Benedict xvi. International Association for the Protection of the Legacy of Benedict XVI ● Papst Press Pontifex Benedict 16
(Joseph Ratzinger, Ratzinger, Joseph Alois) (b. 1927) - 265th Pope.
Born April 16, 1927 in the Bavarian town of Marktl am Inn. One of three children of police officer Josef Ratzinger and Maria Paintner, who worked as a cook in a hotel before marriage. The parents of the future Pope were staunch Catholics who had a negative attitude towards National Socialism, and one of his close relatives was a priest and a member of the German Parliament (Reichstag). In 1932, when the Nazis came to power in Germany, the family moved to the border town of Auschau am Inn. In 1937 they again settled in a new place, near the town of Traunstein. There, J. Ratzinger entered the classical gymnasium, where he began to study Latin and Greek, and two years later he became a student of the theological seminary, having taken the first steps in his spiritual career.
Despite the fact that in his youth the future pontiff had been in the ranks of the Hitler Youth for some time and, like everyone subject to demobilization, he was called up for service in the Wehrmacht in 1944, he deserted from the army at the first opportunity (in April-early May 1945). After spending some time in a prisoner of war camp, in June 1945 he returned to Traunstein, and in November 1945 began his studies at the seminary.
In 1947, Ratzinger entered the Georgianum (Herzogliches Georgianum), the theological institute at the University of Munich.
In June 1951, he was ordained a priest in Freising and, as a parish vicar, taught lessons in the law of God at the school. Apparently, it was then that he formed the ability to simply and intelligibly state complex theological issues and laid the skills of a future brilliant theologian.
In 1951-1952 he was a lecturer at the Higher School of Philosophy and Theology in Freising; in 1952-1959 - lecturer at the University of Bonn.
In 1953 he wrote one of his significant works, The people and the house of God in the ecclesiology of Augustine on the Church(Volk und Haus Gottes in Augustins Lehre von der Kirche).
Ratzinger devoted his doctoral thesis to the theology of the history of St. Bonaventure (1953).
He taught theology at the Department of Theology at the University of Bonn (1959-1969), in Münster (1963-1966) and Tübingen (1966-1969), where he tried without much success to oppose the radical left student movement.
As a recognized theologian and advisor to Cardinal Josef Frings, he took an active part in the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).
In 1969–1977 he was vice-rector and professor of dogma and history (development) of dogma at the University of Regensburg. During the same period, he participated in the international theological commission of the Vatican.
In 1981 he was appointed prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (), which is called upon to monitor the purity of the Catholic doctrine. In this post, Ratzinger gained fame as one of the most influential ideologists of the church, a conservative and a consistent opponent of the modernization of theology.
Ratzinger repeatedly spoke out against various "innovations" in the affairs of the Church, for example, the abolition of celibacy among Catholic priests, the ordination of women to the dignity, and "radical feminism" as such. He did not hide his regret at the change in the order of the Catholic liturgy (the so-called Vatican Mass), which since 1969 has been charged with serving in national languages, and not in Latin, like the pre-reform Tridentine (). Together with Pope John Paul II, Ratzinger tried to strengthen internal church discipline and authority. catholic church. As prefect of the congregation, he published a number of documents emphasizing his rejection of experimentation in the doctrine, as well as his attitude to matters of secular life, which contradict the dogmas of the Church, in particular: Declaration on Masonic Societies (1983); Instructions for Christian Freedom (Libertatis conscientia, 1986); on the problems of homosexuality and sexual ethics, instructions on the protection of life Donum vitae(1987); on a form of Christian meditation (1989); instructions for calling a theologian in the Church Donum veritatis(1990); message about the role of the Church-community Communionis notion(1992); communion message for the divorced Annus Internationalis Familiae(1994), etc.
In 2002, he became dean of the College of Cardinals (or College of Cardinals) - an advisory body under the Pope, which assumes power during the period when the papal throne is free and plays a special role in the election of a new pope.
After the death of John Paul II on April 2, 2005, the conclave, which began its meetings on April 18, the very next day (April 19) named Joseph Ratzinger as the new pope under the name of Benedict XVI.
Benedict XVI continued to develop the line of the previous pontificate and, despite the expectations of the conservative part of the faithful, declared adherence to the decisions of the Second Vatican Council. He is a supporter of interfaith and interreligious dialogue, standing on the positions of Christian ecumenism (the desire initiated by the Catholic Church to unite existing religious denominations based on the argument of the uniqueness and indivisibility of the Church (according to the Nicene Creed).
