Pope Benedict XVI
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POPE BENEDICT XVIPrefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1981 - 2005) In office, Ratzinger usually took traditional views on topics such as birth control, homosexuality, and inter-religious dialogue. Among other things, he played a key role in silencing outspoken liberation theologians and clergy in Latin America in the 1980s.
However this statement appears nowhere in the document. The document condemned "relativistic theories" of religious pluralism and described other faiths as "gravely deficient" in the means of salvation. The document was primarily aimed at reining in liberal Catholic theologians like Jacques Dupuis, who argued that other religions could contain God-given means of salvation not found in the Church of Christ, but it offended many religious leaders. Jewish religious leaders boycotted several interfaith meetings in protest. Already in 1987, Cardinal Ratzinger had stated that Jewish history and scripture reach fulfillment only in Christ – a position critics denounced as "theological anti-Semitism," although it is very much in the general tradition of Christian views of the Old Testament and the Jews. Despite this, groups such as the World Jewish Congress commended his election as Pope as "welcome" and extolled his "great sensitivity". Though his advent was congratulated by Buddhist leaders around the world, critics remembered that in March 1997 Cardinal Ratzinger predicted that Buddhism would over the coming century replace Marxism as the main "enemy" of the Catholic Church. Many criticized him for calling Buddhism an "autoerotic spirituality" that offered "transcendence without imposing concrete religious obligations" . Although one Buddhist apologist for Ratzinger (who met him and nevertheless spoke of Ratzinger's "ignorance" of Buddhism and its traditions) suggested that "autoerotic" was a mistranslation of the French word auto-erotisme, which should be better understood as meaning self-absorption or narcissism, native French speakers and dictionaries indicate that the main connotation of the word is close to "masturbatory." Another apologist suggested that Ratzinger's comments were not meant to criticize Buddhism as such, but how Buddhism “appears” to those Europeans who are using it to obtain some type of self-satisfying spiritual experience. In an interview in 2004 for Le Figaro Magazine, Ratzinger said Turkey, a country Muslim by heritage and staunchly Secularist by its state constitution, should seek its future in an association of Islamic nations rather than the EU, which has Christian roots. He said Turkey had always been "in permanent contrast to Europe" and that linking it to Europe would be a mistake. His defenders argue that it is to be expected that a leader within the Catholic Church would forcefully and explicitly argue in favor of the superiority of Catholicism over other religions. Others also maintain that single quotes from Dominus Iesus are not indicative of intolerance or an unwillingness to engage in dialogue with other faiths, and this is clear from a reading of the entire document. They point out that Ratzinger has been very active in promoting inter-faith dialogue. Specifically, they argue that Ratzinger has been instrumental at encouraging reconciliation with Lutherans. In defending Dominus Iesus, Benedict himself has stated that his belief is that inter-faith dialogue should take place on the basis of equal human dignity, but that equality of human dignity should not imply that each side is equally correct.
Ratzinger has maintained that the Catholic church does not possess the authority to ordain women to the sacramental ministry. The official explanation given for this by the Catholic Church is that Jesus Christ did not call any women to be his apostles, thus the Church could not be certain that it would be God's will that women may administer the sacraments. He has also rejected the idea that divorced people can remarry, and said in a 1994 letter to the bishops that those who do so are not in a state to receive communion. This is about the Pope's views on divorce.
Piers Paul Read wrote in The Spectator 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 78 years old: but Angelo Roncalli,
who revolutionized Catholicism by calling the Second Vatican Council was
the same age when he became pope as John XXIII. As Jeff Israely, the correspondent
of Time, was told by a Vatican insider last month, "The Ratzinger solution
is definitely on." In April 2005, before his election as Pope, he was identified as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME magazine.
Before his first appearance at the balcony of Saint Peter's Basilica after becoming pope, he was announced by the Jorge Cardinal Medina Estévez, protodeacon of the College of Cardinals. Cardinal Medina Estévez first addressed the massive crowd as "dear(est) brothers and sisters" in Italian, Spanish, French, German and English — each language receiving cheers from the international crowd — before continuing in Latin. He announced the decision with the words: Fratelli e sorelle carissimi; queridísimos hermanos y hermanas; bien
chers frères et sœurs; liebe Brüder und Schwestern; dear
brothers and sisters: Dear brothers and sisters, Dear brothers and sisters, after the great Pope John Paul II, the Cardinals
have elected me, a simple, humble labourer in the vineyard of the Lord.
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