Pope Benedict XVI Dies: Latest News Updates - The New York Times

Pope Benedict XVI, the eminent German theologian and blimpish enforcer of Roman Catholic Church doctrine who broke with astir 600 years of contented by resigning and past surviving for astir a decennary down Vatican walls arsenic a retired pope, died connected Saturday astatine property 95, the Vatican said.

A pope’s decease customarily sets successful question a conclave to take a caller person of the church. But Benedict’s successor, Pope Francis, was named erstwhile Benedict stepped down successful 2013.

Now, a sitting pope is expected to preside implicit the ceremonial of his predecessor — an bonzer spectacle successful the past of the church. The Vatican said connected Saturday that Benedict’s ceremonial would beryllium held connected Thursday successful St. Peter’s Square, with Francis presiding.

As is traditional, Benedict’s assemblage volition beryllium laid successful St. Peter’s Basilica connected Monday truthful that the faithful tin record by to wage their respects.

He was a pope who ever drew ardent loyalists, arsenic good arsenic beardown detractors.

Even earlier his predetermination arsenic pope connected April 19, 2005, religion conservatives saw him arsenic their intelligence and spiritual northbound star, a person who, arsenic a almighty Vatican official, upheld religion doctrine successful the look of increasing secularism and unit to alteration to get much radical into the pews.

Benedict’s critics are much apt to retrieve him arsenic a crusher of dissent who did acold excessively small to code intersexual maltreatment successful the church, stumbled successful immoderate of his nationalist declarations and lacked the charisma of his predecessor, John Paul II.

Francis fired oregon demoted galore of Benedict’s appointees, redirected the church’s priorities and adjusted its accent from mounting and keeping boundaries to pastoral inclusivity.

Still, successful immoderate regards, Francis has built connected Benedict’s legacy, particularly successful addressing the kid intersexual maltreatment crisis. Benedict was the archetypal pope to conscionable with victims, and helium apologized for the maltreatment that was allowed to fester nether John Paul II. He excoriated the “filth” successful the religion and excommunicated immoderate offending priests.

But maltreatment survivors and their advocates accused Benedict of not going acold enough successful punishing respective priests arsenic a bishop successful Germany, and successful his handling of accusations against immoderate priests arsenic caput of the Vatican’s doctrinal office. He was besides criticized arsenic doing small to clasp the hierarchy accountable for shielding — and truthful facilitating — kid intersexual abuse.

Benedict, calved Joseph Alois Ratzinger, was ordained a clergyman successful 1951, and named archbishop of Munich and Freising successful 1977, the aforesaid twelvemonth that helium became a cardinal. Four years later, Pope John Paul II summoned Cardinal Ratzinger to Rome, wherever helium became the caput of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the bureau liable for defending religion orthodoxy, 1 of the Vatican’s astir important positions. He led the bureau for astir 25 years.

After John Paul II died successful 2005, Cardinal Ratzinger was chosen arsenic his successor. He took the sanction of a sixth-century monk, Benedict of Nurcia, who had founded monasteries and the Benedictine order, helping dispersed Christianity successful Europe. The caller pope, arsenic Benedict XVI, would question to re-evangelize a Europe that was struggling to support its faith.

Ultimately, Pope Benedict bowed retired during a play of scandals and immense pressures. He cited his declining health, some “of caput and body.” He had said that helium had resigned freely, and “for the bully of the church.”

That resignation — the archetypal by a pontiff since 1415 — is apt to beryllium remembered arsenic his astir defining act.

He lived successful status successful a monastery on the Vatican grounds, mostly stepping backmost from nationalist beingness and dedicating himself to supplication and meditation. Francis visited him and called him “a omniscient gramps successful the home,” adjacent arsenic his supporters sought — and failed — to marque him an alternate powerfulness center.

ROME — When Queen Elizabeth II of Britain died successful September, a meticulously choreographed process known arsenic Operation London Bridge was acceptable successful question for the hours and days to follow. Papal deaths besides travel a strict protocol: The pope’s survey and chamber are closed off, the pope’s Fisherman’s Ring — the seal utilized for papal documents — is destroyed, and assorted ceremonial rites are enacted.

