The controversies surrounding Pope Benedict XVI’s Vatican career
By Ljudmila Petrovic
Illustration by Eleanor Qu
“In today’s world . . . both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.”
With these words, Pope Benedict XVI resigned from his position in the Roman Catholic Church, something that had not happened for almost 600 years. But the significance of the event lies in the discussions that it reignited. Pope Benedict cited his failing health and old age as the reason for his resignation but, as with any historic event, the announcement was followed by a string of alternative theories.
Not surprisingly, Pope Benedict’s career and personal life have been scrutinized, as well as the Church’s more recent scandals.
Pope Benedict: Early Nazi Ties?
Pope Benedict XVI was born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger on April 16, 1927 in Bavaria. One well-known biographical detail is his membership in the Hitler Youth at the age of 14.
The Atlantic Wire scoured Twitter and found that it was not an uncommon thread: “Resigning for health reasons! Yeah. That’s it. Not because of anything scandalous like covering up child abuse or having a Nazi youth past,” read one tweet. “Old Benni’s Nazi past is trending in the UK, right up there with all the Popery,” said another.
It should be noted, however, that this was required by law for all German boys his age after Dec. 1939; it is hardly accurate to dwell on this. A few years later he was drafted into the German anti-aircraft corps and trained in the infantry, but deserted in 1945 as the Allied forces approached. He was held as a prisoner of war for a few months, but was released by the end of the Second World War.
Sex scandals
We’ve all heard a Catholic priest joke or two, but in recent years, the Catholic Church has been getting increasing amounts of attention as sex scandals come to light. In fact, one of the theories about Pope Benedict’s resignation has cited his link to these scandals; some Twitter users even go so far as to speculate that his resignation is preemptive and that there are more scandals being unearthed.
Pope Benedict himself has received criticism for his indirect role in the scandals. In the German church, his brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, was in charge of a choir at a boarding school that had recently been at the brunt of abuse claims. In 1980, while he was still in the positions of archdiocese of Munich and Freising, he approved a transfer for therapy for a priest accused of molesting boys. Upon completion of therapy, the priest was allowed to return to his place in the Church, only to commit more abuses. It was not until March 2010 that the current archdiocese of Munich admitted that the affair had not been handled correctly; however, the Vatican denied that Benedict XVI was in any way responsible.
In the four years leading up to his papacy, Benedict XVI was also the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and he led the Vatican investigations into the abuse allegations.
In what some have called a chillingly timely fashion, Feb. 4 marked the premiere of Mea Maxima Culpa, Alex Gibney’s new HBO show. It looks at the Catholic Church’s history of sexual abuse scandals and the pope’s complicity. “[The pope] says he is disgusted by [the abuse], and I believe him,” said Gibney in an interview. “But he lives within this institution, with this group of men who exist between mortals and the angels, and he favors protecting the institution to protecting the children.”
Vatileaks
One of the most significant scandals in Pope Benedict’s career — and one that is said to have contributed immensely to his failing health — is the “Vatileaks” affair. According to the website, “Vatileaks is a site dedicated to publishing unknown and suppressed information that has been hidden from the people by the Vatican hierarchs in an attempt to conceal the truth about its past.”
The scandal first came to light in January 2012, when memos from the pope’s office were leaked. Paolo Gabriele, the pope’s butler, was arrested in association with the scandal. On Oct. 6 of last year, he was found guilty of theft. He was serving his 18-month sentence on Dec. 22, 2012 when Pope Benedict XVI paid him a visit and forgave him for the crime.
Items leaked included the removal of Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano from office after he attempted to stop nepotism within the Church, and allegations that Mafia leader Enrico De Pedis had been buried alongside former popes and cardinals for the price of one billion lire ($660,000). What the world learned was stories of corruption within the Vatican, and Pope Benedict was widely criticized for his lack of leadership and inability to handle this internal dishonesty.
Other religions
In a September 2006 speech at the University of Regensburg, Pope Benedict called the words of a Byzantine emperor who characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad “evil and inhuman.” He apologized several days later, saying that the text had not reflected his own opinions. One of his main critics for this was the al-Azhar mosque in Cairo and in 2011, an advertising campaign for Benetton alluded to this by displaying photo shopped images of the pope kissing Mohammed Ahmed al-Tayeb — the mosque’s grand sheikh — on the lips. The ads were quickly removed when the Vatican threatened legal action.
In 2008, it was announced that the pope had made revisions to the “Good Friday Prayer for the Jews” part of the Tridentine Mass. The new version, translated from the Latin, reads: “Let us also pray for the Jews: That our God and Lord may illuminate their hearts, that they acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all men.” Jewish organizations around the world spoke out in criticism of the wording of the prayer, believing that it had historical implications for the conversion of Jews.
