Who is Pope Benedict XVI?
Pope Benedict XVI (Latin: Benedictus PP. XVI; Italian: Benedetto XVI; German: Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Alois Ratzinger on 16 April 1927) is the 265th and reigning Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the head of the Roman Catholic Church and, as such, Sovereign of the Vatican City State.[1] He was elected on 19 April 2005 in a papal conclave, celebrated his Papal Inauguration Mass on 24 April 2005, and took possession of his cathedral, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, on 7 May 2005. Pope Benedict XVI has both German and Vatican citizenship. He succeeded Pope John Paul II.
On April 15, Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to arrive in the United States for a six-day visit — his first trip to this country since being elected pontiff three years ago. Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican last monthJoseph Ratzinger was born on April 16, 1927 in the village of Marktl am Inn in Bavaria — a staunchly Catholic region in southern Germany. His father was a policeman and his mother was a homemaker. During his first 12 years, he moved five times throughout Bavaria as his father accepted various law enforcement positions. In 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed Germany’s Chancellor. In 1939, Ratzinger entered a seminary in Traunstein. And later that year, the World War II broke out. John Allen — one of Ratzinger’s biographers — says soon after, he was forced to become a member of the Hitler Youth. “In 1943, membership in the Hitler Youth became mandatory for anyone who was enrolled in a German school. So he was put on the books as a Hitler Youth member, b
Story Highlights • The pope is coming to America for the first time since he became pontiff in 2005 • He was born Joseph Ratzinger in Marktl am Inn, Germany • The pope speaks five languages and enjoys the piano, booksNext Article in U.S. » if(window.location.pathname.indexOf(‘/2009/US/09/01/california.wildfires/index.html’)!=-1){ var nxtStryCSIMgr = CSIManager.getInstance().call(‘/.element/ssi/auto/2.0/sect/US/nextStory0.exclude.html’,”,’cnnNextStoryCSI’);} if(window.location.pathname.indexOf(‘/2009/US/weather/09/02/california.wildfire/index.html’)!=-1){ var nxtStryCSIMgr = CSIManager.getInstance().call(‘/.element/ssi/auto/2.0/sect/US/nextStory1.exclude.html’,”,’cnnNextStoryCSI’);} if(window.location.pathname.indexOf(‘/2009/US/09/02/frog.pepsi.can/index.html’)!=-1){ var nxtStryCSIMgr = CSIManager.getInstance().call(‘/.element/ssi/auto/2.0/sect/US/nextStory2.exclude.
He’s been pontiff for three years, but for many Americans, Benedict XVI is still best known as the pope who followed John Paul II. As Pope Benedict arrives in Washington, D.C., this afternoon, the United States has never been more important for the Roman Catholic Church. His visit comes at a time when religion has high cultural relevance and the American Catholic Church, for all the talk of scandal and division, is actually growing.
As Cardinal he headed up what had been the Inquisition and changed the name to The Holy Office of The Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. He compiled the book, The New Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994) in which he declares his position in paragraph 882, “The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter’s successor, is the perpetual and physical source foundation of the unity, both of the Bishops and whole company of the faithful. For the Roman Pontiff by reason of his office as the vicar of the Christ and pastor of the entire Church has full , supreme and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered. info@bereanbeacon.org http://www.bereanbeacon.