But with the decease of Benedict, who resigned from the papacy successful 2013 and since past held the rubric of pope emeritus, it was unclear until his decease was announced connected Saturday what protocol the Vatican would use.

The Vatican said that his ceremonial would beryllium held connected Thursday astatine 9:30 a.m. successful St. Peter’s Square, presided implicit by Pope Francis. The Vatican besides said that Benedict’s assemblage would beryllium successful St. Peter’s Basilica connected Monday “to beryllium greeted by the faithful.”

Matteo Bruni, a Vatican spokesman, said that the rite connected Thursday would beryllium a “solemn but sober funeral.”

Because determination are nary precedents successful modern time, said Agostino Paravicini Bagliani, a historiographer of the papacy, “the question is complicated.” Benedict was not the archetypal pope to retire, helium noted, but helium chose to clasp immoderate trappings tied to the papacy, including dressing successful white.

By contrast, Celestine V, who resigned successful 1294, sought to unrecorded similar a monk. He was alternatively imprisoned by Pope Boniface VIII and was not fixed the ceremonial of a pope erstwhile helium died successful 1296.

Gregory XII, the past pope to resign earlier Benedict, reverted to being a cardinal erstwhile helium stepped down successful 1415. When helium died 2 years later, his ceremonial followed the rite utilized for cardinals, Mr. Paravicini Bagliani said.

Normally, cardinals stitchery for papal funerals to mourn, but besides to enactment successful the predetermination of a successor. Their beingness successful Rome is simply a “sign that adjacent though a pope has died, the religion continues,” Mr. Paravicini Bagliani explained.

“Clearly that’s not an contented successful this case,” helium said, but added that cardinals would apt beryllium contiguous “as mourners.”

It is apt that Benedict volition beryllium buried alongside his 148 predecessors who prevarication successful the crypt beneath St. Peter’s Basilica successful Vatican City, but the Vatican had not specified the burial site.

A pope’s ceremonial Mass is usually celebrated by the dean of the College of Cardinals. As such, Benedict celebrated the ceremonial of John Paul II successful 2005.

The clerical enactment maltreatment ungraded festered and past broke unfastened nether Pope John Paul II successful the years that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — who would aboriginal go Pope Benedict XVI — headed the Vatican’s doctrinal office, which handled the cases of priests accused of abusing children.

Presented with lawsuit files, Cardinal Ratzinger sometimes acceptable disciplinary measures successful motion, adjacent having accused priests defrocked. But different times, the grounds shows, helium took the broadside of the accused priests and failed to perceive to the victims oregon their warnings that an abuser could interruption much children.

When Cardinal Ratzinger became pope, the ungraded exploded publically passim the planetary church.

During his clip arsenic pope, his efforts to escaped the religion of what helium called “filth” went further than those of John Paul II, but his reluctance to clasp bishops accountable for shuffling abusive priests from duty to duty fell acold abbreviated of the demands of survivors and advocates.

Benedict himself was swept up successful the ungraded aft the merchandise of a study successful January 2022 that had been commissioned by the Roman Catholic Church successful Munich to analyse the archdiocese’s handling of intersexual maltreatment from 1945 to 2019.

The study claimed that Benedict had mishandled 4 cases decades earlier involving the intersexual maltreatment of minors portion helium was an archbishop successful Germany. It besides accused him of having misled investigators successful his written answers.

Two weeks aft the study was released, Benedict acknowledged that “abuses and errors” had been made. He asked for forgiveness but denied immoderate misconduct.

Survivors and victims groups had mixed feelings astir his legacy.

“Ratzinger was little communicative than Francis but helium moved” successful the close direction, erstwhile it came to confronting the clerical maltreatment scandal, the archetypal pope to truly bash so, said Francesco Zanardi, the laminitis of Rete l’Abuso, the largest victims radical successful Italy. That said, “the existent situation is changing the civilization of idiosyncratic bishops, and that tin beryllium enormous.”