Another reason for the possibility of rapprochement of religious confessions was atheism, the spread of which Benedict XVI considered the cause of many problems. modern society. It was on this basis that under him there was a rapprochement between the Vatican and the Moscow Patriarchate. In one of his speeches, Benedict XVI emphasized: “... the Catholic Church boldly goes towards other confessions and religions. Genuine service to the cause of ecumenism is justified by a strong faith - by faith itself, and not by this or that interpretation of it. Our ecumenical problems, in particular with the Orthodox, are caused not by questions of faith, but by our historical and cultural differences.” However, for their part, Catholic ecumenists are ready for compromises and unions, provided that the primacy of the Roman pontiff is recognized.
Josef Ratzinger speaks 10 languages and holds 8 doctoral degrees in theology and philosophy. His bibliography includes several hundred publications, some of which have been translated into many languages of the world. His research work relates mainly to the broadly understood dogmatic and fundamental theology. There are also publications on liturgy, moral theology, social theology, theology of history, where he is close to the concepts of H.W. von Balthazar, J. Kongar, A. de Lubak and other representatives of the "new theology".
In February 2013, Benedict XVI decided to step down from his powers and leave the Papacy. The pontiff motivated his decision by advanced age and health.
Some of the writings of Pope Benedict XVI: Episcopate and primacy, 1961 (part 2); Introduction to Christianity (1968); On the future of ecumenism(1976); Faith Report (1985); Church, ecumenism and politics (1987); The Nature and Tasks of Theology, 1993;Salt of the earth (1997); Heaven and earth (1997); John Paul II. Twenty years in history (1998); God and the world (2001); Faith, truth, tolerance (2003); Rootless (2004).
fast news
- 03 - 07 - 2015
- 15:59
On July 4 at 10.00, Pope Benedict XVI will receive an honorary doctorate from the university and the Academy of Music in a ceremony at the summer palace of Castel Gandolfo
- 12:16
Benedict XVI celebrated Mass with his disciples at the Campo Teutonico church in the Vatican. No video, no audio, no sermon text.
- 11:06
Pope Benedict XVI confirmed his presence at the Canonization Mass on Sunday 27 April. The ceremony starts at 11:20 am Moscow time.
- 11:51
Benedict XVI is invited to the canonization of John XXIII and John Paul II. However, the Vatican cannot confirm whether or not the Pope will be present at the repose.
- 04:30
Benedict XVI is 87 years old. Happy birthday dear dad! Many years!
- 14:46
Benedict XVI attended the consistory for the appointment of cardinals. His first public appearance almost a year after his resignation.
- 18:23
- 15:59
The scandalous Pope, the Transitional Pope, the Nazi Pope and the "cat lover" - as soon as they did not call Pope Benedict XVI, who took the throne at the age of 78. He became the second pontiff in history to renounce the papacy of his own free will. His biography and the stormy papacy are fanned by a mass of scandals.
During the eight years of his pontificate, the Catholic Church experienced a series of pedophilic revelations, found itself on the verge of conflict with the Muslim world and met with a truly world sensation - the voluntary renunciation of the Holy See. What is the memory of Pope Benedict XVI, whose reign coincided with the crisis of civilization and faith, the world community?
Youth
In the world, Joseph Alois Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, was born into the family of a German gendarme on April 16, 1927 in German Bavaria, in a town called Marktl am Inn. The youngest of three children, named after his father, at the age of two he moved with his family to the city of Auschau, in the picturesque Alps. His father, not a fanatic of National Socialism, chose the classical gymnasium in Traunstein for his son to study. After graduation, Josef enters the theological seminary.
Nazi past
A controversial and controversial fact of the biography of the future Pope is his entry into the youthful paramilitary National Socialist organization "Hitler Youth". Benedict XVI does not hide this fact and explains it by the advice of his mathematics teacher, who was a Nazi, but nevertheless a decent person. Attendance at meetings of this organization and membership in it gave the fourteen-year-old teenager the basis for a significant reduction in tuition fees.
Josef Ratzinger did not hide, but was not proud of the fact that in 1943, as part of an auxiliary unit of anti-aircraft troops, he defended the BMW aircraft engine plant from attacks by opponents of Nazi Germany. In 1944, he also installed anti-tank mines on the Austro-Hungarian border. But at the end of the war, his military biography ended - the young man deserted. After surviving about two months in American captivity, Josef returned to Bavaria, where he graduated from the theological seminary.
