The former pope Benedict XVI, a conservative German theologian who died on Saturday at the age of 95, goes down in history as the first pope to resign since the Middle Ages, after an eight-year pontificate undermined by a deep crisis.
On February 28, 2013, as his 86th birthday approached, Josef Ratzinger stepped down from office, a decision he attributed in a speech to his weak physical strength, to the astonishment of the entire world.
Since then, the distinguished Bavarian theology professor has been living very discreetly in a Vatican monastery.
In his last years the Pope emeritus moved around in a wheelchair, and also had difficulty speaking, but he kept his perceptive abilities according to those around him, and he continued to receive visits, to nurture what was described as the tale of the two Popes under the roof of the Vatican.
This close associate of John Paul II was elected head of the Catholic Church on April 19, 2005, and soon faced the gravest crisis in contemporary Church history, which is a series of sexual abuse scandals attributed to Christian clerics against children, exacerbated by the cover-up policy adopted by the spiritual leaders of the Catholic Church.
Scandal caught him in his retirement, when a German report in early 2022 concluded that Benedict XVI was responsible for his inaction when he was archbishop of Munich. After the Vatican defended him, Benedict XVI broke his silence to ask for “forgiveness”, while emphasizing that he has never covered up for anyone involved in child sexual abuse.
But the strongest step of his pontificate remains his abdication from the papacy, the first decision of its kind in the Vatican since 1415, which Benedict XVI will later say he took for personal reasons, acknowledging the “difficulties” encountered in the Holy See.
Italian biographer Jovan Battista Brunori felt that Benedict XVI’s resignation was “a courageous and governmental gesture”, but noted that Joseph Ratisinger “was never the pope of government, but the pope of thought” and of “belief “.
In light of the Church’s waning influence, Benedict XVI has repeatedly raised controversies during his pontificate, including one related to the 2009 lifting of the excommunication of four bishops known for their extremist views.
In the face of child sexual abuse scandals, Benedict XVI has called for a “zero tolerance” policy and became the first pope to apologize for these abuses, express “deep remorse” and meet with victims.
Father Federico Lombardi, former spokesman for the Holy See and head of the Joseph Ratzinger Benedict XVI Foundation, confirmed that the late Pontiff “has not resolved the problems related to the issue of sexual abuse, but has indicated correct ways to address them”.
In 2012, the German pontiff found himself embroiled in the “VatiLeaks” scandal, leaked confidential documents involving his former butler and enlightened financial mismanagement at the Vatican. This case had a profound impact on Benedict XVI.
Before his election, Cardinal Ratzinger fought for 24 years against any deviation from the doctrine of the Church, earning himself the nickname “Panzercardinal”.
This description was considered by the French cardinal Paul Poupard as a sort of “stereotype”, praising “the depth and beauty of his work as a theologian” and praising his “very sensitive humanity”.
Benedict XVI has taken firm positions in which he has not compromised the requirement of celibacy for priests or the refusal of women’s ordination, and has defended a conservative line in the face of societal developments, including controversial issues such as abortion or euthanasia.
He has also sought to promote a more austere image of the Church, a goal echoed by his successor, Pope Francis.
Benedict XVI criticized the excesses of capitalism, especially with the great frequency of the financial crisis of 2008, and took sides against the growing secularization in the West, and participated in sessions of dialogue between the various Churches and between religions, through 25 trips abroad.
But this shy man, a lover of music and praised for his kindness in his inner circles, failed to command a public presence like his charismatic predecessor, John Paul II. Because of his lack of firmness, and his excessive trust in his collaborators, observers say that Benedict XVI has failed to reform the ecclesiastical institution, which has remained mired in a spiral of paralysis.
His statements have aroused controversy and interpretations, as happened when in 2006 he alluded to the existence of an organic link between Islam and violence, which unleashed a wave of discontent in the Islamic world.
In 2009, before his first trip to Africa, Benedict XVI stirred up controversy by saying that the distribution of condoms aggravated the problem of AIDS, but in 2010 he authorized the use of condoms “in certain cases” to avoid contagion.
He also garnered fresh criticism after agreeing in 2009 to beatify Pope Pius XII, a figure accused of inaction during World War II.
Josef Ratzinger was born on April 16, 1927 in Bavaria, into a Catholic and anti-Nazi family. This son of a policeman entered priestly school at the age of twelve. He was enrolled in the Hitler Youth, which was compulsory at the time. But when he became pope, Benedict XVI denounced the “brutality” of the Nazi regime.
Ratzinger was ordained a priest in 1951 and taught theology for 25 years in German universities. During the Second Vatican Council he was one of the theologians in favor of the opening of the Church, but in the face of the waves of liberation of 1968 he took a conservative turn.
Appointed archbishop of Monaco in 1977, he was ordained cardinal in the same year by Pope Paul VI. In 1981 John Paul II appointed him to the Congregation for Doctrine and Faith, heir to the previous Inquisition.
In 1997 he had to have a pacemaker fitted, while in 1991 a cerebral hemorrhage left him blind in his left eye.
This German thinker wrote about a hundred books and dreamed of retiring to his hometown of Bavaria. His election as head of the Catholic Church has always been considered a “burden”, even though he spent the last four decades of his life in the Vatican.
His German biographer Peter Seewald told AFP in 2020 that Ratzinger was “a humble person … who always kept his humility and warmth despite being in the highest circles.”