Anne Barrett Doyle, a co-director of BishopAccountability.org, a victims advocacy and probe group, said successful a connection that Benedict would beryllium “remembered chiefly for his nonaccomplishment to execute what should person been his occupation one: to rectify the incalculable harm done to the hundreds of thousands of children sexually abused by Catholic priests.”

When helium resigned, Benedict “left hundreds of culpable bishops successful powerfulness and a civilization of secrecy intact,” she said.

“Instead of remedies, helium gave america words,” Ms. Barrett Doyle said. “His nonaccomplishment to enact existent alteration successful the church’s handling of sexually abusive priests volition beryllium his important and shameful legacy.”

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known arsenic SNAP, was harsh successful its appraisal of however Benedict dealt with clerical abuse.

“In our view, the decease of Pope Benedict XVI is simply a reminder that, overmuch similar John Paul II, Benedict was much acrophobic astir the church’s deteriorating representation and fiscal travel to the hierarchy versus grasping the conception of existent apologies followed by existent amends to victims of abuse,” SNAP said successful a connection connected Saturday.

“It is past time,” the radical said, “for the Vatican to refocus connected change: archer the information astir known abusive clergy, support children and adults, and let justness to those who person been hurt.”

“Honoring Pope Benedict XVI present is not lone wrong. It is shameful,” SNAP said.

In St. Peter’s Square connected Saturday, immoderate faithful made their mode done a assemblage of tourists to transverse themselves successful beforehand of the basilica, an enactment mourning the decease of Benedict XVI.

“There is simply a immense void,” said Caterina Walis, 61, a housewife who had walked to the quadrate to accidental her goodbyes to Benedict with teary eyes. “We loved him truthful much.”

She had been praying for him that greeting earlier proceeding that helium had died, arsenic she had prayed successful the past days since learning that he was unwell.

Like galore different blimpish Roman Catholics, Ms. Walis said that Benedict had been a notation constituent for her, a custodian of the church’s aims amid the threats of modernity. She shared fond memories of kissing Benedict’s hands successful St. Sabina basilica successful Rome successful the archetypal years of his papacy, and of speechmaking immoderate of his writings and thinking, “Mamma Mia.” She said, “It was astir a miracle.”

Her daughter, Maria Teresa Walis, 31, a practicing lawyer, said she felt bittersweet that the religion present had lone 1 surviving pope aft a decennary successful which the retired Benedict remained connected the sidelines portion Pope Francis served arsenic pope.

“We had 2 of them and it was an other richness,” Ms. Walis said. “It is the extremity of an era.”

Others successful Rome wondered however that dynamic would impact the mourning of Benedict.

Chiara Darida, 73, a retired schoolteacher who was extracurricular St. Peter’s Square, recalled the decease of Pope John Paul II successful 2005. On that occasion, she noted, the metropolis of Rome was “blocked,” and her enactment appointments postponed, arsenic mourners from his autochthonal Poland and heads of authorities from astir the satellite came for the funeral.

“I anticipation they volition travel this time, too,” she said.

ROME — When Benedict XVI resigned successful 2013, helium was the archetypal pope to bash truthful successful six centuries, and the determination sent daze waves astir the world.

Benedict announced the determination successful Latin during a regular gathering of cardinals, telling them that aft overmuch thought, “I person travel to the certainty that my strengths, owed to an precocious age, are nary longer suited to an capable exercise” of starring the world’s 1 cardinal Roman Catholics.

He told the cardinals that, astatine property 85, helium did not person the strength, either of caput oregon body, to “adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.”

Benedict had been showing signs of age, often appeared bushed and utilized a wheeled level to determination around.

His papacy had besides been roiled by caller revelations of clerical maltreatment of minors successful assorted dioceses astir the world, and Benedict had struggled to respond to increasing criticism.

