Pope Benedict XVI (Latin: Benedictus PP. XVI; Italian: Benedetto XVI, born Joseph Alois Ratzinger on 16
April 1927) is the 265th and reigning Pope, the spiritual head
of the Catholic Church, and as such, Sovereign of
the Vatican City State.[1] He was elected on 19 April 2005 in a
papal conclave, celebrated his Papal
Inauguration Mass on 24 April, 2005, and took possession of his cathedral, the Basilica of St. John
Lateran, on 7 May 2005. Pope Benedict XVI has both German and
Vatican citizenship. He succeeded Pope John Paul
II, who died on 2 April 2005 (and with whom he had worked
before the interregnum).
Benedict XVI is a well-known Catholic theologian and a prolific author, a defender of traditional Catholic doctrine and values. He served as a
professor at various German universities and was a theological
consultant at the Second Vatican Council before becoming Archbishop of Munich and Freising and Cardinal. At the time of his election as Pope, Benedict had been Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith (curial heads lose their positions upon the death of a pope[2]) and was Dean of the
College of Cardinals.
During his papacy, Benedict XVI has emphasized what he sees as a need for Europe to return to fundamental Christian values in response to increasing de-Christianisation and secularisation in many developed countries. For this reason, he claims relativism's
denial of objective truth???and more particularly, the denial of moral
truths???as the central problem of the 21st century. He teaches the importance for the Catholic Church and for humanity of
contemplating God's salvific love and has reaffirmed the "importance of prayer in the face of the
activism and the growing secularism of many Christians engaged in charitable work."
Overview
Pope Benedict XVI at a private audience on January 20, 2006.
Benedict XVI was elected Pope at the age of 78. He is the oldest person to have been elected Pope since Pope Clement XII
(1730–40). He had served longer as a cardinal than any Pope since
Benedict XIII (1724–30). He is the ninth German Pope, the eighth having been the
Dutch-German Pope Adrian VI (1522–23) from Utrecht. The last Pope named Benedict was Benedict XV, an
Italian who reigned from 1914 to 1922, during World War I
(1914–18).
Born in 1927 in Marktl am Inn, Bavaria, Germany, Ratzinger had a distinguished career as a university theologian before being appointed Archbishop of Munich and
Freising by Pope Paul VI (1963–78). Shortly afterwards, he was made a cardinal in
the consistory of June 27, 1977. He was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith by Pope John Paul II in 1981 and was also assigned the honorific title of the cardinal bishop of Velletri-Segni on April 5, 1993. In 1998, he was elected sub-dean of the College of Cardinals.
And on November 30, 2002, he was elected dean, taking, as is
customary, the title of Cardinal bishop of the suburbicarian diocese of Ostia. He was
the first Dean of the College elected Pope since Paul IV (1555–59) and the first cardinal
bishop elected Pope since Pius VIII (1829–30).
Even before becoming Pope, Ratzinger was one of the most influential men in the Roman
Curia, and was a close associate of John Paul II. As Dean of the College of Cardinals, he presided over the
funeral of John Paul II and over the Mass immediately preceding the 2005
conclave in which he was elected. During the service, he called on the assembled cardinals to hold fast to the doctrine of the
faith. He was the public face of the church in the sede vacante period, although,
technically, he ranked below the camerlengo in administrative authority during that
time. Like his predecessor, Benedict XVI maintains the traditional Catholic doctrines on artificial birth control, abortion and homosexuality.
As well as his native German, Benedict XVI fluently speaks Italian, French, English, Spanish and Latin,
and has a knowledge of Portuguese. He can read Ancient Greek and biblical Hebrew.[citation needed] He is a member of a large number of
academies, such as the French Acad??mie des sciences morales et politiques. He plays the
piano and has a preference for Mozart and
Bach[3].
Early life (1927–1951)
Then Fr. Joseph Ratzinger at a
Feldmesse, open air parish Mass, in the hills of Bavaria, 1951.
-
Joseph Alois Ratzinger was born on 16 April, Holy
Saturday, 1927 at Schulstra??e 11, at 8:30 in the morning in his parents' home in Marktl am Inn, Bavaria, Germany. He was
baptized the same day. He was the third and youngest child of Joseph Ratzinger,
Sr., a police officer, and Maria Ratzinger (n??e Peintner). His mother's family was originally from South Tyrol. Pope Benedict XVI's brother, Georg
Ratzinger, a priest and former director of the Regensburger Domspatzen
choir, is still alive. His sister, Maria Ratzinger, who never married, managed Cardinal Ratzinger's household until her death in
1991. Their great-uncle was the German politician Georg Ratzinger.
The pope's relatives agree that his priestly vocation was apparent from boyhood. At the age of five, Ratzinger was in a group
of children who welcomed the visiting Cardinal Archbishop of Munich
with flowers. Struck by the Cardinal's distinctive garb, he later announced the very same day that he wanted to be a
cardinal.
