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Joseph Cardinal RatzingerHis Eminence Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (born April 16, 1927) is a Cardinal Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1981 Cardinal Ratzinger was appointed prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith by Pope John Paul II, made a Cardinal Bishop of the episcopal see of Velletri-Segni in 1993, and was elected Dean of the College of Cardinals in 2002, becoming titular bishop of Ostia. One of the most influential men in Rome and a close associate of the late Pope John Paul II, he is one of those considered likely to become the new Pope. He will also preside over the funeral of John Paul II. Born in Marktl am Inn, in Bavaria, Germany, Ratzinger entered a preparatory seminary in 1939. In 1943, at the age of 16 he was, along with the rest of his class, drafted into the Flak or anti-aircraft corps, responsible for the guarding of a BMW plant outside Munich. He went into basic training for the Wehrmacht infantry in November of 1944. In 1945 he was interned in a POW camp as a German soldier. By June he was released, and he and his brother (Georg) re-entered the seminary. On June 29, 1951, he and his brother were ordained by Cardinal Faulhaber of Munich. His dissertation (1953) was on Saint Augustine, his Habilitationsschrift (second dissertation) on Saint Bonaventure. Ratzinger was a professor at the University of Bonn from 1959 until 1963, when he moved to the University of Mnster. In 1966, he took a chair in dogmatic theology at the University of Tbingen, where he was a colleague of Hans Kng but was confirmed in his traditionalist views by the liberal atmosphere of Tbingen and the Marxist leanings of the student movement of the 1960s. In 1969 he returned to Bavaria, to the University of Regensburg. At the Second Vatican Council (1962 – 1965), Ratzinger served as a peritus or chief theological expert, to Cardinal Joseph Frings of Cologne, Germany. In 1972, he founded the theological journal Communio with Hans Urs von Balthasar, Henri de Lubac and others. Communio, now published in German, English, and Spanish editions, has become one of the most important journals of Catholic thought. In March 1977 Ratzinger was named archbishop of Munich and Freising and in the consistory that June was named a Cardinal by Pope Paul VI. Today he is one of only 14 remaining cardinals appointed by Paul VI. On November 25, 1981 Pope John Paul II named Ratzinger prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, formerly known as the Holy Office of the Inquisition, which was renamed in 1908 by Pope Pius X. He resigned the Munich archdiocese in early 1982, became cardinal-bishop of Velletri-Segni in 1993, vice-dean of the College of Cardinals in 1998, and was elected Dean in 2002. In office, Ratzinger usually takes conservative views on topics such as birth control and inter-religious dialogue. He has been closer to John Paul II than any other cardinal, and Ratzinger and the Pope have been called "intellectual bedfellows". On September 30, 2003, Ratzinger's statement, "We should pray for the Pope", was published by the German weekly Bunte, and subsequently, the quote made headlines worldwide, raising questions about the Pope's health and fuelling speculation that the Pope was nearing death. On January 2, 2005, Time quoted unnamed Vatican sources as saying that Ratzinger was a frontrunner to succeed John Paul II should the Pope die or become too ill to continue as Pontiff. His see, Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia, has traditionally been an antechamber to the Papal seat. The Spectactor writes: - There can be little doubt that his courageous promotion of orthodox Catholic teaching has earned him the respect of his fellow cardinals throughout the world. He is patently holy, highly intelligent and sees clearly what is at stake. Indeed, for those who blame the decline of Catholic practice in the developed world precisely on the propensity of many European bishops to hide their heads in the sand, a pope who confronts it may be just what is required. Ratzinger is no longer young he is 77 years old: but Angelo Roncalli was the same age when he became Pope as John XXIII. He turned the Church upside-down by calling the Second Vatican Council and was perhaps the best-loved pontiff of modern times. As Jeff Israely, the correspondent of Time, was told by a Vatican insider last month, "The Ratzinger solution is definitely on".
Ratzinger was considered to be Pope John Paul II's "right hand man" and also one of his closest friends, and during the Pope's final illness, he carried out many of the Pope's functions as leader of the Catholic Church. Ratzinger has repeatedly stated he would like to retire to a Bavarian village and dedicate himself to writing books, but more recently, he told friends he was ready to "accept any charge God placed on him." After the death of John Paul II on April 2, 2005 Ratzinger ceased functioning as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. If Ratzinger is not elected Pope in the upcoming Papal Election, it will be up to the next Pope as to whether or not Ratzinger continues in his role as Prefect. Ratzinger speaks 10 languages and has received 7 honorary doctorates. If he is elected Pope, he will not be the first of the German Popes. Works - Unterwegs zu Jesus Christus, Augsburg 2003.
- Glaube - Wahrheit - Toleranz. Das Christentum und die Weltreligionen, 2. Aufl., Freiburg i. Brsg. 2003.