Mature years of the future Pope
The future Pope received his higher education, specializing in theology and philosophy, at the Theological Institute at the University of Munich from 1946 to 1951. Immediately after this, the Archbishop of Freising and Munich, Cardinal Michael Faulbacher, ordained Josef to the priesthood. At the same university, he will defend a dissertation in theology. "People and Home in the Ecclesiology of Augustine" will include the then simple priest in the list of the best theologians in Germany.
Since 1959, Josef began teaching at the University of Bonn, and ten years later he became the leading expert on theological tenets at the University of Tübinham.
From a simple clergyman to the Pope
In 1977, Pope Paul VI appoints Josef Cardinal and Archbishop of Munich and Freising. Until 1981, he continued his pastoral work in Germany, which he regretfully leaves and moves to Rome. Once in the Vatican, he holds the position of prefect of the ideological department of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, with a bishopric in the small Velletri Segni.
Having passed several steps on the career ladder of a clergyman, since 2002, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, a member of the College of Cardinals and the Ecclesia Dei commission, has become the chief theologian of the Vatican, voicing his official position.
New Pope
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became the 265th Pope at the age of 78 on April 19, 2005, after which he took the name Benedict XVI ("Blessed"), traditionally honoring the memory of St. Benedict of Nursia (480-547) and Pope Benedict XV (1854 -1922). His candidacy was supported by the College of Cardinals from the fourth time. He himself commented on his election very modestly, saying that he did not ask for this and hoped to retire modestly. He realized his desire in 2013, voluntarily leaving the post of pontiff.
For the first time in a thousand years, a German from Bavaria, and not an Italian, became the Pope for the first time. For the second time in the history of the pontificate, the papal throne was occupied by a person of such advanced age (the first was in 1730 by Pope Clement XII, the same age as Benedict XVI).
Conservative Cardinal
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was famous as a staunch conservative, a tough opponent of abortion and homosexual relationships, divorce and genetic cloning. He was an active opponent of feminism, as he believed that it undermines the family and marriage, destroys the God-given differences between women and men. His strong rhetoric against euthanasia, stem cell research and the ordination of women has added both supporters and detractors to him.
Muslims and the Pontiff
While still studying at the University of Regensburg (2006), Benedict XVI almost became a target of terrorists. Visions of the situation regarding Emperor Manuel II nearly led to tragedy. By quoting the Byzantine king on the subject of Muhammad's words to spread the faith with the help of the sword, the pontiff caused a wave of indignation in Muslim circles.
Pakistan and India have voiced criticism of the Pope, and al-Qaeda has announced a desire for reprisals. The conflict was settled when the Pope explained that the quotation was intended to emphasize the groundlessness of the holy war. The terrorist organization renounced its promises, and the pontiff called on the world to abandon the massacre of Saddam Hussein and not invade Iranian territory.
Scandal related to pedophilia
Back in his tenure as Cardinal, Benedict XVI initiated changes to canon church law: the statute of limitations for sexual crimes was abolished, the list of crimes against children and child abuse expanded, and the procedure for defrocking for such actions was simplified. But this did not save the church from pedophilic scandals.
The largest of them broke out in 2010, when a special commission began an investigation into Irish priests accused of pedophilia. Benedict XVI sent a letter to Ireland, where he condemned their actions and expressed his idea that criminals should answer to people, and before the law, and before God. But the victims of the violence accused the latter of obstructing the investigation of the cases and filed a lawsuit with the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
In 2012, Gianluigi Nuzzi's book His Holiness, based on the correspondence of the Pope's secretary Paolo Gabriele, saw the light of day. The book describes the behind-the-scenes struggles and intrigues in the Catholic Church. As a result of this revelation, Claudio Sharpeletti (a programmer for the Vatican's secretariat of state) and Paolo Gabriele answered before the law, although the pontiff publicly forgave them.
Writer dad
The author of many theosophical works is Benedict XVI (gesammelte schriften, his impressive collected works). He was a highly educated man, fluent in ten languages. He also wrote a fictional novel, namely the book "Josef and Chico", where the story of the life stages of the future pontiff comes from the perspective of a neighbor's cat.
The book "Introduction to Christianity" is still a world-class bestseller and has been translated into dozens of languages around the world. Irreconcilability with liberalism in the bosom of the Church, the position of rigid Catholic traditionalism, upholding one's convictions - these are the qualities of the personality that Benedict XVI is. "Enemies are not outside," dad emphasizes. By the way, it was this phrase that became the reason to give the clergyman the nickname Panzerkardinal, which means "armadillo cardinal." He received another nickname, already being a pontiff for defending the orthodox views of the church - "God's Rottweiler".
