Editing Pope Benedict XVI (section)

== Papacy: 2005–2013 ==
[[File:Papst Benedikt XVI., Pfingstmesse im Petersdom, 15. Mai 2005.jpg|thumb|Benedict in [[St. Peter's Basilica]], 15{{nbsp}}May 2005]]
[[File:Pope Benedict XVI-desaturated-colors.jpg|thumb|Benedict in [[St.&nbsp;Peter's&nbsp;Square]], 2007]]
[[File:Pope Benedict XVI Delivers Angelus.jpg|thumb|Benedict reciting the weekly Angelus prayer while overlooking St. Peter's Square<!-- DO NOT LINK, see [[MOS:GEOLINK]] for further guidance -->, 2012]]

=== Election to the papacy ===
{{Main|2005 papal conclave}}

In April 2005, before his election as pope, Ratzinger was identified as one of the [[Time 100|100 most influential people in the world]] by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''.<ref name="Time 100">{{cite news |last=Sullivan |first=Andrew |title=Time 100 2005 |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1972656_1972691_1973018,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618214719/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1972656_1972691_1973018,00.html |archive-date=18 June 2010 |magazine=Time |date=18 April 2005 |access-date=3 April 2013}}</ref> While Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Ratzinger repeatedly stated he would like to retire to his house in the Bavarian village of [[Pentling]] near [[Regensburg]] and dedicate himself to writing books.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wittl |first=Wolfgang |title=Blau-weiß gekachelte Bescheidenheit |url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/wohnhaus-von-papst-blau-weiss-gekachelte-bescheidenheit-1.1474839 |access-date=2 January 2023 |website=Süddeutsche.de |date=24 September 2012 |language=de}}</ref>

At the [[papal conclave]], "it was, if not Ratzinger, who? And as they came to know him, the question became, why not Ratzinger?"<ref name="goodstein">{{cite news|author=Goodstein, Laurie and Elisabetta Povoledo |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/11/world/europe/among-cardinals-deep-divisions-over-next-pope.html |title=Before Smoke Rises at Vatican, It's Romans vs. the Reformers |work=The New York Times |date=11 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Ivereigh |first=Austen |title=Does cardinal confusion spell a long conclave? |url=http://www.osvdailytake.com/2013/03/ivereigh-in-rome-does-cardinal.html |work=Our Sunday Visitor |date=11 March 2013 |access-date=12 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316114559/http://www.osvdailytake.com/2013/03/ivereigh-in-rome-does-cardinal.html |archive-date=16 March 2013}}</ref> On 19 April 2005, he was elected on the second day after four ballots.<ref name="goodstein" /> Cardinal [[Cormac Murphy-O'Connor]] described the final vote, "It's very solemn when you go up one by one to put your vote in the urn and you're looking up at the ''[[Last Judgement (Michelangelo)|Last Judgement]]'' of [[Michelangelo]]. And I still remember vividly the then Cardinal Ratzinger sitting on the edge of his chair."<ref>Cormac Murphy-O'Connor speaking on BBC Radio 4's ''Midweek'', 13 May 2015</ref> Ratzinger had hoped to retire peacefully and said that "At a certain point, I prayed to God 'please don't do this to me'...Evidently, this time He didn't listen to me."<ref>Pizzey, Allen [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/benedict-i-prayed-not-to-be-pope/ "Benedict: I Prayed Not To Be Pope"], [[CBS News]], 11 February 2009. Retrieved 21 August 2011 [https://web.archive.org/web/20111228010014/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/04/02/world/main684865.shtml WebCitation archive]</ref>

The day following Ratzinger's election, the German newspaper [[Bild]] ran what would become one of its most iconic headlines in response to the announcement of the prior day, [[:de:Wir sind Papst!|Wir Sind Papst]] (''We are (the) Pope'').<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-11 |title=How 'Wir sind Papst!' became a headline for the ages |url=https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/how-wir-sind-papst-became-a-headline |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=www.pillarcatholic.com/ |language=en}}</ref>

At the balcony, Benedict's first words to the crowd, given in Italian before he gave the traditional ''[[Urbi et Orbi]]'' blessing in Latin, were:

{{blockquote
| Dear brothers and sisters, after the great Pope John Paul{{nbsp}}II, the Cardinals have elected me, a simple, humble labourer in the vineyard of the Lord. The fact that the Lord knows how to work and to act even with insufficient instruments comforts me, and above all I entrust myself to your prayers. In the joy of the Risen Lord, confident of his unfailing help, let us move forward. The Lord will help us, and Mary, His Most Holy Mother, will be on our side. Thank you.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2005/april/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20050419_first-speech.html |title=First greeting of His Holiness Benedict XVI |date=19 April 2005| access-date=31 December 2022| publisher=The Holy See}}</ref>
}}

On 24 April, Benedict celebrated the [[Papal Inauguration]] Mass in [[St. Peter's Square]], during which he was invested with the [[Pallium]] and the [[Ring of the Fisherman]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Mass, Imposition of the Pallium and Conferral of the Fisherman's ring for the beginning of the Petrine ministry of the Bishop of Rome |url=https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/homilies/2005/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20050424_inizio-pontificato.html |website=vatican.va |date=24 April 2005 |access-date=31 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221123231542/https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/homilies/2005/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20050424_inizio-pontificato.html |archive-date=23 November 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> On 7 May, he took possession of his cathedral church, the [[Archbasilica of St. John Lateran]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Mass of possession of the chair of the Bishop of Rome |url=https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/homilies/2005/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20050507_san-giovanni-laterano.html |website=vatican.va |date=7 May 2005 |access-date=31 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809012609/https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/homilies/2005/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20050507_san-giovanni-laterano.html |archive-date=9 August 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Choice of name ===
Benedict{{nbsp}}XVI chose his [[papal name]], which comes from the Latin word meaning "the blessed", in honour of both [[Benedict&nbsp;XV]] and [[Benedict of Nursia]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Pope Benedict XVI DiesUpdates: Pope Francis Will Preside Over Benedict's Funeral on Thursday |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/12/31/world/pope-benedict-dies |work=The New York Times |date=31 December 2022 |access-date=31 December 2022|last1=Horowitz |first1=Jason |last2=Povoledo |first2=Elisabetta }}</ref> Benedict{{nbsp}}XV was pope during the First World War, during which time he passionately pursued peace between the warring nations. St. Benedict of Nursia was the founder of the [[Benedictine]] monasteries (most monasteries of the Middle Ages were of the Benedictine order) and the author of the ''[[Rule of Saint Benedict]]'', which is still the most influential writing regarding the monastic life of [[Western Christianity]]. The Pope explained his choice of name during his first general audience in St. Peter's Square, on 27 April 2005:

{{blockquote
| Filled with sentiments of awe and thanksgiving, I wish to speak of why I chose the name Benedict. Firstly, I remember Pope Benedict{{nbsp}}XV, that courageous prophet of peace, who guided the Church through turbulent times of war. In his footsteps, I place my ministry in the service of reconciliation and harmony between peoples. Additionally, I recall Saint Benedict of Nursia, co-[[patron saint|patron]] of Europe, whose life evokes the Christian roots of Europe. I ask him to help us all to hold firm to the centrality of Christ in our Christian life: May Christ always take first place in our thoughts and actions!<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2005/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20050427.html|title=General Audience of 27 April 2005 &#124; Benedict XVI|website=vatican.va}}</ref>
}}

=== Tone of papacy ===
[[File:Benedikt XVI im Papamobil.jpg|thumb|Benedict's first trip in a [[popemobile]], 2005]]
[[File:Oliver Mark - Pope Benedict XVI, Etzelsbach 2011.jpg|thumb|Benedict in his Mercedes-Benz-M-Class popemobile in the Marian pilgrimage site of Etzelsbach, 2011]]
During Benedict's inaugural Mass, the previous custom of every cardinal submitting to the pope was replaced by being greeted by twelve people, including cardinals, clergy, religious, a married couple and their child, and some who were newly [[confirmed]] people; the cardinals had formally sworn their obedience upon the election of the new pontiff. He began using an open-topped [[Popemobile|papal car]], saying that he wanted to be closer to the people. Benedict continued the tradition of his predecessor John Paul{{nbsp}}II and baptised several infants in the [[Sistine Chapel]] at the beginning of each year, on the [[Feast of the Baptism of the Lord]], in his pastoral role as [[Bishop of Rome]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Aldern |first1=Natalie |title=16 Babies Baptized by Benedict in Sistine Chapel |url=https://www.italymagazine.com/featured-story/16-babies-baptized-benedict-sistine-chapel |work=Italy Magazine |access-date=11 August 2021}}</ref>

==== Beatifications ====
{{see also|List of people beatified by Pope Benedict XVI|date= May 2024}}
During his pontificate, Benedict{{nbsp}}XVI beatified 870 people. On 9 May 2005, Benedict{{nbsp}}XVI began the [[beatification]] process for his predecessor, Pope John Paul{{nbsp}}II. Normally, five years must pass after a person's death before the beatification process can begin. However, in an audience with Benedict, [[Camillo Ruini]], vicar general of the [[Diocese of Rome]] and the official responsible for promoting the [[canonization|cause for canonization]] of any person who dies within that diocese, cited "exceptional circumstances" which suggested that the waiting period could be waived. (This had happened before, when Pope Paul{{nbsp}}VI waived the five-year rule and announced beatification processes for two of his own predecessors, [[Pope Pius&nbsp;XII]] and [[Pope John&nbsp;XXIII]]. Benedict{{nbsp}}XVI followed this precedent when he waived the five-year rule for John Paul{{nbsp}}II.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/csaints/documents/rc_con_csaints_doc_20050509_rescritto-gpii_en.html |title=Response of His Holiness Benedict XVI for the examination of the cause for beatification and canonization of the Servant of God John Paul II |publisher=Vatican.va |date=9 May 2005 |access-date=2 February 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111110181753/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/csaints/documents/rc_con_csaints_doc_20050509_rescritto-gpii_en.html |archive-date=10 November 2011}}</ref>) The decision was announced on 13 May 2005, the Feast of [[Our Lady of Fátima]] and the 24th anniversary of the attempt on John Paul{{nbsp}}II's life.<ref>{{cite news |author=Drummer, Alexander |url=http://www.zenit.org/article-13001?l=english |title=Waiting Period Waived for John Paul II |agency=Zenit News Agency |date=13 May 2005 |access-date=24 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001064726/http://www.zenit.org/article-13001?l=english |archive-date=1 October 2012}}</ref> John Paul{{nbsp}}II often credited Our Lady of Fátima for preserving him on that day. Cardinal Ruini inaugurated the diocesan phase of the cause for beatification in the Lateran Basilica on 28 June 2005.<ref>{{cite news |author=Drummer, Alexander |url=http://www.zenit.org/article-13422?l=english |title=John Paul II's Cause for Beatification Opens |agency=Zenit News Agency |date=28 June 2005 |access-date=24 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607233645/http://www.zenit.org/article-13422?l=english |archive-date=7 June 2011}}</ref>

The first beatification under the new pope was celebrated on 14 May 2005, by [[José Cardinal Saraiva Martins]], Cardinal Prefect of the [[Congregation for the Causes of Saints]]. The new Blesseds were [[Marianne Cope]] and [[Ascensión Nicol Goñi]]. Cardinal [[Clemens August Graf von Galen]] was beatified on 9 October 2005. [[Mariano de la Mata]] was beatified in November 2006 and [[Rosa Eluvathingal]] was beatified on 3 December of that year, and [[Basil Moreau]] was beatified in September 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.holycrossusa.org/spirituality/our-founder-blessed-basil-moreau-csc/ |title=Our Founder |publisher=Congregation of Holy Cross |date=24 August 2011 |access-date=8 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111016095517/http://www.holycrossusa.org/spirituality/our-founder-blessed-basil-moreau-csc/ |archive-date=16 October 2011}}</ref> In October 2008, the following beatifications took place: [[Maria Anna Donati|Celestine of the Mother of God]], Giuseppina Nicoli, Hendrina Stenmanns, Maria Rosa Flesch, Marta Anna Wiecka, [[Michael Sopocko]], [[Petrus Kibe Kasui and 187 Companions]], [[Candelaria of San José|Susana Paz-Castillo Ramírez]], and Maria Isbael Salvat Romero.

