VATICAN CITY, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Former pope Benedict, a hero to conservative Catholics and who in 2013 became the first pontiff in 600 years to step down, is "very sick", his successor Pope Francis said on Wednesday, asking Church members to pray for him.
Bishops from Europe, the United States and beyond, urged the faithful to keep Benedict in their thoughts, after the Vatican followed Francis' announcement with a statement saying Benedict had suffered a sudden "worsening" of his health.
"I would like to ask all of you for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict, who, in silence, is sustaining the Church," Francis said in Wednesday's surprise announcement made at the end of his weekly general audience.
"Let us remember him. He is very sick, asking the Lord to console and sustain him in this witness of love for the Church, until the end," Francis said, speaking in Italian.
The Vatican statement said Benedict was receiving constant medical attention and his condition was under control.
Francis, who visited the former pontiff after making the announcement, has often praised Benedict, saying it was like having a grandfather at home. But the presence of two men dressed in white in the Vatican has at times been troublesome.
Conservatives have looked to the former pope as their standard bearer and some ultra-traditionalists even refused to acknowledge Francis as a legitimate pontiff.
They have criticised Francis for his more welcoming approach to gays and to Catholics who divorced and remarried outside the Church, saying both were undermining traditional values.
Catholic Church leaders from Germany, Britain, the United States and elsewhere urged the faithful on social media to join prayers for Benedict, who was pope for almost eight years before he retired.
"This morning I received the news that there is great concern in Rome about the health of the Pope Emeritus. And so we especially want to include him in our prayers," German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich, told churchgoers.
Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, head of the Italy's bishops conference, asked Italians to keep Benedict in their thoughts "in this moment of suffering and trial".
Until a few weeks ago, those who had seen Benedict said his body was very frail but his mind was still sharp.
Italian news reports said he had been suffering from respiratory problems over the Christmas period.
The Vatican did not give any details of his condition. There was no immediate response to a request for comment from Benedict's private secretary.
One of the latest known photographs of Benedict was taken on Dec. 1, when he met the winners of a prize for theologians named after him. He was seated and looked exceptionally weak.
Since resigning Benedict has been living in a former convent inside the Vatican gardens, with his secretary, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, and a few other aides and medical staff.
Benedict announced his intention to resign on Feb. 11, 2013, shocking a meeting of cardinals. He said he no longer had the physical and mental strength to run the Church.
He formally stepped down on Feb. 28 that year, moving temporarily to the papal summer residence south of Rome while cardinals from around the world came to Rome to choose his successor.
Francis, the first pope from Latin America, was elected to succeed him on March 13, 2013.
Benedict, the first German pope in 1,000 years, had been elected on April 19, 2005 to succeed the widely popular Pope John Paul II, who reigned for 27 years.
Cardinals had chosen Benedict from among their number seeking continuity and what one called "a safe pair of hands".
For nearly 25 years, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he was the powerful head of the Vatican's doctrinal office, then known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF).
https://www.reuters.com/world/pope-...benedict-who-he-says-is-very-sick-2022-12-28/ (Archive)
Former Pope Benedict XVI dies age 95
Benedict XVI, the Pope Emeritus, has died in Vatican City at the age of 95 following a period of ill health.
Benedict, who was the first pontiff in almost 600 years to resign his position, rather than hold office for life, passed away on Saturday, according to a statement from the Vatican.
“With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican,” the Director of the Press Office of the Holy See, Matteo Bruni said.
“Further information will be provided as soon as possible.”
News of his death came days after Pope Francis asked the faithful to pray for Benedict, saying he was “very sick.”
“I want to ask you all for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict who sustains the Church in his silence. He is very sick. We ask the Lord to console and sustain him in this witness of love for the Church to the very end,” Francis said at his general audience on Wednesday.
At the end of the general audience, Pope Francis went to the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in Vatican City to visit Benedict, the Vatican said. There had “been a deterioration due to the advancement of his age” over the previous few hours, a Vatican spokesman said on Wednesday, adding that doctors were monitoring the situation.
His health had been in decline for some time.
Benedict stunned the Catholic faithful and religious experts around the world on February 11, 2013, when he announced plans to step down from his position as Pope, citing his “advanced age.”
In his farewell address, the outgoing Pope promised to stay “hidden” from the world, but he continued to speak out on religious matters in the years following his retirement, contributing to tensions within the Catholic Church.
A powerful and polarizing voice
Benedict was a powerful force in the Catholic Church for decades.Born Joseph Ratzinger in Germany in 1927, he was the son of a policeman. He was ordained as a priest in 1951, made a cardinal in 1977, and later served as chief theological adviser to Pope John Paul II.
One of his most significant steps up came in 1981 when he took over as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, the Vatican office that oversees “the doctrine on the faith and morals throughout the Catholic world,” according to the Vatican.
Ratzinger became known as “Cardinal No” stemming from his efforts to crack down on the liberation theology movement, religious pluralism, challenges to traditional teachings on issues such as homosexuality, and calls to ordain women as priests.
He was elected pope in April 2005, following John Paul II’s death.
He was known to be more conservative than his successor, Pope Francis, who has made moves to soften the Vatican’s position on abortion and homosexuality, as well as doing more to deal with the sexual abuse crisis that has engulfed the church in recent years and clouded Benedict’s legacy.
In April 2019, Benedict discussed the sex abuse crisis in a public letter, claiming that it was caused in part by the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the liberalization of the church’s moral teachings.
In January 2020, Benedict was forced to distance himself from a book widely seen as undercutting Francis as he considered whether or not to allow married men to become priests in certain cases. The book, “From the Depths of Our Hearts,” argued in favor of the centuries-old tradition of priestly celibacy within the Catholic Church. Benedict was originally listed as co-author, but later clarified that he had only contributed one section of the text.
A year later, Benedict came under fire over his time as archbishop of Munich and Freising, between 1977 and 1982, following the publication of a Church-commissioned report into abuse by Catholic clergy there.
The report found that while in the post he had been informed of four cases of sexual abuse involving minors – including two that had occurred during his time in office – but failed to act. It also revealed Benedict had attended a meeting about an abuser identified as Priest X. Following the report’s publication, Benedict pushed back against accusations that he knew in 1980 that this priest was an abuser.
In a letter released by the Vatican amid the furor, Benedict wrote that he was “of good cheer” as he faced “the final judge of my life,” despite his shortcomings. He also issued a general apology to survivors of abuse.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/31/europe/pope-benedict-xvi-death-intl/index.html (Archive)
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