Prophecy
Not quite a scandal, but for those that are more so inclined, there has also been talk of a prophecy involving Pope Benedict. In the 12th century, St. Malachy, bishop of Armagh, predicted that Petrus Romanus (or Peter the Roman) would be the 112th and last pope of the Catholic Church. Pope Benedict is the 111th since Malachy’s recorded visions. Now, people have visions all the time, but apparently, Malachy’s have come true before.
Take that as you will.
In defensionem eius sanctitudo,
Papa Emeritus Benedictus XVI
This is possibly the most
intellectually insulting piece the Peak has ever published. I wonder if the editors
ever considered any fact-checking, or applied any logical criticism, or even
cared to consider the illustration provided by Eleanor Qu as offensive or
slanderous. I understand
that one can opine freely on the Peak, especially when it’s an editor writing,
but one should at least consider for a brief moment if perhaps what one writes
is offensive, factually correct, or if it even makes any sense. Ljudmila
Petrovic did a horrendous job at attempting to create scandal where there is
nothing to be scandalized about with regards to the Holy Father, Pope Emeritus
Benedict XVI.
The attempt to arouse hate and animosity to His Holiness (and
Catholics in general) by attaching a distant past in Pope Benedict’s life is a
shame to journalism and the intellectual integrity of the author of the article
Benny and the regrets. Ms. Petrovic falsely
accuses the Holy Father of having “Nazi ties” in a way that portrays him as
maybe some volunteer of the SS, the Luftwaffe, or the guards at the
concentration camps. The reality is that Ratzinger was forced into the Hitler
Youth government program as it was mandatory for all German youths to during
the Reich’s reign of terror. What choice did he have as a child? He would have
been severely punished, if not his family, for leaving the program, most likely
already being threatened with death if he left. I also find it a bit concerning that you would
raise the fact that he was an AA gunner and trained in the infantry korps as if
it were a crime in itself. Would you consider the AA gunners that defended
Dresden and many other German cities that faced Allied firebombings as war
criminals? Is it a crime for not only Ratzinger, but any Germans defending
their families and friends from potential death as criminals? You are
hypocrites in your own beliefs to condemn the Allies for bombing Dresden and
other civilian German targets and at the same time condemn Joseph Ratzinger for
defending those whom he loved (and the Fuhrer was not among one of those whom
he loved!).
You falsely accuse the Holy Father of attempting to cover up
the sex-abuse scandals without bringing up a single shred of evidence to not
only implicating the Holy Father in any cover up during his time as Head of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, but you can’t even come up with a
case against his brother Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, you only bring up unfounded
claims. You only fill the page with suggestions and scandal of real problems
that do not apply to His Holiness’ life. However, I would like to suggest, since you
are so keen and infatuated with homosexual men raping teenage boys, that you
look to the public school system in America and Canada, where a teacher cannot
be fired despite having violated a child (prosecuted yes, but not fired), or in
the boy scouts which have finally embraced such men to lead children under
their care. Joseph Ratzinger (“Benny” to you Ms. Petrovic) earned the nickname
of Panzerkardinal for having sacked
or removed a large number of homosexual priests that abused minors. If you
simply looked a little harder and not simply took the first three results that
come up on Google, you might have found more evidence in defense of His
Holiness than condemning him, unless of course you are in the business of lying
and slandering. It must also be noted that your criticism or echoing of
criticism of the Holy Father regarding Vatileaks is absurd, stupid, and a
non-issue. What else can an aging Pontiff that is suffering silently from an
illness, and has to look out for 1.3 Billion Catholics do about banking?
Nothing! He’s human, not God! He left that issue to Secretary of State and anyone
else related to the issue. If you are you going to mention this, please, make
the effort to at least start a new column and not attach it to this one! It
hurts your credibility as a writer and journalist.
Finally, what is the issue with his commentary regarding
other religions? He didn’t change his mind on Muhammad. He was sorry that
people did respond to well to it, as he expected people to perhaps think harder
about what was said rather than simply cry and whine about it. Muhammad was
indeed evil and inhuman in the extent that he slaughtered hundreds of thousands
of Christians, Jews, and Pagans in Arabia, a quick reading of the Quran and the
Hadiths will provide sufficient material for you reach this conclusion shared
by the Pope, the Emperor, and millions that have suffered under the Mohammedan
religion. Likewise, what is it to you that His Holiness added a prayer calling
for the conversion of Jews? They are our brethren according to the Law, and we
as brothers invite them to convert and ask God to guide to the Church and
ultimately to Himself – there is no hate in praying with love for another –
this is no different to how in various parishes there are prayers for the conversion
of Muslims, atheists, Hindus, Sikhs, etc… The Church follows God’s will, that all men (yes, this includes women
too) be saved.
Also, Malachy’s prophecy… Really? Nuff said.
This piece published by the Peak is
a sham, a travesty, and is to be considered as hate-speech. How can anyone ever
take the university’s paper seriously when some of the writers and editors act
like buffoons and write like chimps going wild on the keyboard? Please, I
encourage you to reevaluate your contribution not only to SFU and the Peak, but
to society in general.
Thank you and God bless,
Iohannes Ioseph Olaizola