On 19 September 2010, during his [[State visit by Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom|visit to the United Kingdom]], Benedict personally proclaimed the beatification of [[John Henry Newman]].<ref name="Beatification">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11360529|title=Pope beatifies Cardinal Newman as his UK tour ends (with video clip)|work=BBC News|date=19 September 2010}}</ref>

Unlike his predecessor, Benedict delegated the beatification liturgical service to a cardinal. On 29 September 2005, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints issued a communiqué announcing that henceforth beatifications would be celebrated by a representative of the pope, usually the prefect of that Congregation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/csaints/documents/rc_con_csaints_doc_20050929_comunicato_en.html |title=Communiqué on beatification process |publisher=Vatican.va |date=29 September 2005 |access-date=2 February 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103085410/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/csaints/documents/rc_con_csaints_doc_20050929_comunicato_en.html |archive-date=3 November 2011}}</ref>

==== Canonizations ====
[[File:BentoXVI-43-11052007.jpg|thumb|Benedict at the canonization of the Brazilian friar [[Frei Galvão]], 2007]]
{{see also|List of saints canonized by Pope Benedict XVI|date=May 2024}}
During his pontificate, Benedict{{nbsp}}XVI [[Canonization|canonized]] 45 people.<ref>{{cite web |title=How Do You Become a Saint? What to Know About Canonization |date=27 April 2014 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/new-saints/how-do-you-become-saint-what-know-about-canonization-n89846 |publisher=NBC News |access-date=11 August 2021}}</ref> He celebrated his first canonizations on 23 October 2005 in St. Peter's Square with the [[canonized|Canonizations]] of [[Josef Bilczewski]], [[Alberto Hurtado]], [[Zygmunt Gorazdowski]], [[Gaetano Catanoso]], and [[Felice da Nicosia]]. The canonizations were part of a mass that marked the conclusion of the [[General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops]] and the [[Year of the Eucharist]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2005/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20051023_canonizations_en.html |title=Canonization of the Blesseds |publisher=Vatican.va |date=23 October 2005 |access-date=2 February 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111018164211/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2005/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20051023_canonizations_en.html |archive-date=18 October 2011}}</ref> Benedict canonized Bishop [[Rafael Guízar y Valencia]], [[Théodore Guérin]], [[Filippo Smaldone]], and [[Rosa Venerini]] on 15 October 2006.

During his visit to Brazil in 2007, Benedict presided over the canonization of [[Frei Galvão]] on 11 May, while [[George Preca]], founder of the Malta-based [[{{text|MUSEUM}}]], [[Szymon of Lipnica]], [[Charles of Mount Argus]], and [[Marie-Eugénie de Jésus]] were canonized in a ceremony held at the [[Apostolic Palace|Vatican]] on 3 June 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=76178 |title=Pope Schedules Five Canonizations for May–June |publisher=EWTN |date=23 February 2007 |access-date=2 February 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206083133/http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=76178 |archive-date=6 December 2010}}</ref> Preca is the first Maltese saint since the country's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 60 when St. Paul converted the inhabitants.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=4346 |title=Malta to get its first saint |publisher=CathNews |date=2 March 2007 |access-date=8 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120103442/http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=4346 |archive-date=20 January 2012}}</ref> In October 2008, the following canonizations took place: [[Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception]] of India,<ref>[http://en.radiovaticana.va/storico/2008/03/01/pope_announces_canonisation_of_indias_first_native_woman_saint/en1-190137 "Pope Announces Canonisation of India's First Native Woman Saint"]. [[Vatican Radio]]. 1 March 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2013.</ref> [[Gaetano Errico]], [[Narcisa de Jesus Martillo Moran]], and [[Maria Bernarda Bütler]]. In April 2009, the Pope canonized [[Arcangelo Tadini]], [[Bernardo Tolomei]], [[Nuno Álvares Pereira]], [[Geltrude Comensoli]], and [[Caterina Volpicelli]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/homilies/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20090426_canonizzazioni.html|title=26 April 2009: Holy Mass for the Canonization of Arcangelo Tadini, Bernardo Tolomei, Nuno de Santa Maria Alvares Pereira, Gertrude Comensoli and Caterina Volpicelli &#124; Benedict XVI|website=vatican.va}}</ref> In October of the same year he canonized [[Jeanne Jugan]], [[Damien de Veuster]], [[Zygmunt Szczęsny Feliński]], [[Francisco Coll Guitart]], and [[Rafael Arnáiz Barón]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.expatica.com/es/news/spanish-news/Pope-canonises-_lepers_-apostle_-and-four-others-_57173.html|title=Pope canonises 'lepers' apostle' and four others|access-date=26 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925185810/http://www.expatica.com/es/news/spanish-news/Pope-canonises-_lepers_-apostle_-and-four-others-_57173.html|archive-date=25 September 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/homilies/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20091011_canonizzazioni.html|title=11 October 2009: Canonization of five new Saints: Zygmunt Szczęsny Feliński, Francisco Coll y Guitart, Josef Daamian de Veuster, Rafael Arnáiz Barón, Marie de la Croix (Jeanne) Jugan &#124; Benedict XVI|website=vatican.va}}</ref>

On 17 October 2010, Benedict canonized [[André Bessette]], a French-Canadian; [[Stanisław Sołtys]], a 15th-century Polish priest; Italian nuns [[Giulia Salzano]] and [[Camilla Battista da Varano]]; Spanish nun [[Candida Maria de Jesus Cipitria y Barriola]]; and the first Australian saint, [[Mary MacKillop]].<ref>Winfield, Nicole [http://www.aolnews.com/2010/10/17/pope-creates-first-australian-saint-5-others/ "Pope Creates First Australian Saint, 5 Others"] [[AOL]] News 17 October 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2011 [https://web.archive.org/web/20101228141825/http://www.aolnews.com/2010/10/17/pope-creates-first-australian-saint-5-others/ WebCitation archive]</ref> On 23 October 2011, he canonized three saints: a Spanish nun [[Bonifacia Rodríguez y Castro]], Italian archbishop [[Guido Maria Conforti]], and Italian priest [[Luigi Guanella]].<ref>Kerr, David [https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/23611/pope-benedict-canonizes-three-new-saints "Pope Benedict canonizes three new saints"]</ref> In December 2011, the Pope formally recognized the validity of the miracles necessary to proceed with the canonizations of [[Kateri Tekakwitha]], who would be the first Native American saint; Marianne Cope, a nun working with [[lepers]] in what is now the state of Hawaii; [[Giovanni Battista Piamarta]], an Italian priest; [[Jacques Berthieu]], a French Jesuit priest and African [[martyr]]; [[Carmen Salles y Barangueras]], a Spanish nun and founder of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception; [[Peter Calungsod]], a lay [[catechist]] and martyr from the Philippines; and [[Anna Schäffer]], whose desire to be a missionary was unfulfilled on account of her illness.<ref>Glatz, Carol [http://www.the-tidings.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1903:pope-advances-sainthood-causes-of-kateri-tekakwitha-others&catid=114:national&Itemid=403 "Pope advances sainthood causes of Kateri Tekakwitha, others"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630082301/http://www.the-tidings.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1903%3Apope-advances-sainthood-causes-of-kateri-tekakwitha-others&catid=114%3Anational&Itemid=403 |date=30 June 2013}} The Tidings Online 23 December 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2012</ref> They were canonized on 21 October 2012.<ref>Donadio, Rachel [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/22/nyregion/pope-canonizes-kateri-tekewitha-and-marianne-cope.html "Pope Canonizes 7 Saints, Including 2 Women With New York Ties"] ''The New York Times'', 21 October 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2012</ref>

==== Doctors of the Church ====
On 7 October 2012, Benedict named [[Hildegard of Bingen]] and [[John of Ávila]] as [[Doctors of the Church]], the 34th and 35th individuals so recognized in the history of Christianity.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/pope-names-2-church-doctors-preacher-st-john-of-avila-and-mystic-st-hildegard-of-bingen |title=Pope names 2 church doctors: preacher St. John of Avila and mystic St. Hildegard of Bingen |publisher=Fox News |date=26 June 2012 |access-date=9 October 2012}}</ref>

=== Curia reform ===
Benedict made only modest changes to the structure of the Roman Curia. In March 2006, he placed both the [[Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples]] and the [[Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace]] under a single president, Cardinal [[Renato Martino]]. When Martino retired in 2009, each council received its own president once again. Also in March 2006, the [[Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue]] was briefly merged into the [[Pontifical Council for Culture]] under Cardinal [[Paul Poupard]]. Those Councils maintained their separate officials and staffs while their status and competencies continued unchanged, and in May 2007, Interreligious Dialogue was restored to its separate status again with its own president.<ref>{{cite news | newspaper = National Catholic Reporter |access-date= 2 September 2016 |date= 30 May 2006 | url = https://www.ncronline.org/news/council-interreligious-dialogue-be-restored-vatican-says | title=Council for Interreligious Dialogue to be restored, Vatican says | first = John L. Jr. |last= Allen}}</ref> In June 2010, Benedict created the [[Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization]], appointing Archbishop [[Rino Fisichella]] its first president.<ref>{{cite news |agency= Catholic News Agency | access-date = 2 September 2016 | date = 30 June 2010 | url = https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/20136/pope-appoints-archbishop-fisichella-to-lead-council-for-new-evangelization |title= Pope appoints Archbishop Fisichella to lead Council for New Evangelization}}</ref> On 16 January 2013, the Pope transferred responsibility for [[catechesis]] from the [[Congregation for the Clergy]] to the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization.<ref>{{cite news|title=Pope transfers responsibility for catechesis, seminaries|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/26446/pope-transfers-responsibility-for-catechesis-seminaries|access-date=2 September 2016|agency=Catholic News Agency|date=25 January 2013}}</ref>

=== Teachings ===
{{See also|Theology of Pope Benedict&nbsp;XVI}}

As pope, one of Benedict's main roles was to teach about the Catholic faith and the solutions to the problems of discerning and living the faith,<ref>Beach, Kevin [http://www.catholicmissionleaflets.org/leafpope.htm "What is the role of the Pope?"] Catholic Mission Leaflets [https://web.archive.org/web/20111012035803/http://catholicmissionleaflets.org/leafpope.htm WebCitation archive]</ref> a role that he could play well as a former head of the Church's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. {{Crossreference|(The main points of emphasis of his teachings are stated in more detail in [[Theology of Pope Benedict&nbsp;XVI]].)}}

==== "Friendship with Jesus Christ" ====
After his first [[homily]] as pope, Benedict referred to both Jesus Christ and John Paul{{nbsp}}II. Citing John Paul{{nbsp}}II's well-known words, "Do not be afraid! Open wide the doors for Christ!", Benedict said:

{{blockquote
| Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to Him, are we not afraid that He might take something away from us? ... And once again the Pope said: No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful, and great. No! Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation. ... When we give ourselves to Him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ&nbsp;– and you will find true life.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20050424_inizio-pontificato_en.html |title=Mass for the Inauguration of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI&nbsp;– Homily of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI |publisher=Vatican.va |date=24 April 2005 |access-date=2 February 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111101130100/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20050424_inizio-pontificato_en.html |archive-date=1 November 2011}}</ref>
}}

"Friendship with Jesus Christ" was a frequent theme of Benedict's preaching.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/B16CLERO.HTM |title=To the Clergy of Rome, with Response to Interventions by Roman Clergy |publisher=EWTN |date=13 May 2005 |access-date=2 February 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709184929/http://www.ewtn.com/library/papaldoc/b16clero.htm |archive-date=9 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ewtn.com/pope/words/conclave_homily.asp |title=For Electing the Supreme Pontiff |publisher=EWTN |date=18 April 2005 |access-date=2 February 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111115103236/http://www.ewtn.com/pope/words/conclave_homily.asp |archive-date=15 November 2011}}</ref> He stressed that on this intimate friendship, "everything depends".<ref name="JON" /> He also said: "We are all called to open ourselves to this friendship with God ... speaking to Him as to a friend, the only One who can make the world both good and happy ... That is all we have to do is put ourselves at His disposal ... is an extremely important message. It is a message that helps to overcome what can be considered the great temptation of our time: the claim, that after the [[Big Bang]], God withdrew from history."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/cdfjosma.htm|title=ST JOSEMARÍA|access-date=5 November 2005|archive-date=28 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128114335/http://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/cdfjosma.htm}}</ref> Thus, in his book ''Jesus of Nazareth'', his main purpose was "to help foster [in the reader] the growth of a living relationship" with Jesus Christ.<ref name="JON">{{cite news |author=Drummer, Alexander |url=http://www.zenit.org/article-19369?l=english |title=Benedict XVI's Book a Pastoral Work |agency=Zenit News Agency |date=15 April 2007 |access-date=24 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001064700/http://www.zenit.org/article-19369?l=english |archive-date=1 October 2012}}</ref> He took up this theme in his first encyclical ''[[Deus caritas est]]''. In his explanation and summary of the encyclical, he stated: "If friendship with God becomes for us something ever more important and decisive, then we will begin to love those whom God loves and who are in need of us. God wants us to be friends of His friends and we can be so, if we are interiorly close to them."<ref>{{cite news |author=Drummer, Alexander |url=http://www.zenit.org/article-15211?l=english |title=The Secret of Love, According to Benedict XVI&nbsp;– Pope Explains Encyclical to Readers of Italian Magazine |agency=Zenit News Agency |date=7 February 2006 |access-date=8 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811075615/http://www.zenit.org/article-15211?l=english |archive-date=11 August 2011}}</ref> Thus, he said that prayer is "urgently needed ... It is time to reaffirm the importance of prayer in the face of the activism and the growing secularism of many Christians engaged in charitable work."<ref>{{cite web |title=Practicing Catholic Social Teaching is Personal and Spiritual |date=21 December 2021 |url=https://capp-usa.org/2021/12/cst-personal-and-spiritual/ |publisher=Catholic Social Teaching in Action |access-date=31 December 2022}}</ref>

