Ratzinger
was a professor at the University of Bonn from 1959 until 1963, when he moved
to the University of Münster. In 1966, he took a chair in dogmatic theology
at the University of Tübingen, where he was a colleague of Hans Küng
but was confirmed in his traditionalist views by the liberal atmosphere of Tübingen
and the Marxist leanings of the student movement of the 1960s. In 1969 he returned
to Bavaria, to the University of Regensburg. At
the Second Vatican Council (1962 – 1965), Ratzinger served as a peritus or
chief theological expert, to Cardinal Joseph Frings of Cologne, Germany. In
1972, he founded the theological journal Communio with Hans Urs von Balthasar,
Henri de Lubac and others. Communio, now published in seventeen editions (German,
English, Spanish and many others), has become one of the most important journals
of Catholic thought. In
March 1977 Ratzinger was named archbishop of Munich and Freising and in the consistory
that June was named a Cardinal by Pope Paul VI. Today he is one of only 14 remaining
cardinals appointed by Paul VI, and one of only three of those under the age of
80 and so eligible to vote in the conclave of April 2005.
On
November 25, 1981 Pope John Paul II named Ratzinger prefect of the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith, formerly known as the Holy Office of the Inquisition,
which was renamed in 1908 by Pope Pius X. He resigned the Munich archdiocese in
early 1982, became cardinal-bishop of Velletri-Segni in 1993, vice-dean of the
College of Cardinals in 1998, and was elected Dean in 2002. In office, Ratzinger
usually takes conservative views on topics such as birth control and inter-religious
dialogue. He has been closer to John Paul II than any other cardinal, and Ratzinger
and the Pope have been called "intellectual bedfellows". Recent
news and influence
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger and his concelebrants
offer the Rite of Commendation and Farewell to John Paul II.On January 2, 2005,
Time quoted unnamed Vatican sources as saying that Ratzinger was a frontrunner
to succeed John Paul II should the Pope die or become too ill to continue as Pontiff.
His see, Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia], has traditionally been an antechamber to the
Papal seat. Piers
Paul Read wrote in The Spectactor on March 5, 2005: There
can be little doubt that his courageous promotion of orthodox Catholic teaching
has earned him the respect of his fellow cardinals throughout the world. He is
patently holy, highly intelligent and sees clearly what is at stake. Indeed, for
those who blame the decline of Catholic practice in the developed world precisely
on the propensity of many European bishops to hide their heads in the sand, a
pope who confronts it may be just what is required. Ratzinger is no longer young
— he is 77 years old: but Angelo Roncalli was the same age when he became
Pope as John XXIII. He turned the Church upside-down by calling the Second Vatican
Council and was perhaps the best-loved pontiff of modern times. As Jeff Israely,
the correspondent of Time, was told by a Vatican insider last month, "The
Ratzinger solution is definitely on". However
it is important to note that Ratzinger's election to the Papal office was by no
means certain. In conclaves men who are considered papabile often are not elected
to office. At times men considered certain to win the election did not win. This
is expressed in the saying, "He who enters the conclave as Pope leaves as
a Cardinal." Ratzinger
was considered to be Pope John Paul II's "right hand man" and also one
of his closest friends, and during the Pope's final illness, he carried out many
of the Pope's functions as leader of the Catholic Church. Ratzinger
has repeatedly stated he would like to retire to a Bavarian village and dedicate
himself to writing books, but more recently, he told friends he was ready to "accept
any charge God placed on him." After the death of John Paul II on April 2,
2005 Ratzinger ceased functioning as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith. Ratzinger
speaks ten languages and has received seven honorary doctorate degrees. He
is an accomplished pianist with a preference for Beethoven. He
is the eighth German pope. At 78, Ratzinger is only two years short of the 80-year
age limit on popes. In
April, 2005, he was identified as one of the 100 most influential people in the
world by Time Magazine (http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1274&storyid=2946699).
On
April 19, 2005 he was elected as the successor to Pope John Paul II after 2 days
of papal conclave. Works
Unterwegs
zu Jesus Christus, Augsburg 2003. Glaube
- Wahrheit - Toleranz. Das Christentum und die Weltreligionen, 2. Aufl., Freiburg
i. Brsg. 2003.
Gott
ist uns nah. Eucharistie: Mitte des Lebens. Hrsg. von Horn, Stephan Otto/ Pfnür,
Vinzenz, Augsburg 2001. Gott
und die Welt. Glauben und Leben in unserer Welt. Ein Gespräch mit Peter Seewald,
Köln 2000.
Der
Geist der Liturgie. Eine Einführung, 4. Aufl., Freiburg i. Brsg. 2000.
Vom
Wiederauffinden der Mitte. Texte aus vier Jahrzehnten, Freiburg i. Brsg. 1997.
Salz
der Erde. Christentum und katholische Kirche an der Jahrtausendwende. Ein Gespräch
mit Peter Seewald,
Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, München, 1996, ISBN 3-453-14845-2
Wahrheit,
Werte, Macht. Prüfsteine der pluralistischen Gesellschaft, Freiburg/ Basel/
Wien 1993.