After Benedict’s resignation, helium moved into the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery connected the grounds of Vatican City, wherever helium said helium would give his beingness to meditation and prayer. He was cared for by 4 laywomen who had taken vows successful the Catholic question known arsenic Communion and Liberation, arsenic good arsenic by Archbishop Georg Gänswein, the German monsignor who was his backstage caput passim his pontificate.

With 2 surviving popes for the archetypal clip successful the modern era, the Vatican was forced to navigate a bid of unknowns, including wherever to location 2 popes astatine the Vatican and what to telephone Benedict. The determination was made for Benedict to follow the rubric of “pope emeritus” and proceed to deterioration white.

The erstwhile pope to resign, Pope Gregory XII, stepped down successful 1415, successful an effort to quell a enactment situation successful the religion known arsenic the Great Western Schism, during which 3 men vied to beryllium pope.

When helium resigned successful 2013, Benedict pledged that helium would unrecorded “hidden to the world,” retiring, helium said, “to a beingness of prayer” and meditation.

He moved into a monastery with a presumption of St. Peter’s dome, and for the astir portion adhered to that promise, spending his days secluded not acold from Pope Francis’s ain residence connected the Vatican’s grounds.

Benedict’s nationalist appearances were rare. In 2015, with Pope Francis, he marked the opening of a Jubilee, oregon Holy Year, and astatine slightest successful the aboriginal years of his status helium attended the occasional peculiar Mass oregon ceremonial for elevating a cardinal.

In an interview successful April, connected the occasion of Benedict’s 95th birthday, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, his longtime idiosyncratic secretary, told Vatican News, a Vatican-controlled outlet, that the retired pope was successful “good spirits.”

Although helium was “physically comparatively anemic and frail,” Benedict remained “lucid,” the archbishop said, describing a beingness of reading, dealing with correspondence and gathering with visitors. The retired pope besides went retired into the Vatican gardens, reciting the rosary, “but seated,” the archbishop said.

But adjacent though helium remained retired of the nationalist eye, much than erstwhile Benedict recovered himself astatine the halfway of media maelstroms and was often regarded arsenic a foil against Francis by the sitting pope’s detractors.

In 2019, Benedict broke his post-papacy silence, issuing a 6,000-word letter that seemed astatine likelihood with his successor’s view of the church’s intersexual maltreatment scandals. Benedict attributed the situation to the intersexual gyration of the 1960s, secularization and an erosion of morality that helium pinned connected wide theology. Francis, by contrast, saw its origins successful the exaltation of authorization and maltreatment of powerfulness successful the religion hierarchy.

Given Benedict’s frail wellness astatine the time, however, galore religion watchers questioned whether helium had so written the missive oregon had been manipulated to contented it arsenic a mode to undercut Francis.

And arsenic Francis appeared to beryllium mulling whether to assistance the regularisation connected married priests successful distant areas, arsenic had been projected by his bishops, Benedict firmly defended the church’s teachings connected priestly celibacy successful a 2020 book. Francis ended up rejecting the proposal, a determination welcomed by conservatives.

At times, Benedict besides scolded the cardinals who invoked his sanction arsenic they criticized Francis. In backstage letters published successful 2018 by the German paper Bild, Benedict wrote that the “anger” expressed by immoderate of his staunchest defenders risked tarnishing his ain pontificate.

“I tin good recognize the deep-seated symptom that the extremity of my pontificate caused you and galore others,” helium wrote successful a November 2017 missive to Cardinal Walter Brandmüller of Germany. “But for immoderate — and it seems to maine for you arsenic good — the symptom has turned to anger, which nary longer conscionable affects the abdication but my idiosyncratic and the entirety of my pontificate.”

Benedict added, “In this mode the pontificate itself is being devalued and conflated with the sadness astir the concern of the religion today.”

The decease of Pope Benedict XVI sent a wide question of mourning done the American church. But it held peculiar meaning for the blimpish helping of American Catholicism: His decease represented the nonaccomplishment of their unofficial figurehead, a shadiness beingness whose power they followed adjacent aft helium resigned successful 2013 and Pope Francis became the church’s planetary leader.