==== "Dictatorship of relativism" ====
Continuing what he said in the pre-conclave Mass about what he often referred to as the "central problem of our faith today",<ref>Ratzinger, Joseph ''[[Relativism: The Central Problem for Faith Today]]'' [[EWTN]] May 1996. Retrieved 8 October 2011 [https://web.archive.org/web/20111006175209/http://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/ratzrela.htm WebCitation archive]</ref> on 6 June 2005, Benedict also said:
{{blockquote
| Today, a particularly insidious obstacle to the task of education is the massive presence in our society and culture of that relativism which, recognising nothing as definitive, leaves as the ultimate criterion only the self with its desires. And under the semblance of freedom it becomes a prison for each one, for it separates people from one another, locking each person into his or her own ego.<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2005/june/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20050606_convegno-famiglia_en.html "Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the participants in the Ecclesial Diocesan Convention of Rome"] 6 June 2005
Retrieved 8 October 2011 [https://web.archive.org/web/20111007204950/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2005/june/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20050606_convegno-famiglia_en.html WebCitation archive]</ref>
}}

Benedict said that "a dictatorship of relativism"<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/word/wyd082105.htm |title=Coverage of World Youth Day exclusively by NCR Report #4: Do-it-yourself religion 'cannot ultimately help us,' pope tells youth | last=Allen | first=John L. Jr. |newspaper=National Catholic Reporter |date=21 August 2005 |access-date=2 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927165721/http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/word/wyd082105.htm |archive-date=27 September 2011 }}</ref> was the core challenge facing the Church and humanity. At the root of this problem, he said, is [[Immanuel Kant]]'s "self-limitation of reason". This, he said, is contradictory to the modern acclamation of science whose excellence is based on the power of reason to know the truth. He said that this self-amputation of reason leads to pathologies of religion such as terrorism and pathologies of science such as [[ecological disaster]]s.<ref name="TT">{{cite book |title=Truth And Tolerance: Christian Belief And World Religions |last=Ratzinger |first=Joseph |year=2003 |publisher=Ignatius Press|isbn=1-58617-035-X }}</ref> Benedict traced the failed revolutions and violent ideologies of the 20th century to a conversion of partial points of view into absolute guides. He said "Absolutizing what is not absolute but relative is called totalitarianism."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2005/august/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20050820_vigil-wyd.html|title=Apostolic Journey to Cologne: Vigil with youth at Marienfeld area (August 20, 2005) &#124; Benedict XVI|website=vatican.va}}</ref>

==== Christianity as religion according to reason ====
In the discussion with [[secularism]] and [[rationalism]], one of Benedict's basic ideas can be found in his address on the "Crisis of Culture" in the West, a day before Pope John Paul{{nbsp}}II died, when he referred to Christianity as the "religion of the ''[[Logos]]''" (the Greek for "word", "reason", "meaning", or "intelligence"). He said:

{{blockquote
| From the beginning, Christianity has understood itself as the religion of the ''Logos'', as the religion according to reason ... It has always defined men, all men without distinction, as creatures and images of God, proclaiming for them ... the same dignity. In this connection, [[the Enlightenment]] is of Christian origin and it is no accident that it was born precisely and exclusively in the realm of the Christian faith. ... It was and is the merit of the Enlightenment to have again proposed these original values of Christianity and of having given back to reason its own voice ... Today, this should be precisely [Christianity's] philosophical strength, in so far as the problem is whether the world comes from the irrational, and reason is not other than a 'sub-product,' on occasion even harmful of its development{{snd}}or whether the world comes from reason, and is, as a consequence, its criterion and goal ... In the so necessary dialogue between secularists and Catholics, we Christians must be very careful to remain faithful to this fundamental line: to live a faith that comes from the ''Logos'', from creative reason, and that, because of this, is also open to all that is truly rational.<ref name="Zenit05">{{cite news |author=Drummer, Alexander |url=http://www.zenit.org/article-13705?l=english |title=Cardinal Ratzinger on Europe's Crisis of Culture (Part 4) |agency=Zenit News Agency |date=29 July 2005 |access-date=24 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001064719/http://www.zenit.org/article-13705?l=english |archive-date=1 October 2012}}</ref>
}}

Benedict also emphasised that "Only creative reason, which in the crucified God is manifested as love, can really show us the way."<ref name="Zenit05" />

==== Encyclicals ====
<!--Please note, encyclical dates are based on the date listed within the text, not the release date{|
|- align=left
!No. !! !! Title !! !! Translation !! !! Subject !! !! Date
|-
|1. || || ''[[Deus caritas est]]'' || || God is Love || || Christian love || || 25 December 2005
|}
-->
Benedict wrote three [[encyclical]]s: ''[[Deus caritas est]]'' (Latin for "God is Love"), ''[[Spe salvi]]'' ("Saved by Hope"), and ''[[Caritas in veritate]]'' ("Love in Truth").

In his first encyclical, ''Deus caritas est'', he said that a human being, created in the image of God who is love, can practise love: to give himself to God and others ([[agape]]) by receiving and experiencing God's love in contemplation. This life of love, according to him, is the life of the saints such as [[Teresa of Calcutta]] and the [[Veneration of Mary in the Catholic Church|Blessed Virgin Mary]], and is the direction Christians take when they believe that God loves them in Jesus Christ.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html |title=Deus caritas est |publisher=Vatican.va |date=25 December 2005 |access-date=2 February 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008152102/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html |archive-date=8 October 2011}}</ref> The encyclical contains almost 16,000 words in 42 paragraphs. The first half is said to have been written by Benedict in German, his first language, in the summer of 2005; the second half is derived from uncompleted writings left by his predecessor, Pope John Paul{{nbsp}}II.<ref>Fisher, Ian [https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/26/international/europe/26pope.html?pagewanted=all "Benedict's First Encyclical Shuns Strictures of Orthodoxy"] ''The New York Times'', 26 January 2006. Retrieved 5 October 2011 [https://web.archive.org/web/20150705164524/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/26/international/europe/26pope.html?pagewanted=all WebCitation archive]</ref> The document was signed by Benedict on Christmas Day, 25 December 2005.<ref>Thavis, John
[http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20060104001515/http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0507411.htm "The pope needs a theologian? Former papal adviser reveals why"] Catholic News Service 30 December 2005. Retrieved 5 October 2011 [https://web.archive.org/web/20110927012222/http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0507411.htm WebCitation archive]</ref> The encyclical was promulgated a month later in Latin and was translated into English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, and Spanish. It is the first encyclical to be published since the Vatican decided to assert [[copyright]] in the official writings of the pope.<ref>McMahon, Barbara [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/jan/23/catholicism.religion "Vatican invokes papal copyright"] ''[[The Guardian]]'' 22 January 2006. Retrieved 5 October 2011 [https://web.archive.org/web/20110923141758/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/jan/23/catholicism.religion WebCitation archive]</ref>

Benedict's second encyclical titled ''Spe Salvi'' ("Saved by Hope"), about the virtue of [[hope]], was released on 30 November 2007.<ref>{{cite web |author=Thavis, John |url=http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=26059 |title=People need God to have hope, pope in new encyclical |publisher=Catholic News Service |date=30 November 2007 |access-date=2 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011153026/http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=26059 |archive-date=11 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20071130_spe-salvi.html|title=Spe salvi (November 30, 2007) &#124; Benedict XVI|website=vatican.va}}</ref>

His third encyclical titled ''Caritas in veritate'' ("Love in Truth" or "Charity in Truth"), was signed on 29 June 2009 (the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul) and released on 7 July 2009.<ref name="DonadoNYT">{{cite news|first=Rachel |last=Donadio |title=Pope Urges Forming New World Economic Order to Work for the 'Common Good' |work=The New York Times |date=7 July 2009 |access-date=7 July 2009 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/08/world/europe/08pope.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111223064347/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/08/world/europe/08pope.html |archive-date=23 December 2011}}</ref> In it, the Pope continued the Church's teachings on social justice. He condemned the prevalent economic system "where the pernicious effects of sin are evident", and called on people to rediscover ethics in business and economic relations.<ref name="DonadoNYT" />

At the time of his resignation, Benedict had completed a draft of a fourth encyclical entitled ''[[Lumen fidei]]'' ("The Light of Faith"),<ref>{{cite news | url = http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/enciclica-papa-el-papa-pope-lumen-fidei-26222/ | title = The light of faith: origin, history and horizon of the christianism | newspaper = [[La Stampa]] | location = Turin | first = Alessandro | last = Speciale | date = 4 July 2013 | access-date = 19 October 2013 | archive-date = 8 July 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130708110458/http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/enciclica-papa-el-papa-pope-lumen-fidei-26222 }}</ref> intended to accompany his first two encyclicals to complete a trilogy on the three [[theological virtues]] of [[faith in Christianity|faith]], [[hope (virtue)|hope]], and [[charity (virtue)|love]]. Benedict's successor, [[Pope Francis|Francis]], completed and published ''Lumen Fidei'' in June 2013, four months after Benedict's retirement and Francis's succession. Although the encyclical is officially the work of Francis, paragraph 7 of the encyclical explicitly expresses Francis's debt to Benedict: "These considerations on faith – in continuity with all that the Church's [[magisterium]] has pronounced on this theological virtue – are meant to supplement what Benedict{{nbsp}}XVI had written in his encyclical letters on charity and hope. He himself had almost completed a first draft of an encyclical on faith. For this I am deeply grateful to him, and as his brother in Christ I have taken up his fine work and added a few contributions of my own."<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20130629_enciclica-lumen-fidei_en.html ''Lumen Fidei''], 7</ref>

==== Post-synodal apostolic exhortation ====
''[[Sacramentum caritatis]]'' (The Sacrament of Charity), signed 22 February 2007, was released in Latin, Italian, English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, and Polish. It was made available in various languages on 13 March 2007 in Rome. The English edition of ''Libera Editrice Vaticana'' is 158 pages. This [[apostolic exhortation]] "seeks to take up the richness and variety of the reflections and proposals which emerged from the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops" which was held in 2006.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20070222_sacramentum-caritatis.html|title=Sacramentum Caritatis: Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Eucharist as the Source and Summit of the Church's Life and Mission (22 February 2007) &#124; Benedict XVI|website=vatican.va}}</ref>

==== ''Motu proprio'' on Tridentine Mass ====
{{Main|Summorum Pontificum}}

[[File:unchurch.jpg|thumb|right|upright|An altar set for the [[Traditional Latin Mass]]]]

On 7 July 2007, Benedict issued the ''[[motu proprio]] Summorum Pontificum'', declaring that upon "the request of the faithful", the celebration of [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] according to the [[1962 missal|Missal of 1962]] (of the [[Tridentine Mass]]), was to be more easily permitted. Stable groups who previously had to petition their bishop to have a Tridentine Mass may now merely request permission from their local priest.<ref name="Afica Latin">{{cite news |title=Pope Allows Worldwide Use of Old Latin Mass|publisher=Catholic Information Service for Africa|date=10 July 2007|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/200707101009.html}}</ref> While ''Summorum Pontificum'' directs that pastors should provide the Tridentine Mass upon the requests of the faithful, it also allows for any qualified priest to offer private celebrations of the Tridentine Mass, to which the faithful may be admitted if they wish.<ref name="letter Motu">{{cite web|title=Letter of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the Bishops on the Occasion of the Publication of the Apostolic Letter ''Motu Proprio Data'' Summorum Pontificum, On the Use of the Roman Liturgy Prior to the Reform of 1970 |url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20070707_lettera-vescovi_en.html |author=Pope Benedict XVI |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111010203101/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20070707_lettera-vescovi_en.html |archive-date=10 October 2011}}</ref> For regularly scheduled public celebrations of the Tridentine Mass, the permission of the priest in charge of the church is required.<ref>Article 5 §4 of the motu proprio</ref>