Nothing human is alien
Benedict XVI is a loyal supporter and fan of the Bayern football club. He continues to support the club's team and the German national football team and could even become an honorary member of Bayern if he accepted the proposal of the club president. He actively promoted the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, but his team did not win, unfortunately for the Pope.
The pontiff plays the piano well. He prefers works by Mozart and speaks unflatteringly about modern pop culture. In 2009, he even recorded an album of prayer songs accompanied by classical music. From the time of his cardinality, the love for cats, especially homeless ones, has also been preserved.
Worldwide upheaval - voluntary renunciation
Benedict XVI will be remembered by the church, the laity and the public for his unprecedented voluntary departure. At the consistory on February 11, 2013, after the canonization of the Martyrs of Otranto, the Pope announced his voluntary resignation, his speech was broadcast by Vatican Radio. From that moment on, like a snowball, versions about the true reasons for this act swarmed. After all, he became the first Pope to resign in the last six hundred years, since Gregory VII in 1415.
The pontiff himself explained his unconventional decision by age and fatigue. As a representative of the world community comments on the issues of the crisis of faith, professor of theologian AI Osipov, Benedict XVI is too conservative, and such a position does not fit in with the liberalization of public consciousness.
What crippled the health of 86-year-old Benedict XVI, because while in office, he survived one heart attack. Age or those scandals that fell during his reign? Perhaps the world will learn more from the book that the Pope writes in retirement.
After dad
Benedict XVI retains the name and title of "Honorary Pope". On a well-deserved rest, he lives in a former monastery in the gardens of the Vatican, devoting all the time to his favorite reading and writing books. In 2016, the fourth book by this author, “Last Conversations,” was published, written in collaboration with the German journalist Peter Seewald. These are the only memoirs in which the former Pope talks about the time of his pontificate.
Mind and logic, backed up by high efficiency and perseverance inherent in the German nation - this will be remembered by Benedict XVI to posterity. An enthusiastic Bible student, writer and excellent teacher, the Pope even today, despite his venerable age, retains intellectual vivacity and physical vigor.
Benedict XVI is the 256th Pope, head of the Roman Catholic Church and absolute monarch of the Vatican City State. His full title is Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, High Priest (Pontiff) of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the Vatican City State. On February 11, 2013, he announced his abdication.
The Pope has full legislative, executive and judicial power in the Vatican. The Code of Canon Law provides for the Pontiff's right to abdicate. This right was exercised by Benedict XVI.
Benedict XVI is known in the world as Joseph Alois Ratzinger (he is the first pope of German origin in the history of the Roman Catholic Church). He was born on April 16, 1927 in Marktl am Inn (Bavaria). Was the third most youngest child in the family of Gendarmerie Commissioner Josef Ratzinger and Maria Ratzinger. Graduated from high school. In 1941 he was a member of the Hitler Youth.
From 1939 to 1943 he studied at the seminary. In 1943 he was drafted into the air defense corps, and in 1944 into the army, but due to health reasons he did not take part in hostilities. He served in the Austrian Legion, an auxiliary air defense unit. In 1945, when American troops approached, he deserted, was arrested, and spent several months in a prisoner of war camp.
After the Second World War, he continued his studies at the seminary, then at the theological faculty of the University of Munich.
On June 29, 1951, he was ordained a priest. In July 1953 he defended his doctoral dissertation in theology. He has taught at several universities in Germany.
In 1962-1965 he participated in all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council.
In 1969 he received the position of counselor at the Conference of Catholic Bishops in Germany.
In 1970 he signed a memorandum of 9 German theologians demanding reforms in the Catholic Church, which, in particular, contained a proposal to abolish the vow of celibacy. However, later the future dad changed his views on celibacy.
In 1972, Ratzinger became one of the founders of the Catholic magazine Communio ("Communion"), covering issues of religion and culture.
In March 1977 he was ordained a bishop and appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising.
In 1981, during the papacy of John Paul II, Ratzinger headed the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Since November 6, 1998, Ratzinger has been Vice Dean of the College of Cardinals and Bishop of Velletri Segni. Since November 30, 2002, he has been appointed Dean of the College of Cardinals and Bishop of Ostia. Benedict XVI thus became responsible for holding the conclave that elected the new pope. For a long time he headed two papal commissions - biblical and international theological.