Zur
Gemeinschaft gerufen. Kirche heute verstehen, Freiburg/ Basel/ Wien 1991.
Auf
Christus schauen. Einübung in Glaube, Hoffnung, Liebe, Freiburg/ Basel/ Wien
1989.
Abbruch
und Aufbruch. Die Antwort des Glaubens auf die Krise der Werte, München 1988.
Kirche,
Ökumene und Politik. Neue Versuche zur Ekklesiologie [Robert Spaemann zum
60. Geburtstag zugeeignet], Einsiedeln 1987.
Politik
und Erlösung. Zum Verhältnis von Glaube, Rationalität und Irrationalem
in der sogenannten Theologie der Befreiung (= Rheinisch-Westfälische Akademie
der Wissenschaften: G (Geisteswissenschaften), Bd. 279), Opladen 1986.
Theologische
Prinzipienlehre. Bausteine zur Fundamentaltheologie (= Wewelbuch, Bd. 80), München
1982.
Das
Fest des Glaubens. Versuche zur Theologie des Gottesdienstes, 2. Aufl., Einsiedeln
1981. Eschatologie,
Tod und ewiges Leben, Leipzig 1981.
Glaube,
Erneuerung, Hoffnung. Theologisches Nachdenken über die heutige Situation
der Kirche. Hrsg. von Kraning, Willi, Leipzig 1981.
Umkehr
zur Mitte. Meditationen eines Theologen, Leipzig 1981.
Zum
Begriff des Sakramentes (= Eichstätter Hochschulreden, Bd. 79), München
1979.
Die
Tochter Zion. Betrachtungen über den Marienglaube der Kirche, Einsiedeln
1977.
Der
Gott Jesu Christi. Betrachtungen über den Dreieinigen Gott, München
1976.
Das
neue Volk Gottes. Entwürfe zur Ekklesiologie (Topos-Taschenbücher, Bd.
1) Düsseldorf 1972. Die
Einheit der Nationen. Eine Vision der Kirchenväter (= Bücherei der Salzburger
Hochschulwochen), Salzburg u.a. 1971.
Das
Problem der Dogmengeschichte in der Sicht der katholischen Theologie (= Arbeitsgemeinschaft
für Forschungen des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen: Geisteswissenschaften, Bd.
139), Köln u.a. 1966.
Die
letzte Sitzungsperiode des Konzils (= Konzil, Bd. 4), Köln 1966.
Ereignisse
und Probleme der dritten Konzilsperiode (= Konzil, Bd. 3), Köln 1965.
Die
erste Sitzungsperiode des Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzils. Ein Rückblick (=
Konzil, Bd. 1), Köln 1963.
Das
Konzil auf dem Weg. Rückblick auf die 2. Sitzungsperiode des 2. Vatikanischen
Konzils (= Konzil, Bd. 2), Köln 1963.
Die
christliche Brüderlichkeit, München 1960.
Die
Geschichtstheologie des heiligen Bonaventura (Habilitationsschrift), München
u.a. 1959.
Volk
und Haus Gottes in Augustins Lehre von der Kirche (= Münchner theologische
Studien 2/7, zugl. München,
Univ., Diss., 1951.), München 1954.
Dogma
und Verkündigung
Einführung
in das Christentum 2000.
Literature Allen,
John L.: Cardinal Ratzinger : the Vatican's enforcer of the faith. - New York
: Continuum, 2000
Wagner, Karl: Kardinal Ratzinger : der Erzbischof in München
und Freising in Wort und Bild. - München : Pfeiffer, 1977 John
Paul II Pope
2005– Succeeded by:
Incumbent Other
Biographies 1)
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger - Biography - Pope Benedict XVI - Biography Joseph
Cardinal Ratzinger (b. April 16, 1927) is a Cardinal Bishop of the Roman Catholic
Church. In 1981 Cardinal Ratzinger was appointed prefect of the Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith by Pope John Paul II, made a Cardinal Bishop of the
see of Velletri-Segni in 1993, and was elected Dean of the College of Cardinals
in 2002, becoming titular bishop of Ostia. Born
in Marktl am Inn , in Bavaria, Germany, Ratzinger entered a preparatory seminary
in 1939. In 1943, at the age of 16 he was, along with the rest of his class, drafted
into the Flak or anti-aircraft corps. He went into basic training for the Wehrmacht
infantry in November of 1944. In 1945 he was interned in a POW camp as a German
soldier. By June he was released, and he and his brother (Georg ) reentered seminary.
On June 29, 1951, he and his brother were ordained by Cardinal Faulhaber of Munich.