Following his fourteenth birthday in 1941, Ratzinger was enrolled in the Hitler
Youth ??? membership being legally required after December 1939[4] ??? but was an unenthusiastic member and refused to attend meetings[5]. His father was a bitter enemy of Nazism,
believing it conflicted with the Catholic faith. In 1941, one of Ratzinger's cousins, a 14-year-old boy with Down syndrome, was killed by the Nazi regime in its campaign of eugenics. In 1943 while still in seminary, he was drafted at age 16 into the German anti-aircraft corps.
Ratzinger then trained in the German infantry, but a subsequent illness precluded him from the usual rigours of military duty. 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 their headquarters in the Ratzinger household. As a German soldier, he was put in a
POW camp but was released a few months later at the end of the War in summer 1945. He reentered the seminary, along with his
brother Georg, in November of that year.
Following repatriation in 1945, the two brothers entered Saint Michael Seminary in Traunstein, later studying at the
Ducal Georgianum (Herzogliches Georgianum) of the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich. They were both ordained in
Freising on June 29, 1951 by
Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber of Munich. Joseph Ratzinger's dissertation
(1953) was on St. Augustine and was entitled "The People and the House of God in
Augustine's Doctrine of the Church". His Habilitation (which qualified him for a
professorship) was on Bonaventure. It was completed in 1957 and he became a professor of
Freising College in 1958.
Pre-papal career
Academic career (1951–1977)
Ratzinger became a professor at the University of Bonn in 1959; his inaugural
lecture was on "The God of Faith and the God of Philosophy." In 1963, he moved to the University of
M??nster, where his inaugural lecture was given in a packed lecture hall, as he was already well known as a
theologian[citation needed].
During this period, Ratzinger participated in the Second Vatican Council
(1962–1965). Ratzinger served as a peritus (theological consultant) to Josef Cardinal Frings of Cologne. He was viewed during the time of the Council as a reformer, cooperating
with radical Modernist theologians like Hans K??ng and
Edward Schillebeeckx. Ratzinger became an admirer of Karl Rahner, a well-known academic theologian of the Nouvelle Th??ologie and
a proponent of church reform.
In 1966, Joseph Ratzinger was appointed to a chair in dogmatic theology at the University of
T??bingen, where he was a colleague of Hans K??ng. In his 1968 book Introduction 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. He also wrote that the Church of the time was too centralized, rule-bound and overly
controlled from Rome [citation needed]. During this time, he distanced himself from the atmosphere of T??bingen
and the Marxist 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.[6] Despite his
reformist bent, his views increasingly came to contrast with the liberal ideas gaining currency in theological circles.[7]
Some voices, among them Hans K??ng, deem this 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]".[8] Ratzinger has continued to defend the Council against criticism, including
Nostra Aetate, the document on respect of other religions, ecumenism and the declaration of the right to freedom of
religion. (Later, as the Prefect for the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith, Ratzinger most clearly spelled out the Catholic Church's position on other religions in the 2000
document Dominus Iesus which also talks about the Roman Catholic way to engage in
ecumenical dialogue.)
During his years at T??bingen University, Ratzinger publicized articles in the reformist theological journal
Concilium, though he increasingly chose less reformist themes than other contributors
to the magazine such as Hans K??ng and Edward
Schillebeeckx.
In 1969, he returned to Bavaria, to the University
of Regensburg. He founded the theological journal Communio, with Hans 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 his election as Pope, he remained one of the journal's most prolific contributors.
Archbishop of Munich and Freising (1977–1982)
On March 24, 1977, Ratzinger was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising. He took as his episcopal motto Cooperatores Veritatis (Co-workers of the Truth) from 3
John 8, a choice he comments upon in his autobiographical work, Milestones. In the consistory of the following June 27, he was named Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria Consolatrice al Tiburtino
by Pope Paul VI. By the time of the 2005 Conclave, he was one of only fourteen remaining
cardinals appointed by Paul VI, and one of only three of those under the age of 80. Of these, only he and William Wakefield Baum took part in the conclave.[9]
Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1981–2005)
-
Cardinal Ratzinger in
2003.