While Benedict had mostly faded from nationalist beingness since his unexpected retirement, the erstwhile pope remained a leader to galore theological conservatives, who viewed him arsenic a standard-bearer for a benignant of doctrinal committedness and rigor they saw lacking successful the religion nether Francis.

In caller years, the blimpish helping of American religion enactment has been gaining power, and has clashed openly and often with the country’s 2nd Catholic president, Joseph R. Biden, and the talker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, implicit the contented of abortion.

Benedict’s promotion of Catholic leaders, including Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, helped signifier the quality of religion hierarchy successful the United States astatine its highest levels.

Parts of the American church, including the younger procreation of priests, person agelong held Benedict “in an awe bordering connected reverence,” said George Weigel, a blimpish Catholic commentator and writer of “To Sanctify the World: The Vital Legacy of Vatican II.”

Church bells rang crossed Germany connected Saturday arsenic leaders astir the state paid their respects to Benedict XVI — the archetypal German to beryllium pope successful decades, but whose bequest successful his state of commencement is contested.

“As a ‘German’ pope, Benedict XVI was a peculiar religion person for many, not lone successful this country,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said successful a connection connected Twitter. “The satellite loses a formative fig of the Catholic Church, a combative property and a omniscient theologian. My thoughts are with Pope Francis.”

In Munich, the archbishop, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, offered a supplication in Benedict’s honor. “Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is dormant and we mourn him: He enactment his spot successful You, helium lived with You, helium sought You. Lead him present to eternal beingness and assistance him the joyousness of the resurrection.”

Born successful 1927 arsenic Josef Ratzinger, successful the Bavarian colony of Marktl americium Inn, the aboriginal Benedict XVI grew up during World War II and was enrolled successful the Hitler Youth arsenic a teenager, arsenic was compulsory astatine the time. But it was not his years nether Nazi regularisation — which took a people mostly communal to German men of his generation — truthful overmuch arsenic his relation successful handling intersexual maltreatment scandals successful the religion that has dogged his bequest successful Germany.

Early successful 2022, the retired pope, who resigned arsenic the person of the planetary Catholic Church successful 2013, admitted to providing mendacious accusation to a German enquiry into clerical intersexual abuse, portion powerfully denying immoderate misconduct oregon intent to mislead connected his part.

In a written connection to the inquiry, helium said helium did not callback attending a gathering with section officials successful 1980 to sermon a clergyman suspected of pedophilia. Yet Benedict changed that presumption days aft reports came retired accusing him during his clip arsenic archbishop of Munich, from 1977 to 1982, of mishandling the cases of 4 priests accused of kid intersexual abuse. The reports said his denial of being astatine the gathering lacked credibility.

In response, Benedict asked forgiveness for “abuses and errors” nether his watch, but said that the discrepancy successful his grounds was an honorable mistake introduced during editing.

The president of the Catholic German Bishops’ Conference, Georg Bätzing, connected Saturday described Benedict arsenic an “impressive theologian” and “experienced shepherd.” But Bishop Bätzing besides acknowledged the problems successful Benedict’s handling of maltreatment cases arsenic an archbishop. “He asked forgiveness from those affected, and yet questions remained unanswered,” the bishop said.

Germany’s mostly ceremonial president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, issued a connection paying tribute to Benedict, citing successful peculiar his quality to marque his spiritual teachings accessible to each faiths. Mr. Steinmeier, too, raised the taxable of intersexual maltreatment successful the church.

Benedict “was confronted with the oppressive occupation of worldwide intersexual maltreatment and its systematic cover-up,” the president wrote. “Here helium had a peculiar responsibility. Benedict knew astir the large suffering of the victims and the immense harm to the credibility of the Church.”

On societal media, the dean of Cologne’s cathedral posted videos of “Fat Pete,” the church’s largest bell, pealing successful grant of Benedict. From Munich, clerics released video of the funerary doorbell ringing astatine the religion of St. Michael. And crossed Bavaria, Benedict’s mostly Catholic location state, section leaders and authorities parties mourned his passing.

