Pope Benedict RESIGNING

[grace-land]

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/two-years-into-retirement-the-legacy-of-father-benedict-lives-on-44605/

Two years into retirement, the legacy of Father Benedict endures


Pope Benedict XVI. Credit: Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk.

Vatican City, Feb 11, 2015 / 12:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Two years to the day since Pope Benedict XVI told the world of his historic decision to step down from the papal office, those impacted by his pontificate say that his legacy is still burning bright.

“Pope Benedict's legacy is really very massive,” said Archbishop Arthur Roche, secretary for the congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

“His teaching, his balance, his ability to get to the bottom of so many things with such clarity” are among the marks that remain from Benedict’s pontificate, the archbishop told CNA.

While Feb. 11 is normally set aside as a holiday in the Vatican for the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the day took on huge added significance in 2013, when Benedict used the opportunity to announce his retirement at a relatively routine consistory – most of the prelates in the room had expected to hear little more than the dates for some upcoming canonizations.

Three weeks later, on Feb. 28, Benedict XVI would greet the crowds from the balcony of the papal palace at Castel Gandolfo for the last time as the reigning pontiff. Shortly thereafter, the resignation took effect, and the See of Peter was vacant until the election of Pope Francis on Mar. 13, 2013.

Since his retirement, Benedict’s days have been filled with prayer and study, largely out of the public view. He now goes by the simple title, “Fr. Benedict.” However, some see the legacy of the Pope Emeritus as continuing to resonate in complementarity to that of his successor, Pope Francis.
 

[grace-land]

http://americamagazine.org/issue/pope-benedict-no-regrets-about-retirement

Pope Benedict: No Regrets About Retirement
Feb 12 2015 - 1:21pm

Retired Pope Benedict XVI has never doubted or regretted his decision to resign, knowing it was the right thing to do for the good of the church, said Archbishop Georg Ganswein, prefect of the papal household and personal secretary to the retired pope.

"The church needs a strong helmsman," and Pope Benedict was keenly aware of his own waning strength while faced with such a demanding ministry, the archbishop said in an interview published Feb. 12 in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.
 
Archbishop Ganswein said Pope Benedict, who will turn 88 in April, is still following the prayerful, quiet life he wanted to dedicate himself to upon his retirement.

Like his namesake, St. Benedict -- the father of Western monasticism -- the retired pope "has chosen a monastic life. He goes out (in public) only when Pope Francis asks him to; as for the rest, he does not accept other invitations," said the archbishop, who lives with retired Pope Benedict in a renovated monastery and has been his personal secretary since 2003.

Archbishop Ganswein told the newspaper that in addition to the pope's usual routine of prayer, reading, keeping up with correspondence, receiving visitors, watching the evening news and walking in the Vatican Gardens, he has been playing the piano much more often: "Mozart especially, but also other compositions that come to mind at the moment; he plays from memory."

The only health issues, the archbishop said, are "every now and then his legs give him some problems, that's all." The pope, who has had a pacemaker for several years and uses a cane, still has an incredibly sharp mind, the archbishop added.

When asked what Popes Benedict and Francis might have in common, Archbishop Ganswein said that while their ways of expression are very different, the one thing they share is "the substance, the content, the deposit of faith to be proclaimed, promoted and defended."

[grace-land]

http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/benedict-xvi-will-be-present-at-tomorrow-s-consistory

Benedict XVI Will Be Present at Tomorrow's Consistory
Rome,  February 13, 2015

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has accepted Pope Francis' invitation to attend tomorrow's Ordinary Public Consistory in St. Peter's Basilica.

Although Holy See spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi, did not confirm the Pontiff Emeritus' presence at the consistory during today's briefing, Vatican Radio confirmed shortly after that Benedict XVI will attend the celebration that will created 20 new cardinals for the Roman Catholic Church.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.gulf-times.com/uk-europe/183/details/427095/pope-francis-appoints-20-new-cardinals-at-special-ceremony

Pope Francis appoints 20 new cardinals at special ceremony
14  February 2015


Pope Francis greets Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI during a mass to create 20 new cardinals during a ceremony in St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/pope-francis-elevates-20-new-cardinals-1423922173
Pope Francis Elevates 20 New Cardinals
Updated Feb. 14, 2015 11:17 a.m. ET

 
Meanwhile, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI made a rare appearance Saturday, attending the ceremony to elevate the new cardinals. The 87-year-old pope has lived in near-seclusion since stepping down just two years ago.