His dissertation (1953) was on Saint Augustine, his Habilitationsschrift (second
dissertation) on Saint Bonaventure. Ratzinger
was a professor at the University of Bonn from 1959 until 1963, when he moved
to the University of Muenster. In 1966, he took a chair in dogmatic theology at
the University of Tübingen, where he was a colleague of Hans Küng. In
1969 he returned to Bavaria, to the University of Regensburg. At
the Second Vatican Council (1962 – 1965), Ratzinger served as a peritus or
chief theological expert, to Cardinal Joseph Frings of Cologne, Germany. In
1972, he founded the theological journal Communio with Hans Urs von Balthasar,
Henri de Lubac and others. Communio, now published in German, English, and Spanish
editions, has become one of the most important journals of Catholic thought. In
March 1977 Ratzinger was named archbishop of Munich and Freising and in the consistory
that June was named a Cardinal by Pope Paul VI. On
November 25, 1981 Pope John Paul II named Ratzinger prefect of the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith, formerly known as the Holy Office or the Inquisition.
He resigned the Munich archdiocese in early 1982, became cardinal-bishop of Velletri-Segni
in 1993, vice-dean of the College of Cardinals in 1998, and was elected Dean in
2002. In office, Ratzinger usually takes very conservative views on topics like
birth control, inter-religious dialog , and ecumenism. On
September 30, 2003, Ratzinger's statement, "We should pray for the pope",
was published by the German weekly Bunte , and subsequently, the quote made headlines
worldwide, raising questions about the pope's health. 2)
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger - Biography - Pope Benedict XVI - Biography Name:
Joseph Ratzinger was born in Marktl am Inn, Germany, April 16, 1927. Age:
78 Experience:
He was the archbishop of Munich, he was for many years prefect of the Sacred Congregation
for the Doctrine of Faith, served for 20 years as John Paul II's chief theological
adviser.The dean of the College of Cardinals since November 2002, he was elevated
to cardinal by Pope Paul VI in June 1977. He was elevated to Pope April 16, 2005. Name
Facts: He choose the name Pope Benedict XVI and calls himself a "simple,
humble worker," according to Fox News. Germany:
Pope Benedict XVI is the first German Pope since the 11th century. More
Information: Pope Benedict XVI is the 265 Successor of Peter and the Bishop
of Rome. He worked as the archbishop of Munich and for many years prefect of the
Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith. He holds true to Catholic doctorine.
He was elected by only four votes.
Pope Benedict XVI is 78 years old. He is
known for being one of the top theologians in the Vatican. For the past twenty
years, he was Pope John Paul II's chief theological adviser. When he was younger,
he was more on the liberal side, but after the 1968 student revolutions, he became
conservative. He has been a leading person to keep traditional values in the Catholic
Church. He
entered a seminary in 1939, but had to delay it due to the World War II. In 1945,
he re-entered with his brother, Georg. He went to an institute for theology called
Herzogliches Georgianum. Josef and Georg were ordained priests on June 29, 1951.
He received his doctorine in theology in July 1957. ARTICLES Joseph
Ratzinger of Germany The
Guardian of Orthodoxy Sunday,
April 3, 2005; Page A40 VATICAN
CITY
If
strict continuity with John Paul II's thinking is a concern among those selecting
the next pope, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger will be a leading candidate. He
lined up with the late pontiff on key issues that dominated the last years of
John Paul's reign and for more than a year had been the most prominent voice on
pressing and controversial issues. He
wrote a letter of advice to U.S. bishops on denying communion to politicians who
support abortion rights, which some observers viewed as a slam at Democratic presidential
candidate John F. Kerry. He publicly cautioned Europe against admitting Turkey
to the European Union and wrote a letter to bishops around the world justifying
that stand on the grounds that the continent is essentially Christian in nature.
In another letter to bishops worldwide, he decried a sort of feminism that makes
women "adversaries" of men.
These and other high-profile pronouncements
gave Ratzinger the aura of a vice pope in the eyes of some observers, and he was
almost always mentioned in the frequent Who-Really-Runs-the-Vatican lists that
flourished during the last months and years. Ratzinger
was born in the German town of Marktl am Inn in 1927. Shortly before the end of
World War II, he was drafted into an antiaircraft unit, and after the German surrender
spent time in a prisoner of war camp. He was ordained in 1951, took part in the
Second Vatican Council in the 1960s and became a cardinal in 1977. In
1981, John Paul II appointed Ratzinger to his current post as head of the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican's guardian of orthodoxy. The pontiff
has on occasion referred to Ratzinger as his "trustworthy friend." Until
last year, Ratzinger's age seemed to be a hindrance to a serious candidacy. Now
77, he is two years older than the retirement age for bishops, yet the pope asked
him to stay on, with no age limit. With some Vatican officials discussing an essentially
transitional pope to follow John Paul -- a successor whose tenure would be relatively
short -- Ratzinger suddenly became an oft-mentioned candidate. He
is a lightning rod for church liberals who see the hierarchy as reactionary. Ratzinger
was active in stamping out liberation theology, with its emphasis on grass-roots
activism to fight poverty and its association with Marxist movements. He
once called homosexuality a tendency toward "intrinsic moral evil" and
dismissed the uproar over priestly pedophilia in the United States as a "planned
campaign" against the church. By
Daniel Williams The
Washingtown Post
|
Pope
Benedict XVI