the pontificate of Benedict XVI, the press mentions a possible reconciliation with the Vatican's Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (SSPX) and the liberalization of the Tridentine rite. The media refer to discussions between ^Monsignor Jean-Pierre Ricard , ^Bishop Bernard Fellay , superior of the SSPX and Pope Benedict XVI and the proposed ^Bishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith , the then Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments , to complete the liturgical reform by opening up entirely Sacrosanctum Concilium , which allows the use of modern Latin. On August 29, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI receives that ^Bishop Bernard Fellay .

On Saturday, July 7, 2007, Benedict XVI published the Motu proprio Summorum Pontificum , allowing the celebration of the Mass of 1962 ( known as Mass of St. Pius V as revised by John XXIII ) by all priests upon request of parishioners accompanied by a letter to the bishops .

The pope said in his letter that the Mass of 1962 and the 1970 are one and the same rite with two different expressions (this assessment was criticized by traditionalists). Moreover, he denounced the excesses "unbearable" in the post-conciliar liturgical reform and calls for "internal reconciliation" within the Catholic Church and the unity of Christians who followed Archbishop Lefebvre into schism. This text may appear as a victory for the faithful , but Benedict XVI is in line with Vatican II: it reaffirmed the validity of the Mass of Paul VI as an expression of the ordinary rite, so that the Mass of Pius V is recognized but remains an extraordinary expression . And the publication of the motu proprio showing up as a desire for reconciliation and unity of the Church.

An attempt to "reinstatement" of the SSPX in full communion with the Church, for which the Vatican had made five conditions, is then rejected June 27, 2008 by Bernard Fellay , although the bishop says the desire to continue further negotiations so that the SSPX could get a canonical status in the Church.

Then, by a decree of January 21, 2009 released on the 24th, the Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, Giovanni Battista Re on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunication of the four bishops of the SSPX. Among them is ^Bishop Richard Williamson , who has made public statements deniers .

The Williamson

A few months before the lifting of the excommunication, Richard Williamson has indeed made statements denial in an interview aired by a Swedish television channel. He was echoing statements he made to Sherbrooke , in Quebec in April 1989 , while declaring that Jews were "enemies of Christ" and that the Holocaust was a forgery implemented by the Zionists to the creation of the State of Israel .

The lifting of the excommunication of the four bishops raised a storm of controversy while the media . A few hundred German Catholics opposed to this decree, they commence formal proceedings to expunge records of the Church . In an interview with the newspaper Le Monde , the chief rabbi of France, Gilles Bernheim asks:

"How could he ignore Pope denial of ^Bishop Williamson? If the lifting of the excommunication is an invitation to reconciliation, how to reconcile with those who opted out of Christianity by his words? How to talk with another who sees the denial of the Holocaust is a personal opinion? And what happens if the four bishops who excommunicated are no longer continue to deny Vatican II and Nostra Aetate? These issues concern me. Like many Christians and Jews, I expect clear answers . "

Given the controversy, the Vatican said the pope ignored the revisionist declarations of Richard Williamson and that the bishop should take "unequivocally and publicly distanced himself" with what previously required to "be admitted to episcopal duties in the Church . In the same document , the Vatican said that "full recognition of Vatican II" is "essential to the future recognition of the SSPX." For Angela Merkel , the pope's claims against the revisionist bishop is welcomed as "an important and positive signal .

A few days later, Benedict XVI receives the chairmen of several American Jewish communities and confirms its total condemnation of Holocaust denial . He considers "unacceptable" and "intolerable" by denying or minimizing the Holocaust, "crime against God and against humanity." Echoing the words of John Paul II to Jerusalem in March 2000, he said on that occasion: "I found myself praying. "God of our fathers, who chose Abraham and his descendants to bring your Name to the nations, we are deeply saddened by the behavior of those who in the course of history have caused pain to your son, and asking forgiveness we commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood with the People's Alliance. "" The Catholic Church says it then, is "deeply and irrevocably committed to the refusal of anti-Semitism", in keeping with the teachings of Vatican II, "milestone" in relations between Jews and Christians.

