Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has died after a short illness, the Vatican confirmed on Saturday. He was the predecessor of the current Pope Francis. Benedict’s real name was Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger. The German turned 95 years old.
The former pope’s health deteriorated rapidly on Wednesday. During his service, the current Pope therefore invited prayers for him. The next day, the Vatican announced that Benedict’s health was serious. He was still awake and awake that day.
Ratzinger became pope in 2005. He resigned for health reasons in 2013. He was the first pope to do so in about six hundred years. Since then he has lived in a monastery in Vatican City and has rarely appeared in public.
Benedict’s tenure as pope has been overshadowed by clerical child sex abuse scandals. He would have done too little about the abuse and covered up the misconduct. In early 2022, he asked the victims for forgiveness in the Catholic Church, but at the same time denied covering up the abuse.
As a cardinal, Ratzinger had long been the right arm of his predecessor John Paul II. He was considered a conservative theologian who was strict in doctrine. Some conservative clergy continued to support him even after his resignation and still see him as the protector of traditional values within the church.