In an interview this week with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, personal secretary to the retired pope, denied reports that Pope Emeritus Benedict is failing, saying that “his legs give him some trouble occasionally” but that “his mind is still formidable.”

Archbishop Ganswein said the pope emeritus—a prominent theologian—spends his days praying, writing, receiving occasional visitors and playing Mozart on his piano. Pope Francis has said the he sometimes turns to his predecessor for advice.

The German bishop said Pope Emeritus Benedict has no regrets about his shock decision to step down. “The church needs a strong helmsman,” he said.

[grace-land]

Photos

http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/02/14/photos-pope-francis-inducts-20-new-cardinals-into-the-church/

Photos: Pope Francis inducts 20 new cardinals into the Church
February 14, 2015

[grace-land]

http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/ratinger-ecumenismo-ecumenism-39326/

02/23/2015
Ecumenism according to Ratzinger: Pluriform unity

In a speech delivered in 1993 the then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith talked about the path toward unity between the Churches and about possible “intermediate solutions” before full communion could be achieved: “There is a duty to let oneself be purified and enriched by the other”

ANDREA TORNIELLI
vatican city
 
The “ultimate aim” of the ecumenical journey, “is obviously the unity of the churches in the one Church”. “This does not mean uniformity” but “unity in pluriformity”. The “Orthodox Churches should not change much in their internal structure, almost nothing in fact, if they unite themselves with Rome”. The then cardinal Joseph Ratzinger pronounced these words on 29 January 1993 during a public conversation with Waldesian professor Paolo Ricca held at the evangelical cultural centre.

Pope Francis took these considerations further during his visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople last November, when he said that in its efforts to achieve full unity with Orthodox Christians, the Catholic Church “does not intend to impose any conditions except that of the shared profession of faith”.

Speaking about ecumenism during his meeting with the Waldesian community, Francis wished to distinguish between “two phases”: the final aim and the “models” for the in-between waiting period before unity is achieved. The future Pope saw the former as “the real force and the main motivating factor behind our ecumenism”. He explained that “the unity of churches within the Church” does not imply “uniformity”, but “unity in pluriformity”. “It seems to me,” the then cardinal added, “that the ancient Church can be taken as something of a model. The ancient Church was united on three fundamental elements: Holy Scripture, regula fidei, the sacramental structure of the Church. But, for the rest, it was a Church of very many forms, as we all know. There were the churches of Semitic regions or language, the Egyptian Coptic Church, and here were the Greek Churches of the Byzantine empire, the other Greek Churches, the Latin Churches featuring great diversities between the Church in Ireland, for  example, and the Church of Rome.”
 

[grace-land]

Videos at the link

http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/

Saturday, February 28, 2015
Two Years Later



With the Pope and Curia on the road and off the grid for this week's Lenten retreat, the beat's been unusually quiet... but don't worry – it won't be for much longer.

In any case, beyond fresh stories, the coming weeks are likely to bring an uptick of wider focus on the Vatican as Francis marks his second anniversary on Peter's chair. Eventful as the last two years have been, though, it remains the case that the most surreal and extraordinary moment of all hasn't been because of Papa Bergoglio, but the one that made him – the moment two years ago today when the Pope left office alive for the first time since before Europeans settled the Americas and the "new" St Peter's was built.

Indeed, as head-spinners go, nothing in the current context – arguably nothing we've seen, ever – can compete with those 17 days in February 2013 between Benedict XVI's announcement of his resignation on the 11th and his departure from the Vatican at dusk on the 28th. Even if the modern information cycle holds its choicest rewards for the bright, shiny thing of the day – however fleeting it is – this moment deserved and still deserves more enduring attention than it got... and not just because, at some point in time, the reigning pontiff has quietly signaled his determination to follow suit and institutionalize resignation from the papacy as a matter of course.

