Pope Benedict RESIGNING

[grace-land]

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248001/burkina-faso-names-street-in-honor-of-pope-emeritus-benedict-xvi

Burkina Faso names street in honor of Pope emeritus Benedict XVI
By CNA Staff
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Jun 15, 2021 / 08:00 am

A cardinal in Burkina Faso said Sunday that the naming of a street after Pope emeritus Benedict XVI “brings hope” to the country, Africa, and the world.

Cardinal Philippe Ouédraogo was speaking at a June 13 ceremony unveiling the newly named Rue Pape Benoît XVI (Pope Benedict XVI Street) in the capital, Ouagadougou.

The thoroughfare was previously called street 54.160, reported ACI Africa, CNA’s African news partner. It is the location of the country’s apostolic nunciature.

Ouédraogo described Benedict XVI, who served as pope from 2005 until his retirement in 2013, as a great pastor whose name “brings hope to Burkina Faso, to Africa, and to the world and promotes the spirit of dialogue, reconciliation, justice and peace in the hearts of all people.”

“Let us make this street a place where peace awakens faith,” the archbishop of Ouagadougou added.
 

[grace-land]

https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2021/06/benedict-xvi-to-mark-70-years-as-priest-with-brothers-choir/

Benedict XVI to mark 70 years as priest with brother’s choir
Elise Ann Allen  Jun 28, 2021

ROME – This week marks the 70th anniversary of retired Pope Benedict XVI’s ordination as a priest – an anniversary his personal secretary says will be celebrated with things of personal significance: The liturgy, and former members of his late brother’s choir.

Speaking to Rome Reports, German Archbishop Georg Gänswein, head of the Prefecture for the Papal Household and Benedict XVI’s personal secretary, said the choir was a surprise for Benedict.

For Benedict XVI, “surprises are always related to the liturgy,” Gänswein said, noting that for the June 29 anniversary, “We’ve invited a group of former members of the choir from Regensburg who learned to sing alongside his brother.”
 
According to Gänswein, Benedict XVI is physically weak and is unable to stand for the half-hour Mass that will be celebrated in honor of his priestly ordination, “so he concelebrates Mass.”

“He sits in a wheelchair next to the altar while I act as the main celebrant,” Gänswein said, adding, “We do this every day. There hasn’t been a day since his ordination that he hasn’t celebrated or concelebrated Mass.”

Benedict, he said, “remembers that the ceremony that day was long. He also recalls the dignified manner of the prestigious and older Cardinal (Michael von) Faulhaber, who ordained him.”

“The cardinal made a lasting impression on him. His life as a priest was marked by that day in 1951,” Gänswein said.

Speaking of Benedict’s physical condition, Gänswein described him as “very fragile” physically, and is unable to speak much because his voice is also weak, but “thank God, his mind continues to work very well.”

Overall, Benedict “is in good spirits and says, ‘Every day I begin with the Lord and end with the Lord. We’ll see how long it lasts,’” he said.
 

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-06/pope-angelus-peter-and-paul-benedict-xvi-lebanon-osservatore.html

Pope thanks Benedict XVI for his continuing service
29 June 2021, 16:29

Marking the 70th anniversary from the ordination of the Pope Emeritus, Pope Francis upholds his continuing service and describes him as “the contemplative of the Vatican” who prays for the Church and the diocese of Rome.
By Linda Bordoni

Pope Francis on Tuesday said he is marking an anniversary “hat touches the hearts of us all: 70 years ago, Pope Benedict was ordained a priest!”

Addressing the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Angelus prayer on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, the patron saints of the city of Rome, the Pope said: that “To you, Benedict, dear father and brother, goes our affection, our gratitude and our closeness. “

He told those present that the Pope Emeritus lives in a monastery, “a place intended to house the contemplative communities here in the Vatican, so that they could pray for the Church.”

He is now the contemplative of the Vatican, the Pope continued, who spends his life praying for the Church and for the diocese of Rome, of which he is bishop emeritu: “Thank you, Benedict, dear father and brother. Thank you for your credible witness. Thank you for your gaze, constantly directed towards the horizon of God: thank you!"
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248181/pope-francis-thanks-benedict-xvi-on-his-70th-ordination-anniversary
Pope Francis thanks Benedict XVI on his 70th ordination anniversary
By Courtney Mares
Vatican City, Jun 29, 2021 / 12:00 pm

[grace-land]

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248494/benedict-xvi-laments-lack-of-faith-within-church-institutions-in-germany#.YP7OA3DJyac.twitter

Benedict XVI laments lack of faith within Church institutions in Germany
By CNA Staff
Freiburg, Jul 26, 2021 / 06:30 am

Pope emeritus Benedict XVI has expressed concern about the lack of faith within Church institutions in Germany.