On November 25, 1981, Pope John Paul II named Ratzinger
Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,
formerly known as the Holy Office, the historical Inquisition. Consequently, he resigned his post at Munich in early 1982. He was promoted within the
College of Cardinals to become Cardinal Bishop of Velletri-Segni in 1993, was made
the College's vice-dean in 1998 and dean in 2002.
In office, Ratzinger fulfilled his institutional role, defending and reaffirming Catholic doctrine, including teaching on
topics such as birth control, homosexuality, and
inter-religious dialogue. During his period in office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith took disciplinary measures against
some outspoken liberation theologians in Latin
America, condemning liberation theology twice (in 1984 and 1986), accusing it of Marxist tendencies and of inciting hate
and violence[citation needed]. Leonardo Boff, for example, was
suspended, while others were reputedly reduced to silence. Other issues also prompted condemnations or revocations of rights to
teach: for instance, eleven years after his death, the writings of Jesuit priest
Anthony de Mello were the subject of a "notification" - the notice did not
condemn all of De Mello's works as heretical, but noted that many of them, particularly the later works, had what Ratzinger and
the CDF interpreted as an element of religious indifferentism (as they saw it, De Mello held that Christ was "one master
alongside others"). Some theologians dispute the CDF's interpretations of both liberation theology and the works of thinkers like
De Mello.
The CDF is best known for its authority over the teaching of Church doctrine, but it also has jurisdiction over other matters,
including cases involving the seal of the confessional, clerical sexual misconduct and other matters, in its function as what
amounts to a court. In his capacity as Prefect, Ratzinger also penned a controversial letter to all Catholic bishops, declaring
that confidential details of Church investigations into accusations made against priests of certain serious ecclesiastical
crimes, including sexual abuse, were subject to the pontifical secret and could not, on pain of excommunication,
be revealed.[10][11] The secrecy related only to the internal investigation, not to the abuse itself, and the letter did
not discourage victims from reporting such crimes to the police.[citation needed]
On March 12, 1983 Joseph Ratzinger as prefect and cardinal
notified the lay faithful and the clergy that archbishop
Pierre Martin Ngo Dinh Thuc had incurred the excommunication latae sententiae for illicit episcopal consecrations without the apostolic mandate.
Health
Because of age-related health problems, and in order to have free time to write, he had hoped to retire, and submitted his
resignation three times, but had continued at his post in obedience to the wishes of Pope John Paul II. In the early 1990s,
Ratzinger suffered a stroke, which slightly impaired his eyesight temporarily. This was known to
the Conclave that elected him Pope. In May 2005, the Vatican revealed that he had subsequently suffered another mild stroke; it
did not reveal when, other than that it had occurred between 2003 and 2005. France's
Philippe Cardinal Barbarin further revealed that since the first stroke, Ratzinger had
been suffering from a heart condition as a result of his age, and is currently on medication. It is also notable that he appears
to be in far better health than his predecessor was at the age of 79.[12] In late November 2006, an unconfirmed rumor emerged that Pope Benedict had undergone an operation
in preparation for an eventual bypass operation, and that the bronchitis suffered by the Pope
has put undue pressure on the Pope's heart.[13].
Papacy
Election to the papacy
-
Prediction
On January 2, 2005, Time magazine quoted unnamed Vatican sources as saying that Ratzinger was a front runner to succeed
John Paul II should the pope die or become too ill to continue as pope. On the death
of John Paul II, the Financial Times
gave the odds of Ratzinger becoming pope as 7–1, the lead position, but close to his rivals on the liberal wing of the church. In
April 2005, before his election as pope, he was identified as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time
magazine. 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 of Pentling near Regensburg and dedicate himself to writing
books.
Piers Paul Read wrote in The Spectator on March
5, 2005:
| “ |
There can be little doubt that his courageous promotion of orthodox Catholic teaching
has earned him the respect of his fellow cardinals throughout the world. He is patently holy, highly intelligent and sees clearly
what is at stake. Indeed, for those who blame the decline of Catholic practice in the developed world precisely on the propensity
of many European bishops to hide their heads in the sand, a pope who confronts it may be just what is required. Ratzinger is no
longer young—he is 78 years old: but Angelo Roncalli, who revolutionized Catholicism by calling the Second Vatican Council was
almost the same age (76) when he became pope as John XXIII. As Jeff Israely, the
correspondent of Time, was told by a Vatican insider last month, "The Ratzinger solution is definitely on." |
” |
Though Ratzinger was increasingly considered the front runner by much of the international media, others maintained that his
election was far from certain since very few papal predictions in modern history had come true. The elections of both
John Paul II and his predecessor, John Paul
I had been rather unexpected. Despite being the favorite (or perhaps because he was the favorite), it was a surprise to
many that he was actually elected, as traditionally the frontrunners are passed over by the conclave for someone else.
