Obit: Pope Benedict XVI

by Alex Mallozzi

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Pope Benedict XVI, born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, was the 265th pope of the Catholic Church and the head of the Roman Catholic Church from 2005 to 2013. He died on 31 December 2022 in Vatican City.

He was born in Marktl, Germany in 1927 to a devoutly religious family. He was ordained a priest in 1951 and was named archbishop of Munich and Freising in 1977. He later became the Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith in 1981 and was made a cardinal in 1977 by Pope Paul VI.

In 2005, he was elected pope, taking the name Benedict XVI. Pope Benedict's papacy was marked by his commitment to traditional Catholic teachings and his strong adherence to the Church's orthodox stances on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. He worked to promote inter-religious dialogue and to strengthen ties between the Catholic Church and other religions. Pope Benedict was a strong advocate for the sanctity of human life and was a staunch opponent of abortion and euthanasia. He called for the protection of human life from conception to natural death. He sought to protect the vulnerable and the marginalized.