 |
| Press Release (April 20, 2005) |
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger Becomes Pope Benedict XVI
With great joy, the Board of Trustees, staff and volunteers of Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, Inc., welcome Pope Benedict XVI,
elected to lead the Catholic Church on April 19, 2005. In his first blessing and speech, Benedict XVI addressed the faithful
gathered at St. Peter's Square with the following words: "Dear brothers and sisters, after the great Pope John Paul II,
the cardinals have elected me - a simple, humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord. . . The fact that the Lord can work and act even with insufficient means consoles me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers."
Pope Benedict XVI was born on April 16, 1927 in Marktl am Inn, Germany. As a teenager, he was forcefully included
in the Nazi youth movement and, in 1944, drafted into the German Army from which he deserted in May 1945, soon to be arrested as
a POW by the Allies. Profoundly affected by the war, he decided to become a priest and studied theology at
the University of Munich in 1946-1951. In 1951, he was ordained as priest; in 1977 he was elevated to bishop and, three months later, proclaimed cardinal by Pope Paul VI. In 1981,
Pope John Paul II appointed him to the Roman Curia, as President of the International Theological Commission, Prefect of
the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and President of the Pontifical Biblical Commission. In these capacities,
Cardinal Ratzinger supervised the publication of the new Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994; revised for the first time in
400 years) and other important documents. He has been responsible for ensuring the Church's theological unity and faithfulness
of teachings to the Scriptures and tradition. In 2002, Cardinal Ratzinger became the Dean of the College of Cardinals.
Over the years, he worked closely with Pope John Paul II and presided over his funeral celebrations on April 8, 2005. He is the first German-born Pope since the 11th century.
The newly chosen Pope Benedict XVI is fluent in four languages and is an expert in the Church's scriptures and traditions. He published numerous books explaining and clarifying various aspects of dogmatic teachings, sacred scriptures, liturgy, pastoral practice, and popular beliefs of the Catholic Church. English translations of numerous texts are widely available and include: Feast of Faith: Approaches to a Theology of the Liturgy (1986); Principles of Catholic Theology:
Building Stones for a Fundamental Theology (1987); Behold the Pierced One (1987); Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life (1988);
Introduction to Christianity (1990); Introduction to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994);
The Nature and Mission of Theology: Essays to Orient Theology in Today's Debates (1995);
In the Beginning...: A Catholic Understanding of the Story of Creation and the Fall (1995);
Called to Communion: Understanding the Church Today (1996);
Salt of the Earth: Christianity and the Catholic Church at the End of the Millennium (1997);
Gospel, Catechesis, Catechism: Sidelights on the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1997);
Milestones: Memoirs 1927-1977 (1998); Many Religions, One Covenant: Israel, the Church, and the World (1999);
The Spirit of the Liturgy (2000); God and the World (2002); God Is Near Us: The Eucharist, the Heart of Life (2003);
Truth And Tolerance: Christian Belief And World Religions (2004);
The End of Time?: The Provocation of Talking about God (2005); Pilgrim Fellowship Of Faith: The Church As Communion (2005).
 |