Election
On April 19, 2005, Cardinal Ratzinger was elected as the
successor to Pope John Paul II on the second day of the papal conclave after four
ballots. Cardinal 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."[14] Coincidentally, April 19 is the feast of St. Leo IX, the most important German pope of the Middle Ages, known for
instituting major reforms during his pontificate.
Before his first appearance at the balcony of Saint Peter's Basilica after
becoming pope, he was announced by Jorge Medina Est??vez, protodeacon of the College of
Cardinals. Cardinal Medina Est??vez first addressed the massive crowd as "dear(est) brothers and sisters" in Italian, Spanish,
French, German and English, with each language receiving cheers from the international crowd, before continuing with the
traditional Habemus Papam announcement in Latin.
At the balcony, Benedict's first words to the crowd, given in Italian before he gave the traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing in Latin, were:
| “ |
Dear brothers and sisters, after the great Pope John Paul II, 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.[15] |
” |
On April 24, he celebrated the Papal Inauguration
Mass in St. Peter's Square, during which he was invested with the
Pallium and the Ring of the Fisherman. Then, on
May 7, he took possession of his Cathedral church, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran.
Choice of name
Ratzinger chose the pontifical name Benedict, which in Latin means "the blessed", in
honor of both Pope Benedict XV and Saint Benedict
of Nursia. Pope Benedict XV 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 the Benedictine monasteries (most monasteries of the Middle Ages were of the Benedictine Order) and
the author of the Rule of Saint Benedict, which is still the most influential
writing regarding the monastic life of Western Christianity.
Benedict XVI explained his choice of name during his first General Audience
in St. Peter's Square, on April 27, 2005:
| “ |
Filled with sentiments of awe and thanksgiving, I wish to speak of why I chose the
name Benedict. Firstly, I remember Pope Benedict XV, 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![16] |
” |
Tone of papacy
During his inaugural Mass, the previous custom of every cardinal submitting to the Pope was replaced by having twelve people,
including cardinals, clergy, religious, a married couple and their child, and newly confirmed people, greet him. (The cardinals had formally sworn their obedience upon his election.) He has
begun using an open-topped papal car, saying that he wanted to be closer to the people. Pope
Benedict has continued the tradition of his predecessor John Paul II and baptizes several infants in the Sistine Chapel at the
beginning of every year, in his pastoral role as Bishop of Rome.
Benedict's coat of arms has omitted the papal tiara, which traditionally appears in the background to designate the Pope's position as a worldly
ruler like a king, replacing it with a simple mitre, emphasizing his spiritual authority.[17] Although some papal documents since his
inauguration appear to include the papal tiara, this is because the arms of the Holy See itself
(as opposed to his personal arms) continue to use the tiara and crossed keys, as can be observed, for example, on the website of
the Holy See and other official publications. Because it is the shield alone (regardless of its background elements) which is
unique to the individual Pope, varying backgrounds are possible for a single shield, though this is rarely done. Pope Benedict
XVI also included a traditional pallium beneath his shield as a background element for his arms,
emphasizing his pastoral powers.
Beatifications
On May 9, 2005, Benedict XVI began the beatification process for his predecessor, Pope John Paul II. Normally, five years must pass after a
person's death before the beatification process can begin. However, in an audience with Pope Benedict, Camillo Ruini, Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome and the official responsible for promoting the cause for
canonization of any person who dies within that diocese, cited "exceptional circumstances" which suggested that the
waiting period could be waived. The "exceptional circumstances" apparently refer to the cries of "Santo subito!" ("Saint now!")
during pontiff's funeral (saints can be declared by popular acclaim, although this is rare). Therefore, the Pope waived the five
year rule "so that the cause of Beatification and Canonization of the same Servant of God can begin immediately."[18] The decision was announced on May
13, 2005, the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima and
the 24th anniversary of the attempt on John Paul II's life.[19] John Paul II often credited Our Lady of Fatima for preserving him on that day. Cardinal Ruini
inaugurated the diocesan phase of the cause for beatification in the Lateran Basilica on June
28, 2005.[20]
The first beatification under the new Pope was celebrated on May 14, 2005, by Jos?? Cardinal Saraiva Martins. The new Blesseds were Mother Marianne Cope and Mother Ascensi??n Nicol Go??i. Mariano de la Mata was beatified in November 2006 and Rosa Eluvathingal was beatified December 3 of that year, and Fr. Basil Moreau is scheduled to be beatified by next year.