- Gott ist uns nah. Eucharistie: Mitte des Lebens. Hrsg. von Horn, Stephan Otto/ Pfnr, Vinzenz, Augsburg 2001.
- Gott und die Welt. Glauben und Leben in unserer Welt. Ein Gesprch mit Peter Seewald, Kln 2000.
- Der Geist der Liturgie. Eine Einfhrung, 4. Aufl., Freiburg i. Brsg. 2000.
- Vom Wiederauffinden der Mitte. Texte aus vier Jahrzehnten, Freiburg i. Brsg. 1997.
- Salz der Erde. Christentum und katholische Kirche an der Jahrtausendwende. Ein Gesprch mit Peter Seewald, Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Mnchen, 1996, ISBN 3-453-14845-2
- Wahrheit, Werte, Macht. Prfsteine der pluralistischen Gesellschaft, Freiburg/ Basel/ Wien 1993.
- Zur Gemeinschaft gerufen. Kirche heute verstehen, Freiburg/ Basel/ Wien 1991.
- Auf Christus schauen. Einbung in Glaube, Hoffnung, Liebe, Freiburg/ Basel/ Wien 1989.
- Abbruch und Aufbruch. Die Antwort des Glaubens auf die Krise der Werte, Mnchen 1988.
- Kirche, kumene und Politik. Neue Versuche zur Ekklesiologie Spaemann zum 60. Geburtstag zugeeignet, Einsiedeln 1987.
- Politik und Erlsung. Zum Verhltnis von Glaube, Rationalitt und Irrationalem in der sogenannten Theologie der Befreiung (= Rheinisch-Westflische Akademie der Wissenschaften: G (Geisteswissenschaften), Bd. 279), Opladen 1986.
- Theologische Prinzipienlehre. Bausteine zur Fundamentaltheologie (= Wewelbuch, Bd. 80), Mnchen 1982.
- Das Fest des Glaubens. Versuche zur Theologie des Gottesdienstes, 2. Aufl., Einsiedeln 1981.
- Eschatologie, Tod und ewiges Leben, Leipzig 1981.
- Glaube, Erneuerung, Hoffnung. Theologisches Nachdenken ber die heutige Situation der Kirche. Hrsg. von Kraning, Willi, Leipzig 1981.
- Umkehr zur Mitte. Meditationen eines Theologen, Leipzig 1981.
- Zum Begriff des Sakramentes (= Eichsttter Hochschulreden, Bd. 79), Mnchen 1979.
- Die Tochter Zion. Betrachtungen ber den Marienglaube der Kirche, Einsiedeln 1977.
- Der Gott Jesu Christi. Betrachtungen ber den Dreieinigen Gott, Mnchen 1976.
- Das neue Volk Gottes. Entwrfe zur Ekklesiologie (Topos-Taschenbcher, Bd. 1) Dsseldorf 1972.
- Die Einheit der Nationen. Eine Vision der Kirchenvter (= Bcherei der Salzburger Hochschulwochen), Salzburg u.a. 1971.
- Das Problem der Dogmengeschichte in der Sicht der katholischen Theologie (= Arbeitsgemeinschaft fr Forschungen des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen: Geisteswissenschaften, Bd. 139), Kln u.a. 1966.
- Die letzte Sitzungsperiode des Konzils (= Konzil, Bd. 4), Kln 1966.
- Ereignisse und Probleme der dritten Konzilsperiode (= Konzil, Bd. 3), Kln 1965.
- Die erste Sitzungsperiode des Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzils. Ein Rckblick (= Konzil, Bd. 1), Kln 1963.
- Das Konzil auf dem Weg. Rckblick auf die 2. Sitzungsperiode des 2. Vatikanischen Konzils (= Konzil, Bd. 2), Kln 1963.
- Die christliche Brderlichkeit, Mnchen 1960.
- Die Geschichtstheologie des heiligen Bonaventura (Habilitationsschrift), Mnchen u.a. 1959.
- Volk und Haus Gottes in Augustins Lehre von der Kirche (= Mnchner theologische Studien 2/7, zugl. Mnchen, Univ., Diss., 1951.), Mnchen 1954.
- Dogma und Verkndigung
- Einfhrung in das Christentum (2000)
Literature - Allen, John L.: Cardinal Ratzinger : the Vatican's enforcer of the faith. - New York : Continuum, 2000
- Wagner, Karl: Kardinal Ratzinger : der Erzbischof in Mnchen und Freising in Wort und Bild. - Mnchen : Pfeiffer, 1977
See also External links Ratzinger, Joseph Ratzinger, Joseph Ratzinger, Joseph Ratzinger, Joseph Ratzinger, Joseph
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