Pope Francis is likely to question humanity and the depths to which it can fall during his visit to the Auschwitz death camp in July, a confidante says. Francis will visit the camp while he is in Poland for World Youth Day. He will follow in the footsteps of his predecessors, St John Paul II Read more
The emeritus bishop of Rome, Benedict XVI has a pilot’s license, and liked to fly from the Vatican to the papal summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, but he does not have a driver’s license as he never learned to drive a car. April 16th was Benedict XVI’s birthday. He turned 89. Other trivia about Benedict: He loves Read more
By consensus, while emeritus Pope Benedict XVI was a great teaching pontiff, ecclesiastical governance on his watch often left something to be desired. Space does not permit a full listing of meltdowns and crises, but here are a few highlights: The appointment in 2007, followed by the swift fall from grace, of a new Archbishop Read more
A US expert in seminary education is noting a subtle “Francis effect” emerging in her classroom. Franciscan Sr Katarina Schuth told the National Catholic Reporter she sees a subtle shift in her classroom in St Paul Seminary in Minnesota. In recently assigned reflection papers, three of her first-year students wrote about priestly ministry and the poor. Read more
Pope Francis has said thanks should be given for Benedict XVI on the Pope emeritus’s 89th birthday “Today is Benedict XVI’s birthday,” Francis tweeted on April 16. “Let us remember him in our prayers and thank God for giving him to the Church and the world.” Continue reading
When describing the development of his theological interests in a short book of memoirs first published in 1997, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger underscored what he regarded as the arid state of the scholasticism he encountered during his seminary studies in post-war Germany. This makes it somewhat ironic that, during his pontificate, Benedict XVI found himself delivering Read more
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is to attend the opening of the Holy Door by Pope Francis at St Peter’s Basilica on December 8. The retired pontiff accepted the invitation of Francis to attend the opening. Benedict will not take part in the whole official inauguration of the Jubilee of Mercy. But he will be present Read more
The bishops of England and Wales have appealed to Rome to change the Good Friday prayer for Jews as it is said in the extraordinary form liturgy. The prayer reads: “Let us also pray for the Jews: that our God and Lord may illuminate their hearts, that they acknowledge Jesus Christ is the Saviour of Read more
The editor of a German publication found Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI “bright-eyed, smiling, leaning on a Zimmer frame” at a meeting last week. Kai Diekmann, editor-in-chief of Bild Zeitung, visited the former Pope at his residence inside the Vatican on October 15. Benedict, 88, greeted Diekmann with a warm, two-handed handshake. “He is there on Read more
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has testified in proceedings for the beatification of Pope John Paul I. This was reported by Italy’s Famiglia Cristiana (Christian Family) Catholic magazine last week. No pope has ever testified for the beatification of another, the magazine stated. John Paul I died 37 years ago after being pope for just 33 Read more