April 19, 2005 was elected head of the Roman Catholic Church and the State of the Vatican. The enthronement of Benedict XVI took place on April 24, 2005, a week after his 78th birthday.
On March 11, 2006, Benedict XVI, through a teleconference, held a joint prayer with Catholics from ten European and African cities. Russia took part in this event - in the St. Catherine's Church in St. Petersburg, about 600 believers welcomed the pontiff. This was the first appearance of Benedict XVI on TV screens in front of a wide audience since the beginning of the election.
On September 12, 2006, Benedict XVI gave a lecture at the University of Regensburg on the role of reason in Christianity and Islam, as well as on the concept of holy war, causing a strong reaction in the Islamic world.
In 2008, he was attacked by the Italian Suzanne Maiolo. After Christmas Mass, a woman who appeared to be suffering mental disorder, tried to get through to the Pope and bite him. Exactly one year later, the same woman tried to get through to the pontiff again. On January 13, 2010, Benedict XVI received her and forgave her.
In 2010, he spoke out more than once on the issue of sexual abuse of children and the concealment of these cases in the Catholic Church. Then the world media published materials testifying to the personal involvement of Benedict (when he was a German cardinal, and also later, in 1996) in cases of hiding episodes of pedophilia in Germany and the USA. Later, during a visit to Malta and meeting with the victims of sexual abuse by the clergy, Benedict XVI expressed his "shame and sorrow" to them. Some time later, during a visit to Portugal, Benedict XVI, in connection with the problem of pedophilia, stated that the greatest threat of persecution of the Church comes from "sin within the Church."
Benedict XVI is the fourth pope in the history of the Roman Catholic Church and the first in almost 600 years to abdicate the throne. Benedict IX, Celestine V, and Gregory XII did the same before him (the last in 1415). Before Benedict XVI at the same venerable age, only Clement XII became pope in 1730.
Benedict XVI is fluent in German, Italian, Latin, English and Spanish, reads texts in ancient Greek and Hebrew. Author of four books: "Introduction to Christianity", "A New Song to the Lord", "Servants of Your Joy", "Jesus of Nazareth".
]. The Ratzingers have long been engaged in farming, but the father of the future pontiff, Joseph Ratzinger Sr., served in the police and adhered to anti-fascist views: in the early 1930s, he tried to prevent the Nazis from organizing pogroms in his city,,,. Josef's mother was Maria Pentner (Maria Peintner): she met Ratzinger Sr. in 1920 through a marriage advertisement in a newspaper. Joseph Ratzinger had an older sister Maria (Maria, she died in 1991) and brother Georg (Georg), a priest and musician,.
Ratzinger Jr. studied at the seminary in the village of Traunstein on the border with Austria, where he moved with his family,. He was forced to join the paramilitary Nazi youth organization "Hitler Youth" (Hitler Youth, Hitlerjugend) at the age of ten (according to other sources - at fourteen), and during the Second World War, Ratzinger was drafted into the air defense unit in Munich, which defended BMW aircraft engine plant,,. His unit was then sent to Hungary, where Ratzinger set up anti-tank barriers. Ratzinger claimed not to have fired a single shot during the war. In April 1944, he deserted and spent some time in captivity with the allied forces,.
In the postwar years, Ratzinger's theological career began. From 1946 to 1951 he studied philosophy and theology at the Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology in the Bavarian city of Freising and later at the University of Munich. In 1951 he was ordained a priest in the Catholic Church. In 1953, Ratzinger received his doctorate in theology, four years later he was certified to teach at the university. He lectured on dogmatic and fundamental theology in Freising, Bonn, Münster and Tübingen. In 1969, he became vice-president of the University of Regensburg and headed the department of dogmatic theology and the history of dogmas,,. During his teaching at universities, Ratzinger fought against the leftist mood of students and was already considered an extremely influential cleric: in 2005 it turned out that he was being followed by at least eight agents of the East German Stasi intelligence service.
On March 25, 1977, Ratzinger was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising and on May 28 he was ordained bishop,,,. Already in June of the same year, Pope Paul VI made Ratzinger a cardinal,. Ratzinger took part in the conclaves that elected Pope John Paul I and later John Paul II in 1978. Ratzinger's views were similar to the conservative views of John Paul II, and on November 25, 1981, the pope appointed him prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, an office that inherited some of its functions from the Inquisition,,,. In February 1982, Ratzinger left his archbishopric in Bavaria. In 1987, Ratzinger made a statement about Judaism and Jews that the main result of all Jewish history was the birth of Christ, subsequently he was accused of "theological anti-Semitism" for this.
