Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict gives up the power of being a to save the Catholic church to continue the goodwill of the Catholic churc. Pope Benedict is not St Peter, he is a servant of Jesus Christ. The Pope needs to make sure that goodwill of the Catholic church must continue by passing on the torch to the next one

he lives in italy. but was born in Germany.

It is to beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman to Blessed John Henry Newman

No, they are all dead. The position of pope is held until the person dies or resigns.

Yes, it was defaced and then destroyed. This is customary when a pope dies or retires and is doe to prevent someone from using the ring to notarize documents after the pope is no longer in office.

No, he did not resign because he is ill. Actually his doctors state he is in pretty good health for a man his age. He resigned because he felt he no longer had the stamina to continue the rather strenuous work involved in leading a Church with over 1.2 billion members.

Like every Pope, he has contributed enormously to the life of the Church by his teaching and leadership, in his case especially in the areas of Sacred Liturgy (his teaching on the nature of the liturgy, his decrees on liturgical discipline, the recent re-translation of the English text of Mass, etc), Catechesis (his encyclical letters addressed to the whole Church, his best-selling books) and moral theology (exposing the relativist morality prevalent in the world today). He is a wise and much-loved shepherd who has had to face vicious attacks from various groups opposed to the values and truths which he proclaims to the world.

Joseph Aloysius Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) was born on April 16, 1927 to Joseph and Maria Ratzinger, in Marktl am Inn, a small village in the state of Bavaria, Germany.

Read more: Pope Benedict XVI Biography - life, childhood, children, name, story, death, history, mother, young, old, information, born

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Pope Benedict is head of the Catholic Church. However he is also head of all of the other Rites/Churches which are in Union with Rome (The Uniates). So he is head of the following "Churches":

Armenian Catholic Church

Byzantine Catholic Church

Chaldean Catholic Church (East Syrian)

Coptic Catholic Church

Ethiopian Catholic Church

Maronite Church

Melkite Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

Romanian Catholic Church

Russian Catholic Church

Ruthenian Catholic Church

Syro-Malabar Catholic Church

Ukrania Catholic Church

West Syrian Catholic Church

Each of these have different "Rites" or ceremonies which are carried out. And they are all under their own separate patriarch(s). The pope is both head and patriarch of the Roman Catholic Church or the Western Rite.

For a list of "Who's Who" and who isn't in union with Rome etc read this:

http://www.archdiocesesantafe.org/Offices/Ecumenical/ChurchList.pdf

Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) was the third and youngest child of Joseph Ratzinger, Sr., a police officer, and Maria Peintner. Georg Ratzinger, his brother, is still alive. He is a priest and former director of the Regensburger Domspatzen choir. Maria Ratzinger, his sister, never married and managed his household until her death in 1991.

Joseph Ratzinger, Sr.and Maria Ratzinger (née Peintner)

There have been other German popes: Gregory V
Pope Adrian VI
Pope Clement II
Pope Damasus II
Pope Gregory V
Pope Leo IX
Pope Stephen VIII
Pope Stephen IX
Pope Victor II

Pope Benedict XVI was born in Marktl am Inn, Bavaria so yes, he is German.
Yes, he was born and raised in Bavaria. He was also a member of the Hitler Youth before and during the war.

At the time, any youth was automatically enrolled in "Hitler's Youth" at age 14. Young Mr. Ratzinger was no exception. However, he refused to attend meetings. Towards the end of World War II when he was a seminarian he was drafted into the army but deserted just before the Allies liberated Germany.

Immediately below the Pope in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church are the cardinals. The primary responsibility of a cardinal is to elect a new pope when a pope dies or abdicates the papacy.

However, they have many responsibilities.

Cardinals form the Roman Curia, which is a whole group of administrators (Cardinal Prefects) - something like cabinet members who assist the president or department ministers who assist the prime minister.

Pope Benedict XVI, Joseph Ratzinger, is still very much alive as of July 2013.

Yes he was in the nazi youth for a short period of time. He returned home absent without leave.

"When Ratzinger turned 14 in 1941, as required by law he joined the Hitler Youth. According to his biographer John Allen he was not an enthusiastic member. He requested to be taken off the rolls and reportedly refused to attend a single meeting."

source: Jewish Virtual Library

Pope Benedict XVI said that Catholics and Muslims worship the same God. This is in keeping with Vatican II, and with the sacred writings of both religions. They both begin with Abraham following the instructions of his God.

Please see the Related Link below.

There have been 16 popes named Benedict. Please be specific.

The Pope, no matter who he is, is important to Catholics because he is the voice of Jesus on earth, he is the man appointed by God, through His Church, to be His official voice in matters of faith and morals, and thereby is infallible when speaking on those matters to the entire Church due to Christ's guarantee and the Holy Spirit's guidance.

I believe it's green

Susanna Maiolo, 25, a Swiss-Italian national with psychiatric problems, attempted to attack the Pope at Christmas Midnight Mass in 2008 but was stopped by the Swiss Guard before she could reach the Pope. In 2009, again at Midnight Mass, she did attack Pope Benedict and he was knocked down. An elderly cardinal with him was also knocked down and broke a hip. Benedict was not injured.

He published many books, he worked hard for the complete reunification of the Society of Saint Pius X with the Church. Pope Benedict XVI issued a Moto Proprio allowing Mass according to the Missal of John XXIII to be used by any priest. He set up a mechanism for Anglicans to return to the Church, and for Anglican priests to come into the Church and be ordained as Catholic priests even if they were married. He corrected the translation of the Novus Ordo. He corrected the translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. He pushed to reorient the Mass correctly with the priest facing God and not the people. He pushed to get the people to start receiving Holy Communion on the tongue while kneeling. Overall, his two main goals were to reorient the Church with a hermeneutic of continuity with the pre-Vatican II Church and stop the abuses which have cropped up like weeds, and to educate the priests and faithful about the Catholic faith. He made an effort to appoint solid, Catholic bishops. He was a breath of fresh air after the protestant heresies of the past 45 years have mutilated the Church.

Pope Benedict lives in Vatican City, not Rome. Vatican City or The Vatican is an independent, sovereign country which is surrounded by the city of Rome. He lives there because he is the Head of State of the Vatican. He is also the Head of the Catholic Church which is headquartered in Vatican City.

Any male Catholic is a potential contender to be pope. However, in practicality, the election usually goes to an older and experienced cardinal. It is much too early to even think about a successor to Pope Francis. Remember this, Francis was not even mentioned as a possible contender for the papacy by the media in the days preceding the conclave of March, 2013. The same can be said for Pope John Paul II. His election was a surprise to the entire world in 1978.