Word: xvi
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...would have thought his advanced age and unstable health would have been reason enough for the Cardinals to pick someone else." FATHER GEORG RATZINGER, brother of Benedict XVI, on the College of Cardinals' choice of his younger sibling as Pope...
Regardless of your beliefs, it is clear that Pope Benedict XVI will serve a dual role of unequaled importance and exposure; he will be both the spiritual leader of over a billion Catholics and a political figure on the world stage. His election will have important repercussions for Catholics and non-Catholics worldwide, but it is critical to distinguish between Benedict’s two very distinct roles...
...Benedict XVI feels that he and John Paul II were involved in a battle for the duration of the previous papacy, and the battle continues. They were on crisis footing when he came in, and they continue to be on crisis footing. He sees the society surrounding the church in the West, and elsewhere, has having become worse, in the sense of making it harder to be a good Catholic and a comfortable member of society at large. And in this ongoing crisis, he appears to be willing to make the Church a minority clearly defined by its strong values...
...expected that ecumenical efforts in relation to other churches are unlikely to advance during the new papacy. Benedict XVI has, for example, insisted that other Christian churches not be called "sister churches," but "daughter churches." And given that view of the relationship, I'm not sure ecumenism will be a major party of his legacy. The same might be true on interfaith efforts. After John Paul II had pulled together the remarkable convocation of religious leaders of every stripe at Assisi in 1986 where they prayed, in one another's presence, for peace, Cardinal Ratzinger was quoted as saying that...
...other hand, Benedict XVI won't leave any doubt in the minds of other religious leaders where they stand with him. There's often a lot of cotton in interfaith conversation that allows everyone to participate in good faith, but prevents things getting down to brass tacks. Benedict XVI is all about brass tacks. So, while it may not move interfaith dialogue forward in the way that John Paul II did, his approach may define it more clearly...