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Pope Benedict XVI

The hard-nosed theologian who leads the world's Catholics is a far cry from your friendly neighborhood priest. But in spite of tough rhetoric and a talent for controversy, his flock seems to be following

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, succeeding the enormously popular John Paul II. Sometimes called “God’s Rottweiler" for his staunch defense of traditional Catholic doctrine, the cerebral Benedict is charged with tackling many of the challenges John Paul left behind, including ensuring that Catholicism remains a ‘large tent’ even as he insists that Catholics toe the line on all matters of doctrine and theology. But Benedict hasn't kowtowed to detractors yet—he continues to spark controversy with his outspoken comments and contentious decisions, including his recent choice to restore the traditional Latin mass.

Stories

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  • September 2007

    • China Installs Bishop With Pope's Approval

      Reuters  |  Sep 21, 07 3:06 PM CDT

      China Installs Bishop With Pope's Approval

      (Newser) - Pope Benedict publicly approved the appointment of the new bishop installed today in Beijing, bringing some warmth to long-frozen relations between the Holy See and China’s government-controlled church, Reuters reports. In a critical test for future ties, Joseph Li Shan took over the highest-profile diocese in the atheist nation, which severed formal ties with the Vatican in 1951. More »

    • Sudan's Leader Meets Pope, Vows to Honor Ceasefire

      Reuters  |  Sep 14, 07 3:24 PM CDT

      Sudan's Leader Meets Pope, Vows to Honor Ceasefire

      (Newser) - Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, in a rare and controversial visit to Italy, promised today to observe a ceasefire in Darfur during October peace talks. Pope Benedict used a meeting with Bashir to stress the importance of human rights, while Italy’s PM voiced “strong concerns” over the four-year genocidal crisis. Bashir urged Europe to encourage Sudanese rebels to attend the talks. More »

    • Pope Honors Holocaust Victims

      BBC  |  Sep 7, 07 5:05 PM CDT

      Pope Honors Holocaust Victims

      (Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI paid tribute today to the 65,000 Austrian victims of the Holocaust at the start of his three-day visit to Austria, BBC reports. Alongside Jewish leaders, the pontiff expressed “sadness, repentance, and friendship” at a monument honoring those killed by the Nazis. Benedict tomorrow leads a pilgrimage to an 850-year-old Catholic shrine outside Vienna, according to VOA. More »

  • July 2007

    • Church Sex Abuse: Should the Pope Pay?

      Time  |  Jul 19, 07 1:59 PM CDT

      Church Sex Abuse: Should the Pope Pay?

      (Newser) - Two court cases involving abusive priests in Oregon and Kentucky have raised the possibility that the Vatican may be forced to pay damages to victims and allow its top officials to testify at US trials. Until now, the Holy See has been considered outside US jurisdiction, but lawyers argue that abusive priests should be seen as employees of the Vatican, Time reports. More »

    • Heaven Can Wait, and So Must Research

      BBC  |  Jul 17, 07 4:39 PM CDT

      Heaven Can Wait, and So Must Research

      (Newser) - Despite rumblings from anxious researchers, the Vatican Library has closed its doors for at least 3 years to undergo renovations after an inspection this year revealed that the structure couldn’t support the weight of its books. Reading rooms were unusually full last week, the BBC reports, as researchers got in as much work as possible with time ticking down. More »

    • Mass Embarrassment: Priests Need Latin Lessons

      Guardian (UK)  |  Jul 16, 07 5:59 AM CDT

      Mass Embarrassment: Priests Need Latin Lessons

      (Newser) - Traditionalist Catholics have lauded Pope Benedict's recent call for more Masses in Latin, but priests are biting their nails—few of them know enough of the language to say a Latin Mass. Even Italian priests face embarrassment in the wake of Pope Benedict 's decision to allow Latin services at parishioners' request, the Italian daily La Stampa reports. More »

    • Pope Pounds Protestants

      Reuters  |  Jul 11, 07 5:32 AM CDT

      Pope Pounds Protestants

      (Newser) - In a remarkable nod to the 16th century, Pope Benedict XVI’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which he once led, said of Protestant denominations, 'it is nevertheless difficult to see how the title of 'Church' could possibly be attributed to them." The document restates Benedict's position set forth in 2000 when he was still Cardinal Ratzinger. More »

    • Pope Gives Go-Ahead to Latin Mass

      Time  |  Jul 7, 07 5:53 PM CDT

      Pope Gives Go-Ahead to Latin Mass

      (Newser) - Four decades after sweeping reforms intended to make the Catholic Church more accessible, Pope Benedict backed off the best-known change today, lifting restrictions on the Tridentine rite, better known as the Latin Mass. The move is already controversial, Time reports, because it's perceived as a sop to traditionalists—and because the Good Friday liturgy includes a prayer many consider anti-Semitic. More »

