Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. is dead. The native Bavarian died on Saturday at the age of 95 in the Vatican, as the Holy See announced. Benedict was the head of the Catholic Church from 2005 until his resignation in 2013. When he was Pope for five years, the Catholic Church fell into one of its most serious crises: from 2010 onwards, decades of child abuse and cover-ups gradually came to light. Benedict remained confronted with abuse scandals into old age and even after his resignation. The reactions to his death at a glance.
“An impressive theologian and experienced shepherd” – so praises the chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing, the late former Pope: “We mourn the loss of a figure who brought hope and direction to the Church even in difficult times.” Benedict XVI have “made the voice of the gospel – convenient or inconvenient – audible”. The Limburg bishop added that his theological ability to think, his political judgment and his personal dealings with many people would have distinguished the German-born former pope: “I think with great respect of his courageous decision to step down from the office of the pope in 2013.”
Bätzing also recalls Benedikt’s letter of February 8, 2022, on the occasion of the publication of the Munich report on sexualized violence: “He asked forgiveness from those affected, but questions remained unanswered.” The bishop added: “Especially as a church in Germany, we remember Pope Benedict XVI with gratitude: he was born in our country, this was his homeland, here he helped shape church life as a theological teacher and bishop.”
Marx: “Benedict XVI was a great Pope”
“Benedict XVI was a great pope, who always exercised his pastoral office with frankness and strong faith. As a theologian, he shaped and continues to shape the church for a long time. He was a member of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, whether as a priest, professor, archbishop, cardinal or Pope, always closely connected,” says the Archbishop of Munich and Freising and the chairman of the Freising Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Reinhard Marx. It was always important to him to promote the Christian character of Bavaria and the lively expression of piety. “Many believers still remember good encounters with the archbishop at confirmations in the parishes or on other occasions. Above all, Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to his former archdiocese in September 2006 still fills many people with joy and probably a little pride .”
There are also reactions to Ratzinger’s death from representatives of abuse victims. This is how it is expressed, for example “Initiative sourdough” from Garching an der Alz, where the abuser Peter H. was on duty. One very much regrets Ratzinger’s death, the statement said. “We cannot judge whether he will go down in history as an important pope or a great theologian.”
“It will be remembered that his term of office was marked by abuse scandals in the church in all parts of the world,” writes the initiative, which has so far supported a declaratory action against the former pope before the Traunstein district court. “By clarifying his responsibility before a secular court, he could have taken an important step for the future of the Catholic Church,” write the victims’ representatives. The fact that Benedict can no longer render this service to his church is probably part of the tragedy of his life.
Matthew Katschspokesman for the people affected initiative “square table” wrote on Twitter: “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is dead. No one embodied the power-abusive structures of his church as well as he did, and no one ended up doing as much to deconstruct them himself.”
Of the Hamburg Archbishop Stefan Hesse honors the Pope Emeritus as a formative teacher and theologian. “One thought of Pope Benedict has a special effect on me: Being a Christian is not a theory, not a construct of ideas, but first an encounter with a person, with Jesus Christ,” he says. Hesse was charged in the Cologne abuse report. He was responsible for human resources in Cologne and dealt with cases of abuse there. He then offered his resignation to Pope Francis, but he did not accept it.
the Reform movement “We are Church” describes the former Pope as a “highly contradictory theologian” who has shaped the Roman Catholic Church in a backward-looking manner for decades. With a climate of fear and a theological standstill, he left a difficult legacy to his successor Pope Francis and to the entire Church, which continues to have an impact today. “His commendable resignation in 2013 demystified the papacy. However, it would have been logical if he had also resigned to the cardinal or episcopal rank and discarded the white cassock.”
“Joseph Ratzinger made theological contributions with great acumen and intellectual succinctness, which have impressed Christianity as a whole and the public far beyond the Catholic Church. At the same time, they have given orientation to many people,” says Annette KurschusPresident of the Evangelical Church of Westphalia and Chairwoman of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany. Kurschus immediately praised Ratzinger’s commitment to ecumenism. “The fact that he resigned from his position in 2013 for health reasons makes him deeply human.”
Of the Bishop of Essen, Franz Josef Overbeck, speaks of a “great theologian”. Ratzinger was “a scholar and a man of great knowledge”, “who was highly respected by many scientists and searching people”. The deepening of faith and spiritual life as well as the dialogue with the different forces and currents of our time was a lifelong matter close to the heart of the deceased. In it he kept the message of the Second Vatican Council alive. “He contributed more to the renewal of the church than some of his predecessors,” emphasizes Overbeck.
There is also sympathy for Benedict’s death from politics. So tweets Chancellor Olaf Scholz, with the death of the emeritus pope, the world loses a clever theologian. “As a ‘German’ Pope, Benedict XVI was a special church leader for many, not only in this country,” said Scholz.
“The first German pope in 482 years passed away today,” writes FDP leader Christian Lindner on twitter. And: “Benedict XVI was a historical figure and a not undisputed intellectual. But today we commemorate him as a human being.”
“We mourn our Bavarian Pope,” writes Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder on Twitter. And further: “The death of #Benedict XVI touches me as much as many people do. With him, society loses a convincing representative of the Catholic Church and one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century.”
Of the CDU chairman Friedrich Merz emphasizes Ratzinger’s charisma in Germany. “Pope Benedict was able to trigger a new turn towards the Catholic Church across all generations, especially in his home country of Germany,” he says. “We bow in sadness and gratitude to the life’s work of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI,” said Merz, who is a Catholic himself.
With material from the agencies dpa and KNA