From 1986 to 1992, Ratzinger directed the commission that worked on the text of the new catechism of the Catholic Church. On April 5, 1993, he took charge of the suburban diocese of Velletri Segni, and in 2002 of the suburban diocese of Ostia. Since 1998 the priest has been Vice Dean and since 2002 Dean of the College of Cardinals. Ratzinger held various posts in the papal curia. IN last years During the life of John Paul II, he remained the hierarch closest to him, and in April 2005, after the death of the pontiff, he was elected to his place, receiving the name Benedict XVI, and the title of Bishop of Rome, vicar of Jesus Christ, successor of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, Supreme High Priest of the Universal Church , Patriarch of the West, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Head of the Vatican State and Servant of the Servants of God.
Benedict XVI is considered a conservative pontiff. He has long been opposed to socialist ideology, homosexuality, contraception and abortion,,. He also opposed the liberalization of church orders, he was criticized for condemning the ordination of priests to women, homosexuals and married men, . He opposed genetic experiments: in his opinion, genetic scientists "took on the role of God." In 2006, Benedict XVI fired the head of the Vatican observatory, Jesuit priest George Coyne, for rejecting creationism (the doctrine that the earth and life on it were created by God) and supporting the Catholic Church's acceptance of the theory of evolution. In 2007, Benedict XVI issued a special encyclical condemning atheism and the activities of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin.
As a cardinal, Benedict XVI spoke negatively about popular culture, in particular about rock musician Bob Dylan (Bob Dylan) and the Harry Potter series of books by writer Joanne Rowling (Joanne Rowling).
During a visit to Germany in mid-September 2006, Benedict XVI in one of his speeches quoted the Byzantine emperor Manuel Palaiologos, who said that the prophet Muhammad brought only evil and inhumanity to the world. These words caused discontent and mass protests among Muslims, despite the subsequent apologies from the pontiff,,.
Like John Paul II, Benedict XVI paid much attention to relations with the Russian Orthodox Church(ROC). Representatives of the Vatican stated that he was ready to come to Moscow to meet with its primate-patriarch, while the Russian Orthodox Church claimed that the Vatican was still pursuing an aggressive policy of luring believers into Uniatism on the territory of Ukraine, and before the solution of this problem they were not going to invite the pontiff to Russia. John Paul II did not come to Russia earlier without an official invitation from the Russian Orthodox Church. Nevertheless, Benedict XVI met with Patriarch Kirill, who at that time was the head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate,.
In November 2006, Benedict XVI visited Turkey, where he met with Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople: the heads of the churches celebrated mass together. The Patriarch greeted the Pope with words that he was grieving for the schism of the churches.
In 2007, Benedict XVI met Russian President Vladimir Putin. As the pontiff said, "Russia is a truly great country, great in many respects: it is great with its open spaces, centuries-old history, its highest spirituality and multifaceted culture."
In October 2008, after the start of the global recession, Benedict XVI said that this crisis testifies to the futility of money and the futility of accumulating wealth.
In May 2012, the media wrote about the scandal that erupted after the publication of the book by journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi (Gianluigi Nuzzi) "His Holiness: The Secret Letters of Benedict XVI" (Sua Santita. Le Carte Segrete Di Benedetto XVI), based on fragments of confidential correspondence of the pope and announced by representatives Vatican "slanderous" and "criminal", . Benedict XVI's valet Paolo Gabriele was blamed for the leak. In October of the same year, the Vatican court Gabriele for the theft of documents, and in November, an employee of the Vatican secretariat, Claudio Sciarpelletti, was convicted of participating in the same crime,.
Benedict XVI is fond of classical music and can play the piano himself. The press also wrote that he is a big cat lover.
Used materials
Vatileaks, il tecnico Claudio Sciarpelletti condannato a due mesi. - Quotidiano.net, 10.11.2012
Vatileaks: 18 mesi per Paolo Gabriele "Ho agito per amore della Chiesa". - Corriere della Sera, 06.10.2012
Lettere a Benedetto XVI finite in un libro Il Vaticano denuncera furto e ricettazione. - La Repubblica, 19.05.2012
Who can be elected as the new head of the Russian Orthodox Church. - NEWSru.com, 05.12.2008