In an accompanying letter, the Pope outlined his position concerning questions about the new guidelines.<ref name="letter Motu" /> As there were fears that the move would entail a reversal of the Second Vatican Council,<ref name="Jason">{{cite news|title=Criticism over return of Latin Mass |author=Burke, Jason |url=http://www.hindu.com/2007/07/09/stories/2007070955601600.htm |date=9 July 2007 |access-date=4 October 2011 |location=Chennai, India |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108194155/http://www.hindu.com/2007/07/09/stories/2007070955601600.htm |work=The Hindu |archive-date=8 November 2012 }}</ref> Benedict emphasised that the Tridentine Mass would not detract from the council and that the [[Mass of Paul VI]] would still be the norm and priests were not permitted to refuse to say the Mass in that form. He pointed out that the use of Tridentine Mass "was never juridically abrogated and, consequently, in principle, was always permitted."<ref name="letter Motu" /> The letter also decried "deformations of the [[liturgy]] ... because in many places celebrations were not faithful to the prescriptions of the new Missal" as the Second Vatican Council was wrongly seen "as authorising or even requiring creativity", mentioning his own experience.<ref name="letter Motu" />

The Pope considered that allowing the Tridentine Mass to those who request it was a means to prevent or heal [[schism]], stating that, on occasions in history, "not enough was done by the Church's leaders to maintain or regain reconciliation and unity" and that this "imposes an obligation on us today: to make every effort to enable for all those who truly desire unity to remain in that unity or to attain it anew."<ref name="letter Motu" /> Cardinal [[Darío Castrillón Hoyos]], the president of the [[Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei|Pontifical Commission established to facilitate full ecclesial communion of those associated with that Society]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/ced_documents/rc_con_cfaith_20090930_ecclesia-dei_en.html |title=Pontifical Commission 'Ecclesia Dei' |publisher=Vatican.va |access-date=14 June 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911163000/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/ced_documents/rc_con_cfaith_20090930_ecclesia-dei_en.html |archive-date=11 September 2011 }}</ref> stated that the decree "opened the door for their return". Bishop [[Bernard Fellay]], superior general of the SSPX, expressed "deep gratitude to the Sovereign Pontiff for this great spiritual benefit".<ref name="Afica Latin" />

In July 2021, Pope Francis issued the [[Ecclesiastical letter#Letters of the popes in modern times|apostolic letter]] titled ''[[Traditionis custodes]]'', which substantially reversed the decision of Benedict{{nbsp}}XVI in ''Summorum Pontificum'' and imposed new and broad restrictions on the use of the [[Traditional Latin Mass]]. The decision was controversial and widely criticized by conservative and [[traditionalist Catholics]] as lacking in charity and an attack on those attached to the liturgical patrimony of the Church.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Pope Francis renews restrictions on old Latin Mass, reversing Benedict XVI|language=en-US|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pope-francis-latin-mass/2021/07/16/5fe7238e-e638-11eb-88c5-4fd6382c47cb_story.html|access-date=19 July 2021|issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Horowitz|first=Jason|date=16 July 2021|title=Pope Francis Restricts Use of Old Latin Mass, in a Blow to Conservatives|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/16/world/europe/pope-francis-old-latin-mass.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/16/world/europe/pope-francis-old-latin-mass.html |archive-date=28 December 2021 |url-access=limited|access-date=19 July 2021|issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==== Unicity and salvific universality of the Catholic Church ====
Near the end of June 2007, the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]] issued a document approved by Benedict{{nbsp}}XVI "because some contemporary theological interpretations of [[Vatican II]]'s ecumenical intent had been 'erroneous or ambiguous' and had prompted confusion and doubt." The document has been seen as restating "key sections of a 2000 text the pope wrote when he was prefect of the congregation, ''Dominus Iesus''."<ref name="Winfield">{{cite news |last=Winfield |first=Nicole |date=10 July 2007 |title=Pope: Other Christians not true churches |newspaper=USA Today |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-07-10-1587290358_x.htm |url-status=live |access-date=18 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091114133425/http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-07-10-1587290358_x.htm |archive-date=14 November 2009}}</ref>

==== Consumerism ====
Benedict condemned excessive [[consumerism]], especially among youth. He stated in December 2007 that "[A]dolescents, youths and even children are easy victims of the corruption of love, deceived by unscrupulous adults who, lying to themselves and to them, draw them into the dead-end streets of consumerism."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/11217/children-in-consumerist-societies-risk-losing-hope-says-pope-benedict
|title=Children in consumerist societies "risk losing hope," says Pope Benedict
|agency=Catholic News Agency
|date=10 December 2007 |access-date=4 October 2011 |url-status=live
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729011949/http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/children_in_consumerist_societies_risk_losing_hope_says_pope_benedict/
|archive-date=29 July 2013
}}</ref> In June 2009, he blamed outsourcing for the greater availability of consumer goods which lead to the downsizing of [[social security]] systems.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-in-veritate_en.html |title=''Caritas in veritate'' Encyclical Letter of 29 June 2009 |publisher=Vatican.va |access-date=2 February 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902070515/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-in-veritate_en.html |archive-date=2 September 2011 }}</ref>

=== Ecumenism ===
{{Main|Pope Benedict&nbsp;XVI and ecumenism}}

[[File:Pope Benedict XVI 1.jpg|thumb|right|Benedict on a throne in the [[Apostolic Palace]] in the Vatican, 2011]]

Speaking at his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square on 7 June 2006, Benedict asserted that Jesus himself had entrusted the leadership of the Church to his apostle [[Saint Peter|Peter]]. "Peter's responsibility thus consists of guaranteeing the communion with Christ. Let us pray so that the [[primacy of Peter]], entrusted to poor human beings, may always be exercised in this original sense desired by the Lord, so that it will be increasingly recognised in its true meaning by brothers who are still not in [[Koinonia|communion]] with us."<ref>{{cite web |title=Pope speaks on the Primacy of Peter |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/6911/pope-speaks-on-the-primacy-of-peter |agency=Catholic News Agency |access-date=31 December 2022}}</ref>

Also in 2006, Benedict met the [[Anglican]] [[Archbishop of Canterbury]], [[Rowan Williams]]. In their Common Declaration, they highlighted the previous 40 years of dialogue between Catholics and Anglicans while also acknowledging "serious obstacles to our ecumenical progress".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2006/november/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20061123_common-decl_en.html |title=Common Declaration of Pope Benedict XVI and the Archbishop of Canterbury His Grace Rowan Williams |publisher=Vatican.va |date=23 November 2006 |access-date=17 February 2013}}</ref>

On 4 November 2009, in response to a 2007 petition by the [[Traditional Anglican Church]], Benedict issued the [[apostolic constitution]] ''[[Anglicanorum coetibus]]'', which authorized the creation of "[[Personal ordinariate|Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans entering into full communion]]."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Anglicanorum coetibus Providing for Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans Entering into Full Communion with the Catholic Church (November 4, 2009) {{!}} Benedict XVI|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_ben-xvi_apc_20091104_anglicanorum-coetibus.html|access-date=6 August 2021|website=www.vatican.va}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Traditionalist Anglicans prepare response to Holy See {{!}} VirtueOnline – The Voice for Global Orthodox Anglicanism|url=https://virtueonline.org/traditionalist-anglicans-prepare-response-holy-see|access-date=6 August 2021|website=virtueonline.org}}</ref> Between 2011 and 2012, three ordinariates were erected, currently totalling 9090 members, 194 priests, and 94 parishes.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Chair of Saint Peter (Personal Ordinariate) [Catholic-Hierarchy]|url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/duspo.html|access-date=6 August 2021|website=catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Our Lady of Walsingham (Personal Ordinariate) [Catholic-Hierarchy]|url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dgbpo.html|access-date=6 August 2021|website=catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Our Lady of the Southern Cross (Personal Ordinariate) [Catholic-Hierarchy]|url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/daupo.html|access-date=6 August 2021|website=catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref>

=== Interfaith dialogue ===
==== Judaism ====
{{Main|Pope Benedict&nbsp;XVI and Judaism}}

When Benedict ascended to the papacy, his election was welcomed by the [[Anti-Defamation League]] who noted "his great sensitivity to Jewish history and the [[Holocaust]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adl.org/PresRele/VaticanJewish_96/44698_96.htm|title=ADL Welcomes Election of Cardinal Ratzinger as New Pope|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115060118/http://www.adl.org/PresRele/VaticanJewish_96/44698_96.htm|archive-date=15 January 2013}}</ref> However, his election received a more reserved response from [[British Chief Rabbi]] [[Jonathan Sacks]], who hoped that Benedict would "continue along the path of Pope John{{nbsp}}XXIII and Pope John Paul{{nbsp}}II in working to enhance relations with the Jewish people and the [[State of Israel]]."<ref name="BBC4462503">{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4462503.stm | title=In quotes: Reaction to Pope election | date=20 April 2005 |work=BBC News | access-date=31 January 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305050120/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4462503.stm|archive-date=5 March 2012}}</ref> Israeli foreign minister [[Silvan Shalom]] also offered tentative praise, though Shalom believed that "this Pope, considering his historical experience, will be especially committed to an uncompromising fight against [[anti-Semitism]]."<ref name="BBC4462503" />

Critics have accused Benedict's papacy of insensitivity towards Judaism. The two most prominent instances were the expansion of the use of the Tridentine Mass and the lifting of the [[Excommunication (Catholic Church)|excommunication]] on four bishops from the [[Society of St. Pius X]] (SSPX). In the [[Good Friday]] service, the Tridentine Mass [[rubric]]s include a prayer that asks God to lift the veil so "they [Jews] may be delivered from their darkness". This prayer has historically been contentious in [[Catholic Church and Judaism|Judaic-Catholic relations]] and several groups saw the [[Good Friday prayer for the Jews#Changes by Benedict XVI|restoration of the Tridentine Mass as problematic]].<ref name="tomorrow">{{cite web |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/9812/vatican-to-release-benedict-xvis-letter-on-the-use-of-the-tridentine-mass-tomorrow |title=Vatican to release Benedict XVI's letter on the use of the Tridentine Mass tomorrow |publisher=Catholicnewsagency.com |date=6 July 2007 |access-date=17 February 2013 |archive-date=15 April 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415234336/http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=9812 }}</ref><ref>[http://sandiegojewishworld.com/2007-sdjw/2007-07%20sdjw/2007-07-06friday/2007-07-06.htm "Mikulanis says ADL jumped gun, got its facts wrong"] ''[[San Diego Jewish World]]''. Vol. 1, Number 67. 6 July 2007. Retrieved 2 October 2011 [https://web.archive.org/web/20120118192352/http://sandiegojewishworld.com/2007-sdjw/2007-07%20sdjw/2007-07-06friday/2007-07-06.htm WebCitation archive]</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/news/local/articles_of_faith/2009/02/omalley_meets_j.html |title=O'Malley meets Jews over Holocaust flap |work=The Boston Globe |date=24 February 2009 |last=Paulson |first=Michael |access-date=20 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226211312/http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles_of_faith/2009/02/omalley_meets_j.html |archive-date=26 February 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.zenit.org/article-24928?l=english |title=What Is Not True About the Good Friday Prayer for Jews |agency=Zenit News Agency |date=27 January 2009 |access-date=20 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111109182547/http://www.zenit.org/article-24928?l=english |archive-date=9 November 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Cernera, Anthony J. and Eugene Korn |date=26 November 1986 |url=http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=10250 |title=The Latin Liturgy and the Jews |publisher=America |access-date=2 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612145354/http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=10250 |archive-date=12 June 2011 }}</ref> Among those whose excommunications were lifted was Bishop [[Richard Williamson (bishop)|Richard Williamson]], an outspoken [[Historical revisionism#Negationism and denial|historical revisionist]] sometimes interpreted as a [[Holocaust denier]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/ukfs_news/hi/newsid_7870000/newsid_7878500/7878580.stm|title=Seminary sacks 'Holocaust bishop'|date=9 February 2009|publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref>Willan, Philip.
[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/pope-readmits-holocaustdenying-priest-to-the-church-1515339.html "Pope readmits Holocaust-denying priest to the church"] ''[[The Independent]]''. 25 January 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2009 [https://web.archive.org/web/20111013071241/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/pope-readmits-holocaustdenying-priest-to-the-church-1515339.html WebCitation archive]</ref><ref>Wensierski, Peter [http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,606660,00.html "Williamson's Colleagues Under Fire: SSPX in Germany Criticized over Anti-Semitic Statements"] ''[[Der Spiegel]]''. 10 February 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2009. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120129165747/http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,606660,00.html WebCitation archive] "The latest issue of the SSPX's newsletter for German-speaking countries{{nbsp}}[...] contains several anti-Semitic statements. 'The Jewish people were once the chosen people. But the majority of the people denied the Messiah on his first coming,' reads the February issue's cover story{{nbsp}}[...] According to the newsletter article, this is why the Bible's Gospel of Matthew states, 'His blood be upon us and upon our children,' a phrase historically used by some Christians to justify anti-Semitism."</ref><ref>[http://www.adl.org/main_Interfaith/Society_Saint_Pius_X.htm "The Society of St. Pius X: Mired in Antisemitism"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116185834/http://www.adl.org/main_Interfaith/Society_Saint_Pius_X.htm |date=16 January 2013 }} The [[Anti-Defamation League]] 26 January 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2009 "SSPX has promoted theological and conspiratorial anti-Semitism among its adherents."</ref> The lifting of his excommunication led critics to charge that the Pope was condoning his historical revisionist views.<ref>Liphshiz, Cnaan {{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/news/report-vatican-readmits-society-that-propagates-anti-semitism-1.270517 |title=Report: Vatican readmits society that propagates anti-Semitism |access-date=3 October 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111110201106/http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/news/report-vatican-readmits-society-that-propagates-anti-semitism-1.270517 |archive-date=10 November 2011 |newspaper=Haaretz |date=19 February 2009 }} ''[[Haaretz]]''. 19 February 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2011 "The [web]site from Germany{{nbsp}}[...] clarifies that 'contemporary Jews are for sure guilty of the murder of God, as long as they don't recognise Christ as God.'"</ref>

