Christmas and Easter are the two most important liturgical seasons in the Christian Church. And in a sort of symbolic way they served as bookends to the life and death of Joseph Ratzinger, the priest and theologian who eventually became Pope Benedict XVI — the first Roman Pontiff in 600 years to voluntarily renounce the Read more
The Vatican has detailed rituals and procedures to follow when a pope dies, but it has not published such rules for a pope emeritus. As a result, official word Wednesday that the health of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI had worsened prompted questions about what happens if and when he dies. The answer is: There is Read more
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died at 9:34 PM on Saturday evening (NZ time) in his residence at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery. “With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 AM in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican. Earlier in the week, Pope Francis asked for prayers Read more
Emeritus Pope Benedict (95), is very sick and Pope Francis is asking for prayers. “I would like to ask all of you for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who, in silence, is sustaining the Church. “Let us remember him. He is very sick, asking the Lord to console and sustain him in this Read more
Experts are drafting proposed new laws on the status of a retired pope. In the 728 years that have passed since St Celestine established this legal precedent, the right of a pope to resign remains ensured in church law. The law is not very detailed, saying only that the decision must be made freely and Read more
Emeritus Pope Benedict is a very old man and physically frail. While alert and wide-awake his voice is becoming increasingly low and incomprehensible, says Archbishop Georg Gänswein. Gänswein is currently the prefect of the papal household and has been Benedict’s personal secretary since 2003. “The last few years have sapped his strength,” the Archbishop told Read more
I first met Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 1994 when I was researching my book “Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church.” I was getting ready to leave Rome and he was one of the last and most important interviews for the book. Because of illness, he had to cancel our first Read more
In the history of the papacy, Benedict XVI marks a caesura or a break, something quite ironic, given the fact that many traditionalist Catholics identify his pontificate with the “hermeneutics of continuity”. This caesura is not only tied to his decision in 2013 to voluntarily resign the papal office but even more so to the Read more
Retired Pope Benedict XVI’s lack of a personal apology or admission of guilt immediately riled sex abuse survivors. They said his response reflected the Catholic hierarchy’s “permanent” refusal to accept responsibility for the rape and sodomy of children by priests. Benedict’s letter received a lukewarm reception from bishops in Germany, while victims’ organisations expressed disappointment, Read more