Unlike his predecessor, Benedict XVI delegated the beatification liturgical service to a Cardinal. On September 29, 2005, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints issued a communiqu?? announcing that
henceforth beatifications would be celebrated by a representative of the Pope, usually the Prefect of that Congregation.[21]
Canonisations
Pope Benedict XVI celebrated his first canonizations on October 23, 2005 in St. Peter's Square when he canonized Josef Bilczewski, Alberto Hurtado SJ, Zygmunt Gorazdowski, Gaetano Catanoso, and
Felice da Nicosia. The canonizations were part of a Mass that marked the conclusion of
the Synod of Bishops and the Year of the
Eucharist.[22] Pope Benedict XVI canonized
Bishop Rafael Guizar y Valencia, Mother
Theodore Guerin, Filippo Smaldone, and Rosa
Venerini on October 15, 2006.
During his visit to Brazil in 2007, Pope Benedict XVI presided over the canonization of Frei
Galv??o on May 11, while George Preca, founder of the Malta based MUSEUM,
Szymon of Lipnica, Charles of Mount
Argus, and Marie-Eug??nie de J??sus were canonized in a ceremony held at the
Vatican on June 3 2007.[23]. Preca is the 1st Maltese saint since the country's conversion to Christianity
back in A.D. 60 when St. Paul converted the inhabitants. [citation needed].
Curia reform
Pope Benedict began downsizing the Roman Curia when he merged four existing pontifical
councils into two in March 2006. The Pontifical Council for Migrants was merged with the
Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace headed by
Cardinal Martino. Likewise, Cardinal Poupard, who
headed the Pontifical Council for Culture, now also oversees the
operations of what had been the Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue, though both Councils maintained separate officials and staffs while their status and competencies
continued unchanged. In May 2007 it was decided that Inter Religious Dialogue would again become a separate body under a
different President.
Teachings
- See also: Theology of Pope Benedict
XVI
As Pope, Benedict XVI's main role is to teach about the Catholic faith and the solutions to the problems of discerning and
living the faith, a role that he can 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 in Theology of
Pope Benedict XVI.
Friendship with Jesus Christ
Benedict XVI: "The Eucharist is the enduring presence of Jesus' self-oblation." (
Deus
Caritas Est)
According to commentators, during the Inaugural Mass, the core of the Pope's message, the most moving and famous part, is
found in the last paragraph of his homily where he referred to both Jesus Christ and John Paul II. After referring to John Paul II's well-known words, "Do not be afraid! Open wide the
doors for Christ!", Benedict XVI 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.[24] |
” |
"Friendship with Jesus Christ" is a theme of his preaching which is found in many of Benedict's homilies and addresses, for
example his address to the priests of Rome, his Episcopal diocese, to the cardinals in the pre-conclave, and to an audience of
150,000 people, among whom were children going to their First Communion.[25][26][27] He has 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 the Big Bang, God withdrew from history."[28] Thus, in his book Jesus of Nazareth, his main purpose was "to help
foster [in the reader] the growth of a living relationship" with Jesus Christ." [29]
He took up this theme in his first encyclical Deus Caritas Est. In his
personal 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."[30] 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."
"Dictatorship of Relativism"
Continuing what he said in the pre-conclave Mass about what he has often referred to as the "central problem of our faith
today" [31], on June 6,
2005 Pope 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, recognizing 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.[32] |
” |
He had previously said that "a dictatorship of relativism"[33] was the core challenge facing the church.
Benedict traced the failed revolutions and violent ideologies of the twentieth century to a conversion of partial points of
view into absolute guides: during World Youth Day, he said "Absolutizing what is not absolute but relative is called
totalitarianism."
In an address to a conference of the Diocese of Rome held at the basilica of St. John Lateran June 6, 2005, Benedict remarked on the issues of same-sex marriage and
abortion:
- 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.[34]
This has drawn sharp criticism from Catholic gay rights advocates like
journalist Andrew Sullivan, who claim that Benedict is espousing a form of
fundamentalist edict, and is opposed to external questioning of his doctrines.
[citation needed] Supporters of the Pope argue that
traditional Catholic teachings hold homosexual acts (as opposed to merely a homosexual orientation) as sinful and that
Benedict XVI is loyal to these teachings.[citation needed]
Christianity as the Religion according to Reason
In the discussion with secularism and rationalism,
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 Paul II
died, when he referred to Christianity as the Religion of the
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