The retired pope made the comments in a written conversation in the August issue of the German magazine Herder Korrespondenz, marking the 70th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.

“In Church institutions -- hospitals, schools, Caritas -- many people participate in decisive positions who do not share the inner mission of the Church and thus in many cases obscure the witness of this institution,” he said.

In an exchange with Tobias Winstel, the 94-year-old reflected on the concept of the “Amtskirche,” a German term that can be translated as “institutional Church” and is used to refer to the large number of Church-tax funded structures and institutions in Germany.
 

[grace-land]

https://www.catholicsun.org/2021/08/03/as-he-turns-65-archbishop-ganswein-not-dwelling-on-his-situation/

As he turns 65, Archbishop Gänswein not dwelling on his situation
BY CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
AUG 3, 2021

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — On July 30, Archbishop Georg Gänswein celebrates his 65th birthday. For most bishops, this is not a particularly special day, since normally they only must submit their retirement at 75.

All the same, Archbishop Gänswein has a feeling similar to what many retirees feel: of falling into a kind of a hole when turning 65. In an interview with Germany’s Catholic news agency, KNA, he said he is still interested in taking on fresh tasks.

“Holy Father, give me counsel: What should I do?” was the German archbishop’s appeal in mid-January 2020 to Pope Francis. At the time, there was a worldwide uproar about a book by Cardinal Robert Sarah about the priesthood, which included a contribution from retired Pope Benedict XVI. Many observers saw it as a rejection of Pope Francis’ reform ideas. Some of this interpretation is attributed to how the French publisher presented the book, but Archbishop Gänswein’s role also was discussed.

Pope Francis’ response struck the archbishop like a thunderbolt, KNA reported. Archbishop Gänswein was to remain at home and was told that he no longer needed to come to the prefecture.

“I want you to have more time for Benedict,” Pope Francis was said to have told him. Since then, Archbishop Gänswein formally remains prefect of the papal household, but is tasked with tending exclusively to the retired pope.
 

[grace-land]

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/249006/benedict-xvi-legalization-of-same-sex-marriage-is-a-distortion-of-conscience

Benedict XVI: Legalization of same-sex marriage is ‘a distortion of conscience’
By Hannah Brockhaus
Vatican City, Sep 16, 2021 / 09:15 am

Pope emeritus Benedict XVI has said that the legalization of same-sex marriage in many countries is “a distortion of conscience” which has also entered some Catholic circles.

In an introduction to a new anthology of his writings on Europe, Benedict XVI said that “with the legalization of ‘same-sex marriage’ in 16 European countries, the issue of marriage and family has taken on a new dimension that cannot be ignored.”

“We are witnessing a distortion of conscience which has evidently penetrated deeply into sectors of the Catholic people,” the pope emeritus wrote. “This cannot be answered with some small moralism or even with some exegetical reference. The problem goes deeper and therefore must be addressed in fundamental terms.”

The introduction, published in the Italian newspaper Il Foglio on Sept. 16, was written for the Italian book “The Real Europe: Identity and Mission.”

Pope Francis wrote the preface to the book, which compiles texts from Benedict XVI written both before and during his pontificate, which lasted from 2005 to 2013.

Pope Francis wrote the preface to the book, which compiles texts from Benedict XVI written both before and during his pontificate, which lasted from 2005 to 2013.

In the preface, Francis wrote that “beyond so many words and high-sounding proclamations, today in Europe the very idea of respect for every human life is increasingly lost, starting with the loss of awareness of its sacredness, that is, precisely starting from the obfuscation of the consciousness that we are creatures of God.”

“Benedict XVI is not afraid to denounce, over the years, with great courage and foresight the many manifestations of this dramatic renunciation of the idea of creation, up to the current, final consequences, described in an absolutely clear and convincing way in the introductory text,” Pope Francis said.

In his introduction, Benedict XVI said it was important to observe that the concept of “same-sex marriage” is “in contradiction with all the cultures of humanity that have followed one another up to now, and thus signifies a cultural revolution that is opposed to the whole tradition of humanity until today.”