Ergo, let's go back to the scenes of that unbelievable night: first, B16's emotional, masterfully choreographed farewell from the Apostolic Palace and the chopper out...
 

[grace-land]

http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/archbishop-georg-gaenswein-interviewed-by-italian-publication

Archbishop Georg Gaenswein Interviewed By Italian Publication
Vatican City,  March 18, 2015

Archbishop Georg Gaenswein has given an extensive interview to the Italian publication Oggi.

In the interview which the prefect of the Papal Household and private secretary to Pope Benedict XVI granted yesterday, he discusses his experiences under both pontificates, and speaks specifically on Pope Francis’ pontificate, the Pope Emeritus’ health and the Vatileaks scandal.
 
Pope Benedict

Archbishop Gaenswein also reflected on Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, for whom he has been secretary since 2003. He remembered crying when Pope Emeritus left the Apostolic Palace in Castel Gandolfo, after resigning.

"I was moved,” he said. “After eight years there as a secretary, I was living a historic moment. Instead, Pope Benedict was serene." That evening of February 28, he reflected, he had withheld his emotions, until they became tears.

The German archbishop also spoke of how the Pope Emeritus passes his days.

“He's fine, for his age,” he reflected, noting he makes afternoon stroll daily in the Vatican Gardens.

"I usually go with him. We recite the Rosary together. We walk [30 minutes]. Pope Benedict, who has always had a brisk pace, now, on the advice of the doctor, uses a walker, and a cane in the house.  The days always start with Mass, and I concelebrate with him every morning. During the day, he reads, studies, answers many letters and, not infrequently, in the evening, he plays the piano.”

"With the three volumes on Jesus of Nazareth, he ended his theological work,” he noted.

“He [Pope Benedict] says he has no more strength to write." he noted. Yet, he said during Sunday Mass, the Pope Emeritus always gives the homily, without written notes. "He has a good memory."

Gaenswein on His Role

The prefect also reflected on his unprecedented role, the first prelate to be a collaborator to two Popes.

"I started this journey with great faith, energy, but also a bit of fear. Now, after two years, it is easier. At first, I was more insecure," he said, noting this was partially due to some having greater expectations from the retired Pope to stay more involved.

“The attitude of welcoming Pope Benedict XVI to Francis was, and is, exemplary. Between the two, there really is a very friendly and respectful relationship," he said.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/cardinal-george-pell-benedict-xvi-laid-groundwork-for-financial-transparency

Cardinal George Pell: Benedict XVI Laid Groundwork For Financial Transparency
Vatican City,  April 01, 2015

For many months there has been talk about the steps the Vatican is taking to achieve transparency in financial and economic matters. In this connection, Cardinal George Pell, Prefect of the Prefecture of the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, explained that “it must not be thought that Pope Benedict XVI did nothing  and we are now doing everything.”

“We are doing something on the foundations proposed during Benedict’s time. And it seems to me increasingly that Benedict understood in some way – on some aspects, not all --, that the situation was serious,” said the Australian Cardinal during the presentation last Tuesday of the book “Co-responsibility and Transparency in the Administration of the Goods of the Church,” by Francesco Lozupone. “I wish to stress that Pope Benedict tried seriously to improve the situation,” added the Cardinal.
 

[grace-land]

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will celebrate his 88th birthday on April 16!  Happy Birthday!   

April 13, 2015 Tweets
https://twitter.com/roccopalmo

Rocco Palmo @roccopalmo 
  ·  9h 9 hours ago   
Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, Fluffy – ahead of his 88th on Thursday, B16 photoed in wknd meet w/ Munich seminarians:

[seahorse]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/11533635/Pope-Francis-effect-leads-to-exorcism-boom.html

Pope Francis effect' leads to exorcism boom
“Pope Francis effect” credited with rising demand for exorcisms around the world


Nick Squires

By Nick Squires, Rome

7:57PM BST 13 Apr 2015

 

[grace-land]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/11533635/Pope-Francis-effect-leads-to-exorcism-boom.html

Pope Francis effect' leads to exorcism boom
“Pope Francis effect” credited with rising demand for exorcisms around the world


