Pope Benedict XVI Biography

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Pope Benedict XVI:
A Life and Papacy Revealed

On April 19, 2005 Joseph Alois Ratzinger was elected as successor to the beloved Pope John Paul II. He was formally enthroned during the papal inauguration Mass on April 24, 2005 and chose the name of Pope Benedict XVI (Wiki P. Ben XVI bio). Elected at the age of 78 Pope Benedict XVI was the oldest to be elected Pope since Clement XII in 1730 (Wiki P. Ben XVI bio). Pope Benedict is only the eight German Pope to be elected into office the last being Adrian VI (1522-1523) (Wiki P. Ben XVI bio).

His Early Life
Joseph Alois Ratzinger was born on Holy Saturday April 16, 1927 at his parents' home in Marktl am Inn, Germany (Ewtn P. Ben XVI bio). He was the first person baptized in the Easter Water and blessed at the Easter Vigil (Ewtn P. Ben XVI bio). His father, Joseph Ratzinger Sr., was a policeman from a family of farmers from lower Baveria and his mother, Maria Ratzinger, was from a family of South Tyrol (Ewtn P. Ben XVI bio). In 1929 Joseph and his family moved to Tittmoning, a small town on the Salzach River, on the Austrian border (Ewtn P. Ben xvi bio). In 1932 his father's outspoken criticism of the Nazis required the family to relocate to Auschau am Inn (Wiki P. Ben XVI bio). His father retired in 1937, and his family moved to Hufschlag, outside of Traunstein (Wiki P. Ben XVI bio). There Joseph began studying classical languages at his local high school (Ewtn P. Ben XVI bio). In 1939, he entered the minor seminary in Traunstein, his first step toward the priesthood (Ewtn P. Ben XVI bio).
Military Backround
World War II forced a postponement of young Ratzinger’s studies. In 1943, at the age of 16, Ratzinger was drafted with many of his friends into the anti-aircraft artillery corps (Wiki P. Ben XVI bio). Ratzinger and his classmates were posted all over Europe to help in guarding aircraft engine plants (Wiki P. Ben XVI bio). According to John Allen, author of Cardinal Ratzinger: The Vatican’s Enforcer of Faith, “Ratzinger was only briefly a member … and not an enthusiastic one at that.” This was mostly due to the fact that an infected finger prevented him from learning how to shoot (Time 40).
On September 10, 1944, Ratzinger was given new notice for the “Reichsarbeitsdienst” (Wiki P. Ben XVI bio). He was posted at the H...

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...bio). 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 (Locker P. Ben XVI bio). They point out that Ratzinger has been very active in promoting inter-faith dialogue (Locker P. Ben XVI bio). Specifically, they argue that Ratzinger has been instrumental at encouraging reconciliation with Lutherans (Locker P. Ben XVI bio). 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 (Locker P. Ben XVI bio).
There are many views on how people feel Pope Benedict will do while he holds the title of Pope .When asked about her overall thought of Pope Benedict XVI Lea Gagliardo, a religion teacher for many years, said “she feels that he will be a wonderful continuation of the beloved ways of John Paul II.” Overall the attitude seems to be that Benedict will be a great Christina leader and he will be able to continue the ways of the beloved John Paul II.

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