“We mourn the decease of our Bavarian pope,” said Markus Söder, the governor, adding: “With him, nine loses a convincing typical of the Catholic Church and 1 of the astir influential theologians of the 20th century.”

“He gave spot and predisposition to galore people,” Mr. Söder said. “At the aforesaid time, however, helium besides had to look the work for hard phases successful his ministry.”

In Berlin, Germany’s Parliament announced that mourning flags would beryllium hung from the parliamentary building, noting successful a connection that Benedict had travel determination arsenic a impermanent 11 years ago. “Never earlier had a pope spoken earlier an elected German Parliament,” the connection said.

In the German quality media, immoderate riffed connected a celebrated header from the country’s largest daily, Bild, which successful 2005 greeted Benedict’s elevation with the words “We are pope!” On Saturday, astatine slightest 2 quality outlets offered a variation: “We were pope.”

— Erika Solomon

The decease of Benedict XVI has erstwhile again focused attraction connected the wellness of Francis, himself 86 and considerably slowed. Francis present often uses a wheelchair. He’s heavier and breathes much heavily.

Francis has made aging, and interest astir the abandonment of the aged, a hallmark of his precocious papacy, utilizing his ain deteriorating body, as John Paul II did, arsenic a testament to the suffering of an expanding colonisation of older people.

Francis, who had portion of a lung removed erstwhile helium was 21, underwent country successful the summertime of 2021 to region portion of his colon, which kept him hospitalized for 10 days. He suffers from sciatica, a chronic nervus information that causes, back, hep and limb pain, giving him a limp. Francis has called it his “troublesome guest.”

He has besides attributed his limp to a level foot. “When you spot maine walking similar a broody chicken, it’s due to the fact that of that affliction,” helium told Nelson Castro, the writer of the publication “The Health of Popes.”

Knee symptom forced him to postpone a travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan successful July, though, successful a imaginable motion of improvement, helium is present scheduled to marque that travel successful February. On a travel to Canada successful July, during which helium utilized a wheelchair, helium acknowledged that helium would person to restrict his usually frantic docket connected planetary trips.

Francis has spoken freely astir his physiotherapy to code the narrowing of a disc betwixt his 4th and 5th lumbar vertebrae. Various treatments person seemingly improved his mobility, arsenic alternatively of relying connected a wheelchair, helium utilized a cane and leaned connected 2 aides aft delivering the yearly “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the City and to the World”) code connected Christmas.

Francis is the oldest reigning pope successful much than a century, and his property and ailments person prompted questions astir whether helium himself volition retire. He has consistently said that stepping down is an thought helium would entertain if helium felt helium could nary longer bash the job, and helium precocious revealed that helium had signed a resignation papers successful the lawsuit that helium became incapacitated oregon incapable to bash the job.

Leaders from Italy, elsewhere successful Europe and the Russian Orthodox Church paid tribute to Benedict XVI connected Saturday, citing his accepted morals and his dedication to the Roman Catholic Church.

Patriarch Kirill, the Russian Orthodox person who met with Benedict respective times during his papacy, cited the retired pope’s “unquestionable authorization arsenic an eminent theologian,” which Kirill said “allowed him to marque a important publication to the improvement of inter-Christian cooperation, to the witnesser of Christ successful a secularized satellite and to the defence of accepted morals.”

Kirill said successful a connection published connected the website of the Moscow Patriarchy connected Saturday that Benedict had been an admirer and person of Eastern Christianity.

In Italy, President Sergio Mattarella said that Benedict XVI would beryllium “unforgettable” for the Italian people. “His sweetness and contented person benefited our assemblage and the full planetary community,” Mr. Mattarella said successful a statement.

He called the precocious pope an intelligence and theologian who “interpreted with finesse the reasons of dialogue, peace, dignity of the idiosyncratic arsenic ultimate interests for religions.”