Nick Squires

By Nick Squires, Rome

7:57PM BST 13 Apr 2015

 

 

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/04/15/abp_ganswein_benedict_xvi_prayerful_at_88/1136972

Abp Ganswein: Benedict XVI prayerful at 88
15/04/2015 13:33

(Vatican Radio) The Prefect of the Papal Household and private secretary to Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, has given an in-depth interview to Italian television, in which he discusses issues ranging from the the current Pope’s concern for persecuted Christian faithful, to the Church’s discernment of miracles, and the former Pope’s ongoing dialogue of prayer, in preparation for his meeting with Our Lord.

Archbishop Ganswein told Mediaset’s La strada dei miracoli programme, “It is clear that a man who soon will turn 88 should be thinking about this.” He continued, “His is a Christian art – because preparing for death means preparing to meet the LORD, and this is a decisive meeting.”
 

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/04/16/pope_emeritus_benedict_xvi_celebrates_his_88th_birthday/1137382

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI celebrates his 88th birthday
16/04/2015 17:44


Pope Benedict toasts for his 88th birthday - AP

(Vatican Radio) The Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI marked his 88th birthday on Thursday (April 16th) with a Bavarian-style celebration. He received birthday greetings from a group of Gebirgsschutzen (mountain protection units) from his native Bavaria, dressed in traditional costumes. Among those present to celebrate his birthday were his older brother Monsignor Georg Ratzinger and the Prefect of the Pontifical Household, Archbishop George Ganswein.

Since resigning as Pope in February 2013,  Benedict XVI has lived a life of prayer and reclusion at the Mater Ecclesiae situated inside the Vatican Gardens.  Speaking in an interview with Vatican Radio, Monsignor Alfred Xuereb, the former second secretary of Benedict XVI, said affection for the Pope Emeritus has increased over the past two years. He paid tribute to Benedict XVI’s great humility and humanity as well as his deep intellect and his ability to transmit profound thoughts. 

[grace-land]

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2015/04/16/pope-francis-wishes-benedict-xvi-a-happy-88th-birthday/

Pope Francis wishes Benedict XVI a happy 88th birthday
posted Thursday, 16 Apr 2015

Pontiff offers morning Mass for the Pope Emeritus

Pope Francis has marked the 88th birthday of Benedict XVI by offering morning Mass for the Pope Emeritus.

According to Vatican Radio, the Pontiff said: “I would like to remind you that today is the birthday of Pope Benedict XVI. I offered Mass for him and also invite you to pray for him, that the Lord will sustain him and give him a lot of joy and happiness.”
 
In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Archbishop Georg Gänswein said the Pope Emeritus told him: “If I still had the strength to write, I would not have given up the papacy.”

[grace-land]

Photos at the link

http://www.heraldextra.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/pope-benedict-xvi-celebrates-th-birthday-with-party-pint/article_f6f044cd-358e-5753-88df-424a40a260e1.html

Retired Pope Benedict XVI celebrates 88th birthday with pint
2 hours ago

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http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/joseph-ratzinger-benedict-xvi-library-to-be-opened-in-rome

Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Library To Be Opened in Rome
Rome,  April 21, 2015 

The Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Roman Library, dedicated entirely to the life and thought of Ratzinger as scholar and Pope, was officially announced. The study center is located within the Library of the Teutonic College and of the Roman Institute of the Gorres Society.

The announcement was made yesterday by Monsignor Stefan Heid, Director of the Roman Institute, during the presentation of the volume Benedict XVI, Servant of God and of Men, published in Italian by the Libreria Editrice Vaticana and in German by Schnell & Steiner Publishers, for the 10th anniversary of Joseph Ratzinger’s election as Pontiff on April 19, 2005.

Attending the event, which took place in the afternoon of April 20 in the church of the Teutonic Cemetery in the Vatican, were, among others, the brother of the Pope Emeritus, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, Cardinals Bertone, Farina, Koch and Muller, and Archbishops Farhat, Ganswein, Marra and Pozzo.