  • June 2007

    • 'Heresy' Goes Digital

      Wired  |  Jun 8, 07 11:24 AM CDT

      'Heresy' Goes Digital

      (Newser) - Cutting ties with the Catholic Church is, in theory, a relatively simple matter known as "debaptism." More and more Italians who aren't worried about the Vatican's formal stance on what it calls "an act of apostasy, heresy or schism" are finding the documents they need online. Wired considers the digital angle on an ecclesiastical process. More »

    • Man Tries to Hitch a Ride on Popemobile

      Boston Globe  |  Jun 6, 07 1:28 PM CDT

      Man Tries to Hitch a Ride on Popemobile

      (Newser) - A German man made a leap of faith in St. Peter's Square in Rome today, apparently attempting to board Pope Benedict's Jeep. A Vatican spokesman said the 27-year-old was trying to "draw attention to himself" when he dove over a barricade toward the slow-moving Popemobile; the man was immediately tackled and taken in for psychiatric treatment. More »

  • May 2007

    • Pope Backtracks on Muslims

      Reuters  |  May 29, 07 5:31 AM CDT

      Pope Backtracks on Muslims

      (Newser) - The Pope applied some salve to wounded relations with the Muslim world yesterday after neglecting and then appearing to slander Islam in a speech last fall. In a surprising reversal, Benedict XVI announced he is restoring the Vatican department responsible for Muslim affairs, which he demoted in importance last year. More »

    • House Dems Slam Pope's Threat

      The Hill  |  May 15, 07 8:08 AM CDT

      House Dems Slam Pope's Threat

      (Newser) - A group of House Democrats bridled at Pope Benedict's recent suggestion that politicians who support abortion rights should be excommunicated, The Hill reports. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut led 18 legislators in condemning the Pope's comment, which "offends the very nature of the American experiment," according to their statement. More »

    • Pope: Marxism, Capitalism Hold Latin America Back

      CNN  |  May 14, 07 6:58 AM CDT

      Pope: Marxism, Capitalism Hold Latin America Back

      (Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI blamed both capitalism and Marxism for Latin America's problems in a speech yesterday in Brazil, the world's most Catholic nation. Benedict blamed Marxism for "a painful destruction of the human spirit," but also worried that capitalism gives rise to "degradation of personal dignity through drugs, alcohol and deceptive illusions of happiness." More »

    • Brazilians Gather To Hail New Saint

      BBC  |  May 11, 07 7:39 AM CDT

      Brazilians Gather To Hail New Saint

      (Newser) - Up to a million spectators will flock to Sao Paulo today to see Pope Benedict XVI canonize the first saint born in Brazil. Friar Galvao, a Franciscan monk who died in 1822, wrote Latin prayers on slips of rice paper that he rolled into "pills," which appeared to cure diseases. Followers still take the pills at a Sao Paulo monastery. More »

    • In Brazil, Pope Talks Tough On Abortion

      Boston Globe  |  May 9, 07 3:50 PM CDT

      In Brazil, Pope Talks Tough On Abortion

      (Newser) - Pope Benedict brought the Catholic Church's stern anti-abortion message to Brazil today, weeks after Mexico City legalized the practice and as Brazil faintly contemplates doing the same. The Pope is on his first trip to Latin America—the fastest-expanding corner of his flock, but also one of the most precarious—this week. More »

  • March 2007

    • King Cozies Up to Pope

      Associated Press  |  Mar 22, 07 11:20 AM CDT

      King Cozies Up to Pope

      (Newser) - A tonsorially tamed Don King took the stage Wednesday in front of an atypical audience–the Pope. The legendary boxing promoter, who spent four years in jail for manslaughter, was denied a personal audience with his Holiness, but did manage to hand the pontiff a handwritten set of prayer requests–and a green-and-gold boxing belt. More »

  • September 2006

    • The Pope's 'Holy War'; By quoting a 14th-century Christian emperor on an 'evil and inhuman' Islam, Benedict XVI ignites a global storm. What was he thinking?

      Newsweek  |  Sep 25, 06

      The setting was familiar, the occasion, the speaker thought, fitting. At 3 in the afternoon last Tuesday, after a quick ride from lunch in the Popemobile, Benedict XVI began a lecture in the Aula Magna of the University of Regensburg in Germany. As Joseph Ratzinger, the pope spent much of his life in the country's academic milieu; as he spoke to a gathering of scientists in the hall, he reminisced about his teaching days at the University of Bonn. "There was a lively exchange with historians, philosophers, philologists ... " Benedict said early in an address on faith and reason. Citing a conversation...

  • November 2004