==== Islam ====
{{Main|Pope Benedict XVI and Islam}}

Benedict's relations with [[Islam]] were strained at times. On 12 September 2006, he delivered [[Regensburg lecture|a lecture which touched on Islam at the University of Regensburg]] in Germany. He had served there as a professor of theology before becoming Pope, and his lecture was entitled "Faith, Reason and the University{{snd}}Memories and Reflections". The lecture received much attention from political and religious authorities. Many [[Islamic world|Islamic politicians and religious leaders]] registered their protest against what they labelled an insulting mischaracterization of Islam, although his focus was aimed towards the rationality of religious violence, and its effect on the religion.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5348436.stm|title=In quotes: Muslim reaction to Pope|date=16 September 2006|publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref name="BBC1">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5353208.stm |title=Pope sorry for offending Muslims |work=BBC News |date=17 September 2006 |access-date=2 February 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820032525/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5353208.stm |archive-date=20 August 2011 }}</ref> Muslims were particularly offended by a passage that the Pope quoted in his speech: "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."<ref name="BBC1" />

The passage originally appeared in the ''Dialogue Held with a Certain Persian, the Worthy Mouterizes, in Anakara of Galatia''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2006/september/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20060912_university-regensburg.html|title=Apostolic Journey to München, Altötting and Regensburg: Meeting with the representatives of science in the Aula Magna of the University of Regensburg (September 12, 2006) &#124; Benedict XVI|website=vatican.va}}</ref> written in 1391 as an expression of the views of the [[Byzantine]] emperor [[Manuel II Palaeologus]], one of the last Christian rulers before the [[Fall of Constantinople]] to the Muslim [[Ottoman Empire]], on such issues as [[forced conversion]], [[holy war]], and the relationship between [[faith]] and [[reason]]. According to the German text, the Pope's original comment was that the emperor "addresses his interlocutor in an astoundingly harsh{{snd}}to us surprisingly harsh{{snd}}way" ({{langx|de|wendet er sich in erstaunlich schroffer, uns überraschend schroffer Form}}).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/de/speeches/2006/september/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20060912_university-regensburg.html|title=Apostolische Reise nach München, Altötting und Regensburg: Treffen mit den Vertretern der Wissenschaft in der Aula Magna der Universität Regensburg (12. September 2006) &#124; Benedikt XVI|website=vatican.va}}</ref> Benedict apologized for any offence he had caused and made a point of visiting [[Turkey]], a predominantly Muslim country, and praying in its [[Blue Mosque, Istanbul|Blue Mosque]]. Benedict planned on 5 March 2008, to meet with Muslim scholars and religious leaders autumn 2008 at a Catholic-Muslim seminar in Rome.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/03/05/pope.muslims/index.html|title=Pope to hold seminar with Muslims |publisher=CNN|date=5 March 2008|access-date=8 January 2023}}</ref> That meeting, the "First Meeting of the [[Catholic-Muslim Forum]]", was held from 4–6 November 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zenit.org/article-24175?l=english |title=Final Statement of Catholic-Muslim Forum |publisher=Zenit |date=6 November 2008 |access-date=2 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608000710/http://www.zenit.org/article-24175?l=english |archive-date=8 June 2011 }}</ref> On 9 May 2009, Benedict visited the King Hussein Mosque in [[Amman]], Jordan where he was addressed by [[Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad]].<ref name="Signs_of_Hope">Saleh, Fakhri [http://en.qantara.de/Signs-of-Hope/9472c9571i1p642/ "Arab Reactions to the Pope's Visit Signs of Hope"] [[Qantara.de]] 18 May 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2011 [https://web.archive.org/web/20120406114314/http://en.qantara.de/Signs-of-Hope/9472c9571i1p642/ WebCitation archive]</ref>

==== Buddhism ====
The [[14th Dalai Lama|Dalai Lama]] congratulated Benedict{{nbsp}}XVI upon his election,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=9643&t=1|title=His Holiness the Dalai Lama Greets New Pope|access-date=21 February 2017|archive-date=11 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211202324/http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=9643&t=1}}</ref> and visited him in October 2006 in Vatican City. In 2007, the People's Republic of China was accused of using its political influence to stop a meeting between the Pope and the Dalai Lama.<ref>[http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Religion/?id=1.0.1604471683 "Italy: China blamed for absence of Papal audience for Dalai Lama"], [[Adnkronos]], 27 November 2007. Retrieved 19 June 2009</ref>

==== Indigenous American beliefs ====
While visiting Brazil in May 2007, "the pope sparked controversy by saying that native populations had been 'silently longing' for the Christian faith brought to South America by colonizers."<ref name="softenc">{{cite news|title=Pope Softens Remarks on Conversion of Natives |first=Ian |last=Fisher |author-link=Ian Fisher (journalist) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/23/world/europe/23cnd-pope.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=23 May 2007 |access-date=2 October 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605085737/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/23/world/europe/23cnd-pope.html |archive-date=5 June 2015 }}</ref> The Pope continued, stating that "the proclamation of Jesus and of his Gospel did not at any point involve an alienation of the [[Pre-Columbian era|pre-Columbus]] cultures, nor was it the imposition of a foreign culture."<ref name="softenc" /> Venezuelan president [[Hugo Chávez]] demanded an apology, and an indigenous organization in Ecuador issued a response which stated that "representatives of the Catholic Church of those times, with honourable exceptions, were accomplices, deceivers and beneficiaries of one of the most horrific genocides of all humanity."<ref name="softenc" /> Later, the Pope, speaking Italian, said at a weekly audience that it was "not possible to forget the suffering and the injustices inflicted by colonizers against the indigenous population, whose fundamental human rights were often trampled" but made no apology.<ref>Fisher, Ian [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/23/world/americas/23iht-pope.4.5843368.html "Pope tries to quell anger over speech he gave in Brazil"], ''The New York Times'', 23 May 2007. Retrieved 2 October 2011 [https://web.archive.org/web/20130516200837/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/23/world/americas/23iht-pope.4.5843368.html WebCitation archive]</ref>

==== Hinduism ====
While visiting the United States on 17 April 2008, Benedict met with [[International Society for Krishna Consciousness]] representative [[Radhika Ramana Dasa]],<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Peter |url=http://news.iskcon.com/node/963 |title=ISKCON Scholar To Meet with the Pope |work=ISKCON News |date=31 March 2008 |access-date=2 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118183046/http://news.iskcon.com/node/963 |archive-date=18 January 2012 }}</ref> a noted [[Hindu]] scholar<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.iskcon.com/node/988 |title=Young Vaisnava Scholar to Bring a Gift to the Pope |work=ISKCON News |date=16 April 2008 |location=Washington D.C. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706140348/http://news.iskcon.com/node/988 |archive-date=6 July 2008 }}</ref> and disciple of Hanumatpreshaka Swami.<ref name="Faculty">{{Cite web|url=http://bhaktivedantacollege.com/?p=article&g=33|title=Bhaktivedanta College |publisher=Bhaktivedanta College |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730154759/https://bhaktivedantacollege.com/?p=article&g=33 |archive-date=30 July 2013}}</ref> On behalf of the Hindu American community, Radhika Ramana Dasa presented a gift of an [[Om]] symbol to Benedict.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.iskcon.com/node/991/2008-04-18/iskcon_scholar_greets_pope_behalf_of_us_hindus |title=ISKCON Scholar Greets Pope on Behalf Of US Hindus |work=ISKCON News |date=19 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606082910/http://news.iskcon.com/node/991/2008-04-18/iskcon_scholar_greets_pope_behalf_of_us_hindus |archive-date=6 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Alexander |first1=David |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-usa-interfaith-idUSN1438604520080415 |title=Despite missteps, pope reaching out to other faiths |work=Reuters |date=15 April 2008 |access-date=2 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120726141925/http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/04/15/us-pope-usa-interfaith-idUSN1438604520080415 |archive-date=26 July 2012 }}</ref>

=== Pastoral visits and security ===
{{Main|List of pastoral visits of Pope Benedict&nbsp;XVI}}

[[File:Popemobil Mai 2007.jpg|thumb|Benedict in a [[Mercedes-Benz]] popemobile, [[São Paulo]], Brazil, 2007]]

As pontiff, Benedict carried out numerous Apostolic activities, including journeys in Italy and across the world.

Benedict travelled extensively during the first three years of his papacy. In addition to his travels within Italy, he made two visits to his homeland, Germany, one for [[World Youth Day]] and another to visit the towns of his childhood. He also visited Poland and Spain, where he was enthusiastically received.<ref>Israely, Jeff [https://web.archive.org/web/20060718005249/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1211537,00.html "The Pope Squares Off With Spain's Secular Champion"] "No doubt Benedict was buoyed by the enthusiastic welcome he received in Valencia." ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. 9 July 2006. Retrieved 20 November 2010 [https://web.archive.org/web/20111212124229/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1211537,00.html WebCitation archive]</ref> His visit to Turkey, an overwhelmingly Muslim nation, was initially overshadowed by the controversy about a lecture he had given at Regensburg. His visit was met by nationalist and Islamic protesters<ref>Moore, Molly. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/26/AR2006112600191.html "Turks Protest Pope's Coming Visit"], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', 27 November 2006. Retrieved 13 May 2008. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120401053034/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/26/AR2006112600191.html WebCitation archive]</ref> and was placed under unprecedented security measures.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.breakingnews.ie/world/massive-security-for-popes-turkey-visit-286901.html|title=Massive security for Pope's Turkey visit|work=Breaking News|date=28 November 2006}}</ref> Benedict made a joint declaration with [[Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew&nbsp;I]] in an attempt to begin to heal the rift between the Catholic and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] churches.<ref name=":5" />