In his response, Rabbi Arthur Schneier said that these relations, "based on the solid foundations of Vatican II", "can survive periodic relapses" where Jews and Christians will emerge "stronger to work together." It expresses the "suffering" caused to Jews by the Holocaust denial of Williamson and stresses that "firmness" of the condemnation of the Holocaust by Benedict XVI is "encouraging" .

On 12 March 2009 , Benedict XVI published a Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church , in which he expresses his regret about the awkwardness of communication surrounding this case and explain the reasons which led it to take this measure of excommunication lifted and doctrinal reasons, he said, the SSPX prevent access to a canonical status in the Church and its ministers to exercise legitimate ministry.

The motu proprio Ecclesiae unitatem

Posted on July 8th 2009 by Pope, the motu proprio Ecclesiae unitatem precise relations between the Vatican and the SSPX. Under this decree, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei , founded by John Paul II in 1988, is now attached "so close" to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

For Benedict XVI, the dispute of the SSPX with Rome is of order "essentially doctrinal" and shall include the acceptance by the SSPX "of Vatican II and post-conciliar magisterium of the Popes." Until this issue is not resolved, the SSPX "has no canonical status in the Church", "his ministers can not lawfully exercise any ministry" and is not in full communion of the Church Catholic .

Works

List:

Notes and references

Notes

Main sources

• George Weigel , Benedict XVI, the choice of the Truth, Mame Edition - Edifa - Magnificat, August 2008, 430 p. ( ISBN 978-2-7289-1275-9 )

Other sources

See also

Related Articles

• Theology of Pope Benedict XVI
• List of Christian theologians
• Regensburg
• The cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI
• List of canonization by Pope Benedict XVI
• Motu proprio Summorum Pontificum
• Detailed List of popes
• Name reign of the Popes

Bibliography

• George Weigel , Benedict XVI, the choice of the truth, Ed Edifa, August 2008, ( ISBN 2916350241 ).
• Philippe Levillain , The time Benedict XVI, ed. Fayard, 2008
• Bernard Lecomte , Benedict XVI, the last European pope, ed. Perrin, 2006
• John Chelini , Benedict XVI: The Heir of the Council, ed. Hachette, 2005
• Colonna-Cesari Constance Benedict XVI: the keys to life, ed. Philippe Rey, 2005
• Jacques Duquesne et al, Benedict XVI or the Mystery Ratzinger, ed. Descle de Brouwer, 2005
• Jean-Marie Gunois, Benedict XVI, the pope who should not be elected, ed. Jean-Claude Lattes, 2005
• Michel Kubler, Benedict XVI, Pope-cons reform: the opening of a pontificate, ed. Bayard Centurion, 2005
• Eric Lebec, Benedict XVI: the challenges of a Pope, ed. Archipelago, 2005
• Patrice de Plunkett , Benedict XVI and the plan of God, ed. Presses de la Renaissance, 2005
• Sergio Romano , Faith and Power: The Vatican and Italy from Pius IX to Benedict XVI, Buchet-Chastel, 2007 Abstract online
• Greg Watts, Benedict XVI: its history, ed. Salvator, 2005 (trans.: Yves Morvan); original title: Labourer in the Vineyard: A Portrait of Pope Benedict XVI, ed. Lion Publishing Plc, 2005
• The meeting between Benedict XVI and Hans Kng on 24 September 2005 at Castel Gandolfo has resulted in a work of fiction 'The confession of Castel Gandolfo, of Pietro De Paoli.

External Links

• Biography of Benedict XVI , on the site of the Vatican.
• And statements of Cardinal Ratzinger.
• Bibliography on Benedict XVI and Benedict XVI , La Procure
• Video of Cardinal Ratzinger in 1988, during an interview (Archive Television Suisse Romande )
• Article on the Pope and the media by Bernard Lecomte , agency ZENIT
• Sample text of Cardinal Ratzinger concerning homosexuality.

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