The Library, named after the Pope Emeritus, will open next September and will have, to begin with, some one thousand volumes in different languages and will be characterized as an open place to all those interested in the publications of and on Joseph Ratzinger, to know his life and to reflect on his Theology. Benedict XVI himself donated many of the volumes. Others, instead, were given by the Vatican Foundation that bears his name and that supported the initiative.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/in-rare-new-letter-benedict-xvi-seeks-shepherds-for-the-whole-world-59940/

In rare new letter, Benedict XVI seeks shepherds for the whole world

Vatican City, May 12, 2015 / 06:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Speaking from retirement, Benedict XVI has underscored the need for the Church to extend its pastoral care to non-believers and to share “the questions of the times” in its continuing efforts to announce the gospel to the world.

Benedict XVI’s new reflections came in an April 21 letter to Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who served as his Secretary of State from 2006 to 2013. A summary of the letter was published in the May 10 edition of the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano.

The Pope emeritus wrote that “the service of a shepherd cannot be only limited only to the Church,” even though “in the first place, we are entrusted with the care of the faithful and of those who are directly seeking faith.”
 
The Church, he maintained, “is part of the world, and therefore it can properly play its service only if it takes care of the world in its entirety.”
 
According to Benedict XVI, the “Word of God concerns the totality of reality, and this actuality places on the Church a general responsibility.” This is the reason why the Church “must be involved in the efforts that humanity and society put into action” for a path toward justice and why the Church must “find a way of reasoning” that would also include non-believers.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/benedict-xvis-summer-plans-rare-public-events-and-a-visit-to-castel-gandolfo-24010/

Benedict XVI's summer plans – rare public events and a visit to Castel Gandolfo

Vatican City, Jun 16, 2015 / 11:07 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Benedict XVI’s summer is set to be the most active since he stepped down from the pontificate in 2013, with plans for participation in at least two public events and a two-week stay at the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo.

“Pope Francis invited Benedict XVI to spend some time in Castel Gandolfo in the month of July and Benedict accepted,” Fr. Lombardi told journalists on June 15. Benedict XVI is expected to be there for two weeks, although no official dates have been disclosed.

Castel Gandolfo, which lies about 15 miles southeast of Rome, has not been officially used as a papal residence since Benedict XVI – who now goes by “Fr. Benedict” – spent just over two months there following his Feb. 28, 2013 resignation from the See of Peter. He currently lives in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican Gardens.
 
While in Castel Gandolfo on July 3, Benedict XVI is also set to receive an honorary doctorate from the Krakow, Poland-based Pontifical University of John Paul II and its music academy.

The honor specifically recognizes Benedict’s “great respect for musical tradition of the Church” and “special concern for the noble beauty of sacred music and its proper place in the celebration of the sacred liturgical rites of the Church,” according to a press release from the university.

Back at the Vatican at the end of August, Benedict XVI will also take part in the inauguration of the “Joseph Ratzinger - Benedict XVI Roman Library” at the Pontifical Teutonic College on August 30.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/a-meeting-to-remember-seminarians-chat-with-benedict-xvi-10569/

A meeting to remember: seminarians chat with Benedict XVI


Pope emeritus Benedict XVI meets with seminarians from the diocese of Faensa-Modigliana, Italy on June 16, 2015 at the seminary of Faensa-Modigliana. Credit: Diocese of Faenza-Modigliana

By Andrea Gagliarducci

Vatican City, Jun 17, 2015 / 07:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Several enthusiastic seminarians met with Benedict XVI at the Vatican Gardens on Tuesday – even though it is their exam time, they did not want to miss the chance to meet the Pope emeritus.
 
“It lasted two minutes, but I will always remember it,” one seminarian told CNA about the meeting. He added: “the Pope emeritus was so kind, and asked me some personal information about my life.”

The seminarian has an ontology exam on June 18.

The seminarians come from the Diocese of Faenza-Modigliana, headed by Bishop Mario Toso. The diocese has 12 seminarians.

“The seminarians really wished to meet with the Pope emeritus, whom they really esteem and love,” Bishop Toso told CNA.
 
The bishop had forwarded the seminarians’ request to meet Benedict XVI, who jumped at the chance for a short meeting.