In 2007, Benedict visited Brazil to address the Bishops' Conference there and canonize Friar Antônio Galvão, an 18th-century [[Franciscan]]. In June 2007, Benedict made a personal [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrimage]] and pastoral visit to [[Assisi]], the birthplace of [[St. Francis of Assisi|St. Francis]]. In September, Benedict undertook a three-day visit to Austria,<ref>Vatican Radio [http://storico.radiovaticana.org/en1/storico/2007-09/153562_pope_benedict_xvi_going_to_vienna.html "Pope Benedict XVI Going to Vienna"] 7 September 2007. Retrieved 26 January 2011 [https://web.archive.org/web/20110812141040/http://storico.radiovaticana.org/%2fen1%2fstorico%2f2007-09%2f153562_pope_benedict_xvi_going_to_vienna.html WebCitation archive]</ref> during which he joined Vienna's [[chief rabbi]], Paul Chaim Eisenberg, in a memorial to the 65,000 [[Viennese Jews]] who perished in Nazi death camps.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6982878.stm|title=Pope honours Austrian Jewish dead|date=7 September 2007|publisher=BBC}}</ref> During his stay in Austria, he also celebrated Mass at the Marian shrine [[Mariazell]] and visited [[Heiligenkreuz Abbey]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bundespraesident.de/SharedDocs/Reden/DE/Christian-Wulff/Reden/2011/09/110922-Papst-Begruessung.html|title=bundespraesident.de: Der Bundespräsident / Reden / Begrüßung Seiner Heiligkeit Papst Benedikt XVI. zum offiziellen Besuch in Deutschland|website=bundespraesident.de}}</ref>
[[File:20080416 Benedict XVI George W Bush birthday.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|Benedict celebrates his 81st birthday with US president [[George W. Bush]] and First Lady [[Laura Bush]] at the [[White House]] in Washington, D.C., 2008]]

In April 2008, Benedict made his [[2008 visit by Pope Benedict XVI to the United States|first visit to the United States]] since becoming pope.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/15/pope.us/index.html|title=Pope Benedict XVI begins first U.S. tour |publisher=CNN}}</ref> He arrived in Washington, D.C., where he was formally received at the [[White House]] and [[List of meetings between the pope and the president of the United States|met privately]] with US president [[George W. Bush]].<ref>{{Cite news |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/bush-thousands-of-fans-welcome-pope-at-white-house-on-his-birthday |title=Bush, Thousands of Fans Welcome Pope at White House on His Birthday |publisher=Fox News |date=16 April 2008 |access-date=13 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207190333/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,351460,00.html |archive-date=7 February 2011 |url-status=deviated}}</ref> While in Washington, the pope addressed representatives of US Catholic universities, met with leaders of other world religions, and celebrated Mass at the Washington Nationals' [[Nationals Park|baseball stadium]] with 47,000 people.<ref>{{cite news |last=Elsibai |first=Nadine |title=Pope Benedict Says Mass Before 47,000 in New Washington Stadium |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a4XCdKnx9gfw |url-status=live |publisher=Bloomberg L.P. |date=17 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418075112/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a4XCdKnx9gfw |archive-date=18 April 2012}}</ref> The Pope also met privately with victims of sexual abuse by priests. The Pope travelled to New York City where he addressed the [[United Nations General Assembly]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.undemocracy.com/generalassembly_62/meeting_95|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813043609/http://www.undemocracy.com/generalassembly_62/meeting_95|archive-date=13 August 2011|title=UNdemocracy – General Assembly Session 62 meeting 95|date=13 August 2011}}</ref> Also while in New York, the Pope celebrated Mass at [[St. Patrick's Cathedral (Midtown Manhattan)|St. Patrick's Cathedral]], met with disabled children and their families, and attended an event for Catholic youth, where he addressed some 25,000 young people in attendance.<ref>Duin, Julia. [http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080420/NATION/168699792/1001 "Youths revel in pope's message"], ''[[The Washington Times]]'', 20 April 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2008. [https://archive.today/20120720064610/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/apr/20/youths-revel-in-popes-message/ WebCitation archive]</ref> On the final day of the Pope's visit, he visited the [[World Trade Center site]] and later celebrated Mass at [[Yankee Stadium (1923)|Yankee Stadium]].<ref>Vitello, Paul {{cite news |last=Vitello |first=Paul |title=After Ground Zero Prayer, Pope Ministers to 60,000 in Stadium |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/21/us/nationalspecial2/21pope.html |work=The New York Times |date=21 April 2008 |access-date=29 September 2011}}</ref>

In July 2008, the Pope travelled to Australia to attend [[World Youth Day 2008]] in [[Sydney]]. On 19 July, in [[St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney|St. Mary's Cathedral]], he made an apology for child sex abuse perpetrated by the clergy in Australia.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jtGYmNq72j_-TNnXfLbSdMgiTPMQ |title=Pope apologises for 'evil' of child sex abuse |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=18 July 2008 |access-date=2 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520151344/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jtGYmNq72j_-TNnXfLbSdMgiTPMQ |archive-date=20 May 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Pullella |first=Philip |date=19 July 2008 |title=Pope apologises for Church sex abuse |work=Reuters |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/burningIssues/idUKSYD1805020080719 |access-date=2 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811001902/http://uk.reuters.com/article/2008/07/19/uk-pope-australia-abuse-idUKSYD1805020080719|archive-date=11 August 2011}}</ref> On 13 September 2008, at an outdoor Paris Mass attended by 250,000 people, Benedict condemned the modern [[materialism]]&nbsp;– the world's love of power, possessions, and money as a modern-day plague, comparing it to [[paganism]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.huliq.com/3257/68370/pope-condemns-materialism-pagan |title=Pope Condemns Materialism as "Pagan" |publisher=Huliq.com |date=14 September 2008 |access-date=2 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929235010/http://www.huliq.com/3257/68370/pope-condemns-materialism-pagan |archive-date=29 September 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-09-13-Pope-France_N.htm |title=Pope drinks water from Lourdes spring |newspaper=USA Today |date=15 September 2008 |location=Lourdes, France |agency=Associated Press |access-date=26 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201192645/http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-09-13-Pope-France_N.htm |archive-date=1 December 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2009, he visited Africa ([[Cameroon]] and [[Angola]]) for the first time as pope. During his visit, he suggested that altering sexual behaviour was the answer to [[HIV/AIDS in Africa|Africa's AIDS crisis]] and urged Catholics to reach out and convert believers in [[Magic (paranormal)|sorcery]].<ref>{{cite web| title=Pope Tells Clergy in Angola to Work Against Belief in Witchcraft |last1=Bearak| first1=Barry |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/world/africa/22pope.html |website=The New York Times |date=21 March 2009 |access-date=31 December 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151104055212/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/world/africa/22pope.html |archive-date=4 November 2015}}</ref> He visited the Middle East ([[Jordan]], Israel, and [[Palestine]]) in May 2009.

Benedict's main arena for pastoral activity was the Vatican itself, his Christmas and Easter homilies and Urbi et Orbi were delivered from [[St. Peter's Basilica]]. The Vatican is also the only regular place where Benedict travelled via motor without the protective bulletproof case common to most popemobiles. Despite the more secure setting, Benedict was victim to security risks several times inside Vatican City. On Wednesday, 6 June 2007, during his General Audience, a man leapt across a barrier, evaded guards, and nearly mounted the Pope's vehicle, although he was stopped and Benedict seemed to be unaware of the event. On Thursday, 24 December 2009, while Benedict was proceeding to the altar to celebrate Christmas Eve Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, a woman later identified as 25-year-old [[Susanna Maiolo]], who holds Italian and Swiss citizenship, jumped the barrier and grabbed the Pope by his [[Papal vestments|vestments]] and pulled him to the ground. The 82-year-old Benedict fell but was assisted to his feet and he continued to proceed toward the altar to celebrate Mass. [[Roger Etchegaray]], the vice-dean of the College of Cardinals, fell as well and suffered a hip fracture. Italian police reported that Maiolo had in a prior action attempted to accost Benedict at the previous Christmas Eve Mass, but was prevented from doing so.<ref name="USAToday-PopeOK">{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-12-24-pope-christmas-mass_N.htm |title=Pope OK after woman knocks him down at Mass |work=USA Today |date=25 December 2009 |access-date=2 February 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207154059/http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-12-24-pope-christmas-mass_N.htm |archive-date=7 February 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Winfield |first1=Nicole |url=http://www.toledoblade.com/Religion/2009/12/25/Pope-delivers-Christmas-blessing-after-fall.html |title=Pope delivers Christmas blessing after fall |newspaper=The Blade |date=25 December 2009 |location=Vatican City |access-date=26 January 2011}}</ref>

[[File:Pope Benedict XVI in Malta.JPG|thumb|Benedict in [[Balzan]], Malta, 2010]]
In his homily, Benedict forgave Susanna Maiolo<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2009/12/25/2009-12-25_pope_benedict_forgives_.html |title=Pope Benedict forgives Susanna Maiolo one day after she knocked him down during Christmas Eve Mass |work=Daily News |date=25 December 2009 |access-date=2 February 2010 |first=Samuel |last=Goldsmith |archive-date=29 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229115647/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2009/12/25/2009-12-25_pope_benedict_forgives_.html }}</ref> and urged the world to "wake up" from selfishness and petty affairs, and find time for God and spiritual matters.<ref name="USAToday-PopeOK" />

[[File:Pope Benedict XVI in Zagreb 04.jpg|thumb|Benedict in [[Zagreb]], Croatia<!-- DO NOT LINK, see [[MOS:GEOLINK]] for further guidance -->, 2011]]

Between 17 and 18 April 2010, Benedict made an Apostolic Journey to the Republic of Malta. Following meetings with various dignitaries on his first day on the island, 50,000 people gathered in a [[drizzle]] for Papal Mass on the granaries in [[Floriana]]. The Pope also met with the [[Maltese people|Maltese]] youth at the [[Valletta]] Waterfront, where an estimated 10,000 young people turned up to greet him.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wrap-up: Pope Benedict's historic Malta visit ends|work=The Times of Malta|date=18 April 2010|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100418/papal-visit/pope-benedicts-historic-malta-visit-ends|access-date=21 April 2010|archive-date=3 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303155017/http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100418/papal-visit/pope-benedicts-historic-malta-visit-ends.303399|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Sexual abuse in the Catholic Church ===
{{See also|Catholic Church sexual abuse cases}}

Prior to 2001, the primary responsibility for investigating allegations of sexual abuse and disciplining perpetrators rested with the individual dioceses. In 2001, Ratzinger convinced John Paul{{nbsp}}II to put the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in charge of all sexual abuse investigations.<ref name="times-7086738">{{cite news|last1=Pancevski|first1=Bojan|last2=Follain|first2=John|date=4 April 2010|title=John Paul 'ignored abuse of 2,000 boys'|work=The Sunday Times|location=London|url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/europe-travel/italy/former-pope-john-paul-ii-ignored-abuse-of-2000-boys-prrb6bgt0zs|url-status=live|access-date=22 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127055607/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/former-pope-john-paul-ii-ignored-abuse-of-2000-boys-prrb6bgt0zs|archive-date=27 November 2020}}</ref><ref name="ncr-maciel">{{cite web|last=Berry|first=Jason|url=http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/money-paved-way-maciels-influence-vatican |title=Money paved way for Maciel's influence in the Vatican|work=National Catholic Reporter|date=6 April 2010|access-date=14 June 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111021133610/http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/money-paved-way-maciels-influence-vatican|archive-date=21 October 2011}}</ref> According to [[John L. Allen Jr.]], Ratzinger in the following years "acquired a familiarity with the contours of the problem that virtually no other figure in the Catholic Church can claim. Driven by that encounter with what he would later refer to as 'filth' in the Church, Ratzinger seems to have undergone something of a 'conversion experience' throughout 2003–04. From that point forward, he and his staff seemed driven by a convert's zeal to clean up the mess."<ref name="ncr-1">{{cite web|last=Allen|first=John L|url=http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/will-ratzingers-past-trump-benedicts-present|title=Will Ratzinger's past trump Benedict's present?|work=National Catholic Reporter|date=17 March 2010|access-date=12 September 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007015331/http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/will-ratzingers-past-trump-benedicts-present|archive-date=7 October 2011}}</ref>

