Born Joseph Ratzinger in Germany, Benedict was 78 when he became one of the oldest popes ever elected in 2005. He led the Catholic Church for less than eight years until 2013, when he stepped down, becoming the first sovereign pontiff in 600 years to do so. During much of his pontificate, the Catholic Church was accused of child abuse by priests.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died on Saturday at the age of 95.

“God’s Rottweiler”

Reuters and AFP present the moments that marked the life and pontificate of Benedict, who stepped down in 2013, the first sovereign pontiff in 600 years to do so.

Benedict XVI was elected pope on April 19, 2005, replacing the popular John Paul II, who had led the Catholic Church for 27 years. Benedict was the first German pope in 1,000 years. The cardinals chose him from among themselves, looking for continuity and, as one of them called, “a reliable person.”

Born in 1927, Joseph Ratzinger taught theology in Germany for 25 years before being appointed Archbishop of Munich. For nearly another 25 years as a cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger was head of the Vatican’s doctrinal office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). An uncompromising theological conservative, Ratzinger left Germany and the post of archbishop of Munich in 1982 to head the CDF. His disciplinary actions against priests in Latin America who promoted Marxist-influenced liberation theology earned him the nickname “God’s Rottweiler.”

A weak administrator who admitted to a “lack of decisiveness in governance and decision-making”, Benedict had an eight-year pontificate marked by mistakes and a leak scandal. As head of the Catholic Church, he defended the conservative line, especially on abortion, homosexuality and euthanasia.

He angered Muslims by suggesting that Islam is inherently violent. He angered Jews by rehabilitating a Holocaust denier and horrified the international community when he said the use of condoms in the fight against AIDS only made the problem worse.

“Vatileaks” scandal.

The “Vatileaks” scandal of 2012 contributed to the collapse of his pontificate. Paolo Gabriele, Benedict XVI’s butler, revealed secret documents that showed the Roman Curia (the Vatican’s “government”) was plagued by intrigue, corruption and a lack of financial rigor.

But his renunciation of the pontificate, announced in Latin on February 11, 2013, was a personal decision related to the weakening of his powers, not the pressure of scandals, the former pope said in a book of confidence published in 2016.

Child abuse scandals dogged most of his pontificate, but he is credited with initiating the process of disciplining or excommunicating abusive priests after a more lenient approach under John Paul II.

He ordered an investigation into abuses in Ireland, which led to the resignation of several bishops. He brought to disciplinary responsibility the priest Martial Maciel, who died in the meantime, the founder of the Catholic order of the Legionaries of Christ and one of the most famous abusers in the Church. The Vatican under Pope John Paul II took no action against Maciel, despite overwhelming evidence of his crimes.

In 2022, an independent report from Germany, Benedict XVI’s home country, alleged that he had failed to act on four occasions during his tenure as archbishop of Munich between 1977 and 1982. The former Pope admitted in an emotional personal letter that he had made a mistake and asked for forgiveness. In a lengthy response, his lawyers argued that he was not directly guilty.

“Actually, I’m more of a teacher”

Confusion about the “two popes” was compounded by Benedict’s decision to continue wearing white robes and to be known as “pope emeritus.” The resulting polarization has led both conservatives and liberals in the Church to call for changes in canon law to regulate the functions and status of former popes.

Benedict wrote more than 60 books between 1963, when he was a priest, and 2013, when he resigned as head of the Catholic Church. “Actually, I am more of a teacher, a person who reflects and reflects on spiritual matters,” Benedict said after his resignation, Agerpres reported, citing Reuters and AFP.

He played the piano and loved Mozart and Bach. As a classical musician, he disapproved of rock and roll as “an expression of base passions” and once called popular music “a cult of banality.” Pope Francis also likes classical music, but he appreciates Italian pop songs from the early 1960s, and he also likes tango music from his native Argentina.

The latest video of Benedict XVI, released by the Vatican in August on the occasion of the traditional visit of new cardinals, shows an emaciated man with a hearing aid, unable to speak but with a still-lively gaze.