Italy’s premier minister, Giorgia Meloni, expressed her idiosyncratic mourning for Benedict and that of the Italian government. She called him a “giant of religion and religion,” and, successful a statement, stressed Benedict’s work to the religion and the “spiritual, taste and intelligence extent of his teaching.”

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Union’s enforcement limb — who, similar Benedict, is from Germany — expressed sympathy to each Catholics implicit the retired pope’s death.

“Pope Benedict’s passing saddens me,” she said connected Twitter. “He had acceptable a beardown awesome done his resignation,” she wrote, adding, “Once his carnal spot waned, helium continued to service done the powerfulness of his prayers.”

Within Germany, the effect was much nuanced. Tributes to his work to the religion were mixed with acknowledgments of disapproval of his handling of intersexual maltreatment cases arsenic an archbishop.

A soft-spoken intelligence and scholar, Benedict XVI was the caput of the world’s 1.3 cardinal Roman Catholics for 8 years, sandwiched betwixt the charismatic Pope (now Saint) John Paul II (1978-2005), 1 of the longest papacies successful history, and the reformist docket of Pope Francis, who began serving successful 2013.

As a younger cleric, Benedict, calved Joseph Ratzinger, experienced the opening of the Catholic Church to the modern satellite that was acceptable successful question by the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, which helium attended arsenic a theological adviser.

As prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the church’s theological watchdog, helium embraced orthodoxy, moving against dissenting theologians and speaking retired against homosexuality, commencement power and abortion, and the liberation theology question successful Latin America.

As pope, helium witnessed the increasing secularization of society, alongside increasing disenchantment among the faithful with an instauration seen arsenic being unwilling, oregon unable, to springiness a forceful effect to the clerical maltreatment ungraded that has roiled the religion successful the past fewer decades.

Here is simply a selection of images from Benedict’s life.

Benedict XVI helped tally the Roman Catholic Church agelong earlier his predetermination arsenic pope.

For overmuch of the decades-long papacy of his predecessor and mentor, John Paul II, Benedict — who was past Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany — served arsenic the Vatican’s main doctrinal official. “God’s Rottweiler,” his critics called him, oregon “the German shepherd.”

From his almighty perch arsenic prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith — erstwhile the Holy Office liable for the Inquisition — the blimpish cleric acted arsenic an enforcer and arsenic a traditionalist compass.

He veered the religion distant from what helium yet came to see the wide overreach of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council successful the 1960s, which helium held liable for a drift distant from the information maintained by tradition. He crushed dissent. He helped beforehand clerics successful his and John Paul II’s mold successful the Roman curia, the bureaucracy that runs the church, arsenic good arsenic successful dioceses and orders astir the world.

After John Paul II’s decease successful 2005, Benedict gave a almighty and defining code against the temptation of relativism, delivered earlier the conclave to take the adjacent pope. It was considered truthful persuasive that the College of Cardinals chose him to proceed John Paul’s bequest and fundamentally promote the accepted religion to marque a last-ditch effort against the increasing forces of secularism.

As pope, however, Benedict — a soft-spoken theologian who loved cats and playing Mozart connected the soft — lacked the charisma and media savvy of John Paul.

Almost immediately, helium gave a code that offended galore Muslims. And the intersexual maltreatment scandals that festered nether John Paul — astatine times contempt the warnings of Benedict arsenic a cardinal — exploded connected his watch. His efforts to escaped the religion of what helium called “filth” went overmuch further than John Paul II, but his reluctance to clasp bishops accountable for moving abusive priests astir fell acold abbreviated of the hopes of victims and critics.

Whatever expansive ambitions Benedict whitethorn person harbored often seemed overmatched by missteps and moments helium failed to meet.

Benedict’s top interaction connected the papacy whitethorn person been however helium near it.

His unexpected resignation, the archetypal by a pope successful much than 500 years, stunned the church. It besides opened the doorway to Pope Francis, a progressive reformer with whom helium shared an awkward, if decorous, cohabitation successful a Vatican with 2 popes.

It besides acceptable a precedent and broke a taboo. Francis himself has repeatedly said that his ain status is connected the table.