Cardinal [[Vincent Nichols]] wrote that in his role as head of the CDF "[Ratzinger] led important changes made in church law: the inclusion in canon law of internet offences against children, the extension of child abuse offences to include the sexual abuse of all under 18, the case by case waiving of the [[statute of limitation]] and the establishment of a fast-track dismissal from the clerical state for offenders."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article7076344.ece|work=[[The Times]]|location=London|title=The Church is not trying to cover anything up|first=Vincent|last=Nichols|date=26 March 2010|access-date=22 May 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100531183647/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article7076344.ece|archive-date=31 May 2010}}</ref> According to [[Charles J. Scicluna]], a former prosecutor handling sexual abuse cases, "Cardinal Ratzinger displayed great wisdom and firmness in handling those cases, also demonstrating great courage in facing some of the most difficult and thorny cases, ''sine acceptione personarum'' [without respect of persons]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catholicnews.sg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4151%3Apromoter-of-justice-at-doctrine-of-faith-on-paedophilia&catid=196%3Avis-vatican-information-service&Itemid=127 |title=Promoter of Justice at Doctrine of Faith on Paedophilia |publisher=Catholic News |date=13 March 2010 |access-date=14 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719123020/http://www.catholicnews.sg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4151:promoter-of-justice-at-doctrine-of-faith-on-paedophilia&catid=196:vis-vatican-information-service&Itemid=127 |archive-date=19 July 2011 }}</ref> According to Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Ratzinger "made entirely clear efforts not to cover things up but to tackle and investigate them. This was not always met with approval in the Vatican".<ref name="times-7086738" /><ref>{{cite news|date=4 April 2010|title=Pope John Paul ignored abuse of 2,000 boys: Report|work=The Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/Pope-John-Paul-ignored-abuse-of-2000-boys-Report/articleshow/5759289.cms|access-date=12 September 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104174143/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-04-04/uk/28124994_1_sexual-abuse-boys-pontiff|archive-date=4 November 2012}}</ref> Ratzinger had pressed John Paul{{nbsp}}II to investigate [[Hans Hermann Groër]], an Austrian cardinal and friend of John Paul accused of sexual abuse, which resulted in Groër's resignation.<ref name="independent-johnpaul" />

In March 2010, Benedict sent a pastoral letter to the Catholic Church in Ireland addressing cases of sexual abuse by priests of minors, expressing sorrow and promising changes in the way in which accusations of abuse were addressed.<ref name="vatican.va">{{cite web|date=19 March 2010|title=Pastoral Letter of the Holy Father Benedict XVI to the Catholics of Ireland|url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20100319_church-ireland_en.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007055248/https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20100319_church-ireland_en.html|archive-date=7 October 2011|access-date=14 June 2010|publisher=Vatican.va}}</ref> Victims' groups claimed the letter failed to clarify if secular law enforcement had priority over canon law confidentiality regarding internal investigation of abuse allegations.<ref>{{cite journal|date=20 March 2010|title=Pope's letter fails to calm anger over abuse|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/20/pope-blasts-irish-bishops-over-abuse/|url-status=live|journal=The Washington Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019122835/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/20/pope-blasts-irish-bishops-over-abuse/|archive-date=19 October 2012|access-date=17 April 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=19 March 2010|title=Pope finalizes letter on abuse|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2010-03-19/world/pope.letter.abuse.ireland_1_abuse-scandal-child-abuse-cardinal-sean-brady?_s=PM:WORLD|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906131551/http://articles.cnn.com/2010-03-19/world/pope.letter.abuse.ireland_1_abuse-scandal-child-abuse-cardinal-sean-brady?_s=PM%3AWORLD|archive-date=6 September 2010|access-date=26 January 2011|publisher=CNN World}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Moskowitz|first=Eric|date=21 March 2010|title=Pope's letter strikes a mixed chord|work=The Boston Globe|url=https://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/03/21/popes_letter_strikes_a_mixed_chord/?page=2|access-date=14 June 2010}}</ref> The Pope then promised to introduce measures that would "safeguard young people in the future" and "bring to justice" priests who were responsible for abuse and the next month the Vatican issued guidelines on how existing church law should be implemented. The guidelines asserted that "Civil law concerning reporting of crimes&nbsp;... should always be followed."<ref>{{cite web|title=Guide to Understanding Basic CDF Procedures concerning Sexual Abuse Allegations|url=https://www.vatican.va/resources/resources_guide-CDF-procedures_en.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903143810/https://www.vatican.va/resources/resources_guide-CDF-procedures_en.html|archive-date=3 September 2011|access-date=23 April 2010|publisher=Vatican.va}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Winfield|first=Nicole|date=12 April 2010|title=Vatican to bishops: Follow law, report sex abuse|newspaper=Newsday|agency=Associated Press|url=http://www.newsday.com/news/world/vatican-to-bishops-follow-law-report-sex-abuse-1.1858057|access-date=18 September 2010|archive-url=https://archive.today/20110930014128/http://www.newsday.com/news/world/vatican-to-bishops-follow-law-report-sex-abuse-1.1858057|archive-date=30 September 2011}}</ref>

==== As Archbishop of Munich and Freising ====
Despite being more proactive than his predecessor in addressing sexual abuse, Benedict was nonetheless cited as failing to do so on more than one occasion. In January 2022, a report written by German law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl and commissioned by the Catholic Church concluded that Cardinal Ratzinger failed to adequately take action against clerics in four cases of alleged abuse while he was Archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1977 to 1982. The pope emeritus denied the accusations.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|date=20 January 2022|title=Former Pope Benedict failed to act over abuse, new report finds|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60070132|access-date=20 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Horowitz|first1=Jason|last2=Povoledo|first2=Elisabetta|last3=Pianigiani|first3=Gaia|date=20 January 2022|title=Benedict Faulted for Handling of Abuse Cases When He Was an Archbishop|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/20/world/europe/benedict-germany-sexual-abuse.html|access-date=22 January 2022|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Moody|first=Oliver|date=20 January 2022|title=Pope Benedict failed to act on child abuse, report finds|language=en|work=[[The Times]]|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/pope-benedict-failed-to-act-on-child-abuse-report-finds-s72l6ngsp|access-date=22 January 2022|issn=0140-0460}}</ref> Benedict corrected his former statement that he had not been at a meeting of the ordinariate of the [[Archdiocese of Munich and Freising]] in January 1980, saying he mistakenly told German investigators he was not there. However, the error was "not done out of bad faith", but "the result of an error in the editorial processing" of his statement. According to [[Reuters]], lawyer Martin Pusch said that "in a total of four cases, we have come to the conclusion that the then Archbishop Cardinal Ratzinger can be accused of misconduct in cases of sexual abuse."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ex-pope-benedict-acknowledges-faulty-testimony-german-abuse-case-2022-01-24/|title=Ex-Pope Benedict acknowledges faulty testimony in German abuse case|first=Philip|last=Pullella|date=24 January 2022|work=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://m.tagesspiegel.de/gesellschaft/panorama/gutachten-zu-missbrauch-in-der-kirche-benedikt-gibt-falschaussage-zu/28001622.html|title = Benedikt gibt Falschaussage zu| newspaper=Der Tagesspiegel Online }}</ref>

In February 2022, Benedict admitted that errors were made in the treating of sexual abuse cases when he was Archbishop of Munich. According to the letter released by the Vatican, he asked forgiveness for any "grievous fault" but denied personal wrongdoing. Benedict stated: "I have had great responsibilities in the Catholic Church. All the greater is my pain for the abuses and the errors that occurred in those different places during the time of my mandate."<ref>{{Cite news|date=8 February 2022|title=Ex-Pope admits errors in handling of abuse cases|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60305844|access-date=9 February 2022}}</ref> Public prosecutor's office in Munich had begun investigations as a result of the 2022 report against both Benedict and [[Friedrich Wetter|Cardinal Friedrich Wetter]]. The investigation was "discontinued" in March 2023 after it "did not reveal sufficient suspicion of criminal activity". The case of the investigation "was not acts of abuse committed by the Church personnel managers themselves, but possible acts of aiding and abetting by active action or omission".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Prosecutors drop case of alleged 'cover up' against Benedict XVI |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253917/prosecutors-drop-case-of-alleged-cover-up-against-benedict-xvi |access-date=24 March 2023 |agency=Catholic News Agency |language=en}}</ref>

==== Legion of Christ founder Marcial Maciel ====
One of the cases Ratzinger pursued involved [[Marcial Maciel]], a Mexican priest and founder of the [[Legionaries of Christ]] who had been accused repeatedly of sexual abuse. Biographer Andrea Tornielli suggested that Cardinal Ratzinger had wanted to take action against Maciel but that John Paul{{nbsp}}II and other high-ranking officials, including several cardinals and the Pope's influential secretary [[Stanisław Dziwisz]], prevented him from doing so.<ref name="ncr-maciel" /><ref name="independent-johnpaul">{{cite news |work=Irish Independent | first=Richard | last=Owen |url=http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/vatican-tries-to-shift-blame-for-abuse-on-to-john-paul-26646654.html |title=Vatican tries to shift blame for abuse on to John Paul&nbsp;– Europe, World News |date=3 April 2010 |access-date=15 December 2015}}</ref>

According to [[Jason Berry]], Cardinal [[Angelo Sodano]] "pressured" Ratzinger, who was "operating on the assumption that the charges were not justified", to halt the proceedings against Maciel in 1999.<ref name="nationalcatholicreporter.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/update/bn051806.htm |title=Vatican restricts ministry of Legionaries priest founder |work=National Catholic Reporter |first=John L. Jr. |last=Allen |date=18 May 2006 |access-date=14 June 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927170000/http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/update/bn051806.htm |archive-date=27 September 2011 }}</ref> When Maciel was honoured by the Pope in 2004, new accusers came forward<ref name="nationalcatholicreporter.org" /> and Cardinal Ratzinger "took it on himself to authorize an investigation of Maciel".<ref name="ncr-maciel" /> After Ratzinger became pope, he began proceedings against Maciel and the Legion of Christ that forced Maciel out of active service in the Church.<ref name="times-7086738" /> On 1 May 2010, the Vatican issued a statement denouncing "the most serious and objectively immoral behaviour of Father Maciel, confirmed by incontrovertible witnesses, which amount to true crimes and show a life deprived of scruples and authentic religious feeling."<ref name="nyt1">Donadio, Rachel [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/world/europe/02legion.html "Pope Reins In Catholic Order Tied to Abuse"], ''The New York Times'', 2 May 2010 [https://web.archive.org/web/20110926210130/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/world/europe/02legion.html WebCitation archive]</ref>

==== Theodore McCarrick controversy ====
In November 2020, the Vatican published a report blaming Popes John Paul{{nbsp}}II and Benedict{{nbsp}}XVI for allowing defrocked former cardinal [[Theodore McCarrick]] to rise in power despite the fact that they both knew of sex abuse allegations against him.<ref name="benedictblame">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/10/successive-popes-and-vatican-staff-promoted-priest-despite-abuse-claims|title=Popes knew of allegations against ex-Cardinal McCarrick years ago, report finds|first=Harriet|last=Sherwood|work=The Guardian|date=10 November 2020|access-date=10 November 2020}}</ref><ref name="tedpublic">{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/popes-knew-allegations-against-ex-cardinal-mccarrick-years-ago-report-n1247225|title=Popes knew of allegations against ex-Cardinal McCarrick years ago, report finds|publisher=NBC News|date=10 November 2020|access-date=10 November 2020}}</ref> Despite the fact that Benedict pressured McCarrick to resign as Archbishop of Washington D.C. in 2006, McCarrick remained very active in ministry throughout Benedict's papacy and even made a very public appearance when he presided over US senator [[Ted Kennedy]]'s burial service at Arlington National Cemetery in 2009.<ref name="benedictblame" /><ref name="tedpublic" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/vaticans-mccarrick-report-timeline-events|title=The Vatican's McCarrick report: a timeline of events|first=Joshua J.|last=McElwee|publisher=National Catholic Reporter|date=9 November 2020|access-date=10 November 2020}}</ref>

==== Post-papacy ====
In 2019, Benedict released a 6,000-word letter that attributed the Church's sexual abuse crisis to an erosion of morality driven by [[secularization]] and the [[Sexual revolution|sexual revolution of the 1960s]]. The letter was in sharp contrast to the viewpoint of his successor, Francis, who saw the issue as a byproduct of abuses of power within the Church's hierarchical structure.<ref name="2019letter">{{cite news|first=Jason|last=Horowitz|title=With Letter on Sexual Abuse, Pope Benedict Returns to Public Eye|newspaper=The New York Times|date=11 April 2019|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/11/world/europe/pope-benedict-letter-sex-abuse.html|access-date=6 February 2023}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' later reported that "given his frail health at the time, however, many church watchers questioned whether Benedict had indeed written the letter or had been manipulated to issue it as a way to undercut Francis."<ref name="NYTobit">{{cite news |last1=Fisher |first1=Ian |last2=Donadio |first2=Rachel |date=31 December 2022 |title=Benedict XVI, First Modern Pope to Resign, Dies at 95 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/31/world/europe/benedict-xvi-dead.html |access-date=31 December 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Upon Benedict's death, his efforts to combat sexual abuse in the Church were remembered with mixed reactions, in particular by victims' groups. Francesco Zanardi, founder of the Italian victims' group ''Rete l'Abuso'' stated that "Ratzinger was less communicative than Francis but he moved" in the right direction, and that he was the first pontiff to effectively do so.<ref name=":2">{{cite news |last=Povoledo |first=Elisabetta |date=31 December 2022 |title=Pope Benedict XVI Leaves a Spotty Legacy With Sexual Abuse Scandal |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/31/world/europe/pope-emeritus-benedict-xvi-sex-abuse-scandal.html |access-date=31 December 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Anne Barrett Doyle, a co-director of BishopAccountability.org, an advocacy and research group, said that Benedict would be "remembered chiefly for his failure to achieve what should have been his job one: to rectify the incalculable harm done to the hundreds of thousands of children sexually abused by Catholic priests."<ref name=":2" /> She stated that his tenure had "left hundreds of culpable bishops in power and a culture of secrecy intact", while the [[Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests]] said in a statement that "Benedict was more concerned about the church's deteriorating image and financial flow to the hierarchy versus grasping the concept of true apologies followed by true amends to victims of abuse".<ref name=":2" />

