|   
|
|
|
“Having a clear faith, based on the Creed of the Church,
is often labeled today as a fundamentalism. Whereas, relativism,
which is letting oneself be tossed and "swept along by every
wind of teaching," looks like the only attitude (acceptable)
to today's standards. We are moving towards a dictatorship of relativism
which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as
its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires.” ~ Pope
Benedict XVI
Urbi et Orbi Blessing
Dear brothers and sisters,
after our great Pope, John Paul II, the Cardinals have elected
me, a simple, humble worker in God's vineyard.
I am consoled by the fact that the Lord knows how to work and
how to act, even with insufficient tools, and I especially trust
in your prayers.
In the joy of the resurrected Lord, trustful of his permanent
help, we go ahead, sure that God will help. And Mary, his most
beloved Mother, stands on our side. Thank you.
~ Pope Benedict XVI - April 19, 2005
Brief History
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was the dean of the College of Cardinals,
and he served as the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith since 1981. As chief doctrinal officer and counselor
to Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has spoken authoritatively
on topics ranging from consumerism, culture, politics, and moral
theology.
Ratzinger was born in rural Bavaria on Holy Saturday in 1927 and
was baptized that same day. His seminary training was interrupted
by World War II when he was drafted into the German army. He later
deserted and was briefly interned in an American POW camp.
Ordained to the priesthood in 1951, Ratzinger earned a doctorate
in theology at the University of Munich in 1953. Beginning in 1959,
he taught the subject at the University of Bonn, University of Tübingen,
and University of Regensburg in Bavaria. By the mid-1960s, he was
recognized as one of the world’s leading Catholic theologians.
During the Second Vatican Council, Ratzinger served as the theological
advisor for Cardinal Josef Frings of Cologne, Germany.
In 1977, Ratzinger was named Archbishop of Munich and was elevated
to the College of Cardinals later that year by Pope Paul VI. In
1981, Pope John Paul II appointed him to be prefect of the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Holy See’s top theological
post. One of his greatest achievements has been working with some
forty collaborators and a thousand bishops to produce the 900-page
Catechism of the Catholic Church.
In the News
Items by Acton Staff |
Acton Experts in the News |
|
|
|
- Archive
-
|
Articles/Background
“Market
economy and ethics,” by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, 1985.
(Article presented in 1985 in a symposium in Rome, “Church
and Economy in Dialogue.”)
“Mass
for the Inauguration of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI,”
by Pope Benedict XVI, April 24, 2005.
“New
Pope 'soul of courtesy': Pell,” Reporter Maxine McKew
interviewing George Cardinal Pell (2004 Acton Annual Dinner speaker),
April 21, 2005.
“Biblical
Aspects of the Question of Faith and Politics,” by by
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), November 26, 1981
“Homily
at the Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff,” by
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, April 18, 2005.
Comments
from the conference held on April 1, 2005, at the Monastery
of St. Scholastica, Subiaco, Italy.
Catechism
of the Catholic Church.
“Rome's
Radical Conservative,” by Michael Novak, The New York
Times, April 20, 2005 (Free registration may be required).
|