=== Other issues ===
During the last year of Benedict's papacy, the [[Vatican leaks scandal|Vatileaks]] occurred.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last1=Giuffrida |first1=Angela |last2=Pepinster |first2=Catherine |date=2025-01-14 |title='Abuse, corruption, dark dealings': Pope Benedict handed scandal documents to Francis |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/14/pope-francis-inherited-box-of-documents-from-predecessor-relating-to-scandals#:~:text=He%20retired%20leaving%20a%20chequered,internal%20conflict%20and%20financial%20mismanagement. |access-date=2025-05-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> These revealed allegations of corruption, internal conflict, and financial mismanagement.<ref name=":4" />

=== Attire ===
{{Main|Ceremonial of Benedict&nbsp;XVI}}
[[File:Benedikt XVI.jpg|thumb|right|Benedict wearing a red [[Cappello romano]] during an open-air Mass in front of [[St. Peter's Basilica]], 2007]]

Benedict re-introduced several [[papal garments]] which had fallen into disuse. He resumed the use of the traditional red [[papal shoes]], which had been used since Roman times by popes but which had fallen into disuse during the pontificate of John Paul{{nbsp}}II. Contrary to the initial speculation of the press that the shoes had been made by the Italian fashion house [[Prada]], the [[Holy See|Vatican]] announced that the shoes were provided by the Pope's personal shoemaker.<ref name="WSJ">Meichtry, Stacy [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB114591920439834611 "Does the Pope Wear Prada?"] ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''. 25 April 2006. Retrieved 19 January 2007. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130728210833/http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB114591920439834611-OtBN7F_qbGxt2YstGeEXX1WoMzQ_20060524.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top WebCitation archive]</ref><!-- papal taylor: [[Ditta Annibale Gammarelli]]-->

The journalist Charlotte Allen described Benedict as "the pope of aesthetics": "He has reminded a world that looks increasingly ugly and debased that there is such a thing as the beautiful{{snd}}whether it's embodied in a sonata or an altarpiece or an embroidered cope or the cut of a cassock{{snd}}and that earthly beauty ultimately communicates a beauty that is beyond earthly things."<ref name="latimes1" />

=== Health ===
Before his election as pope, Ratzinger had hoped to retire{{snd}}on account of age-related health problems, a long-held desire to have free time to write, and the retirement age for bishops (75){{snd}}and submitted his resignation as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith three times, but continued at his post in obedience to the wishes of John Paul{{nbsp}}II. In September 1991, Ratzinger suffered a haemorrhagic stroke, which slightly impaired his eyesight temporarily but from which he recovered completely.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/neuer-papst_aid_93745.html |title=Vor Jahren Ratzinger erlitt Hirnblutung |work=FOCUS Online |language=de |access-date=14 June 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011081327/http://www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/neuer-papst_aid_93745.html |archive-date=11 October 2012 }}</ref> This was never officially made public{{snd}}the official news was that he had fallen and struck his head against a radiator{{snd}}but was an open secret known to the conclave that elected him pope.<ref name="op-online.de">{{cite web |url=http://www.op-online.de/nachrichten/welt/gesund-papst-benedikt-xvi-412967.html |title=Wie gesund ist Papst Benedikt XVI.? |language=de |publisher=Op-online.de |date=17 July 2009 |access-date=12 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719071958/http://www.op-online.de/nachrichten/welt/gesund-papst-benedikt-xvi-412967.html |archive-date=19 July 2011 }}</ref>

[[File:BentoXVI-29-10052007.jpg|thumb|upright|Benedict in [[choir dress]] with the red summer [[papal mozzetta]], embroidered red [[stole (vestment)|stole]], and the red [[papal shoes]]]]
After his election in April 2005 there were several rumours about the Pope's health, but none of them were confirmed. Early in his pontificate Benedict predicted a short reign, which led to concerns about his health.<ref>[http://www.baltimoresun.com/bal-te.health21apr21,0,5684034.story "Pope predicted 'short reign' in remarks just after election"] ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'' 21 April 2005. Retrieved 17 September 2011 [https://web.archive.org/web/20110928131801/http://www.baltimoresun.com/bal-te.health21apr21,0,5684034.story WebCitation archive]</ref> In May 2005 the Vatican announced that he had suffered another mild stroke. French cardinal [[Philippe Barbarin]] said that since the first stroke Ratzinger had been suffering from an age-related heart condition, for which he was on medication. In late November 2006 Vatican insiders told the international press that the Pope had had a routine examination of the heart.<ref name="op-online.de" /> A few days later an unconfirmed rumour emerged that Benedict had undergone an operation in preparation for an eventual bypass operation, but this rumour was only published by a small left-wing Italian newspaper and was never confirmed by any Vatican insider.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/5510527.asp?gid=74 |title=Vatican: Pope Benedict's gaffes result of high tension |work=Hürriyet Daily News |date=27 November 2006 |access-date=2 February 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018080510/http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/5510527.asp?gid=74 |archive-date=18 October 2012 }}</ref>

On 17 July 2009, Benedict was hospitalized after falling and breaking his right wrist while on vacation in the Alps; his injuries were reported to be minor.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/pope-benedict-xvi-leaves-hospital-after-breaking-wrist-in-fall |title=Pope Benedict XVI Leaves Hospital After Breaking Wrist in Fall |publisher=Fox News |date=17 July 2009 |access-date=2 February 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111202230348/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,533505,00.html |archive-date=2 December 2011 }}</ref>

Following the announcement of his resignation, the Vatican revealed that Benedict had been fitted with a [[pacemaker]] while he was still a cardinal, before his election as pope in 2005. The battery in the pacemaker had been replaced three months earlier, a routine procedure, but that did not influence his decision.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/world/europe/pope-benedict-xvi-says-he-will-retire.html?pagewanted=all "A Statement Rocks Rome, Then Sends Shockwaves Around the World"]. ''The New York Times'', 12 February 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2012.</ref>

=== Resignation ===
{{main|Resignation of Pope Benedict&nbsp;XVI}}
[[File:Benedict XVI's Last Audience.jpg|thumb|left|Benedict in a [[popemobile]] at his final Wednesday General Audience in [[St. Peter's Square]], 27 February 2013]]
On 11 February 2013, the Vatican announced that Benedict would [[papal resignation|resign the papacy]] on 28 February 2013, as a result of his advanced age,<ref>{{cite news |title=Pope Renounces Papal Throne|url=http://visnews-en.blogspot.ca/2013/02/pope-renounces-papal-throne.html|newspaper=Vatican Information Service, 2 November 2013 Bulletin – English Edition}}</ref> becoming the first pope to resign since [[Gregory&nbsp;XII]] in 1415.<ref name="resignCNN">{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/11/world/europe/pope-benedict-resignation/?hpt=hp_t1 |title=Pope Benedict to resign at the end of the month, Vatican says |publisher=CNN |date=11 February 2013 |access-date=11 February 2013 |author=Messia, Hada}}</ref> Aged 85 years and 318 days on the effective date of his retirement, he was the fourth-oldest person to hold the office of pope. The move was unexpected,<ref name="BBCresign1">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-21411304|title=Pope Benedict XVI in shock resignation|publisher=BBC|date=11 February 2013|access-date=11 February 2013}}</ref> as all popes in modern times had held office until death. Benedict was the first pope to resign without external pressure since [[Celestine&nbsp;V]] in 1294.<ref name="FTstepDown">{{cite news|url= http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fd16aaba-7438-11e2-a27c-00144feabdc0.html#slide0|archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210211241/https://www.ft.com/content/fd16aaba-7438-11e2-a27c-00144feabdc0#slide0|archive-date= 10 December 2022|url-access= subscription|title= Pope Benedict XVI to step down|work= Financial Times|author= Guy Dinmore, Giulia Segreti and Ferdinando Giugliano|date= 11 February 2013|access-date= 11 February 2013|url-status= live}}{{registration required}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Alpert|first=Emily|title=Scandal, speculation surround past popes who resigned|url=https://www.latimes.com/world/la-xpm-2013-feb-11-la-fg-wn-scandal-speculation-past-popes-resign-20130211-story.html|access-date=1 April 2019|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=11 February 2013}}</ref>

In his declaration of 10 February 2013, Benedict resigned as "Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter".<ref name="resignation-declaration">{{cite web | url=https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2013/february/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20130211_declaratio.html |title=Declaration (resignation) of Benedict XVI|date=10 February 2013|access-date=23 June 2018}}</ref> In a statement, he cited his deteriorating strength and the physical and mental demands of the papacy;<ref name="VatRadio_resign" /> addressing his cardinals in Latin, he gave a brief statement announcing his resignation. He also declared that he would continue to serve the Church "through a life dedicated to prayer".<ref name="VatRadio_resign">{{cite web | url=http://en.radiovaticana.va/articolo.asp?c=663815 | title=Pope Benedict XVI announces his resignation at end of month | publisher=Vatican Radio | date=11 February 2013 | access-date=11 February 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130211225835/http://en.radiovaticana.va/articolo.asp?c=663815 | archive-date=11 February 2013 }}</ref>

According to a statement from the Vatican, the timing of the resignation was not caused by any specific illness but was to "avoid that exhausting rush of Easter engagements".<ref name="Descrier_resign">{{cite news | url=http://descrier.co.uk/world/2013/02/pope-benedict-xvi-to-resign/ | title=Pope Benedict XVI to Resign due to Parkinson's Disease | newspaper=The Descrier | date=11 February 2013 | access-date=11 February 2013}}</ref> After two weeks of ceremonial farewells, the Pope left office at the appointed time and ''[[sede vacante]]'' was declared. Benedict was succeeded by Cardinal [[Jorge Mario Bergoglio]], who took the papal name of Francis on 13 March 2013.

On the eve of the first anniversary of Benedict's resignation he wrote to ''[[La Stampa]]'' to deny speculation he had [[Benevacantism|been forced to step down]]. "There isn't the slightest doubt about the validity of my resignation from the Petrine ministry," he wrote in a letter to the newspaper. "The only condition for the validity is the full freedom of the decision. Speculation about its invalidity is simply absurd," he wrote.<ref name="BenedictRejectsResignationTalk">{{cite news| url=http://www.europenews.net/index.php/sid/220244698/scat/88176adfdf246af5/ht/Benedict-dismisses-speculation-about-his-resignation| archive-url=https://archive.today/20140227084614/http://www.europenews.net/index.php/sid/220244698/scat/88176adfdf246af5/ht/Benedict-dismisses-speculation-about-his-resignation| archive-date=27 February 2014| title=Benedict dismisses speculation about his resignation| publisher=Europe News.Net| date=26 February 2014| access-date=27 February 2014}}</ref> In an interview on 28 February 2021, Benedict again repeated the legitimacy of his resignation.<ref>{{Cite web|date=20 April 2021|title=Pope Benedict XVI defends resignation to 'fanatic' doubters|url=https://apnews.com/article/pope-benedict-xvi-resignation-fanatics-850c42299aa3a350190ecf41221255d7|access-date=6 August 2021|website=AP NEWS|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=1 March 2021|title=Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI: 'There are not two Popes' – Vatican News|url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-03/pope-emeritus-benedict-xvi-renunciation.html|access-date=6 August 2021|website=vaticannews.va|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Pope Benedict's 'Conscience Is Clear' Regarding His 2013 Resignation|url=https://www.ncregister.com/news/pope-benedict-s-conscience-is-clear-regarding-his-2013-resignation|access-date=6 August 2021|website=NCR|date=March 2021 |language=en}}</ref>