Will Pope Benedict XVI be the last Pope?
Published on April 20, 2005 By Abitana Hachamba In Religion
Hello Friends,

What is the future of the Papacy? Will the new Pope, Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) be the last pope? What do you think?

Profile: Joseph Ratzinger
German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who has been elected Pope, has played the role of doctrinal watchdog at the Vatican since 1981.

Under the 78-year-old's meek demeanour lies a steely intellect ready to dissect theological works for their dogmatic purity and debate fiercely against dissenters.

His traditionalist judgments have delighted fellow conservatives and outraged liberal Catholics and members of other faiths.

Born in Bavaria in 1927, Ratzinger first gained attention as a liberal theological adviser at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). The Marxism and atheism of the 1968 student protests across Europe prompted him to become more conservative to defend the faith against growing secularism.

After stints as a leading theology professor and then archbishop of Munich, Ratzinger was appointed head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), the successor office to the Inquisition, in 1981.

In that office, Ratzinger first turned towards "liberation theology" popular in Latin America, quieting its theologians.

In 1986, he issued a firm Vatican denunciation of homosexuality and gay marriage. He brought pressure in the 1990s against theologians, mostly in Asia, who saw non-Christian religions as part of God's plan for humanity.

A 2004 document sternly denounced "radical feminism" as an ideology that undermined the family and obscured the natural differences between men and women.

His combative side came out in 2000 in a dispute over a CDF document entitled Dominus Iesus. Aimed at restating the primacy of the Roman Catholic Church against the more inclusive views in Asia, it branded other Christian denominations as deficient or not quite real churches.

Anglican, Lutheran and other Protestant churches which had been in ecumenical dialogue with Rome for years were shocked. They were further upset when Ratzinger dismissed protests from Lutherans as "absurd".

He raised eyebrows with unusually sharp criticism of the Church when he took the Pope's place at a Good Friday mass in 2005. "How much filth there is in the Church, even among those who, in the priesthood, should belong entirely to Him. How much pride, how much self-sufficiency," he said.

One of Pope John Paul II's closest advisers, Ratzinger grew in power over the years.

In 2002, he added an influential post when he became dean of the College of Cardinals which elects the next pontiff.

He gave a widely praised homily at Pope John Paul II's funeral.





Comments
on Apr 20, 2005
Its interesting to note that your facts about the new Pope fomer Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger have been thoughroughly researched. I am particularly interested in responding to the subject title "Will Pope Benedict XVI be the Last Pope?"

If you have followed the "marian Apparitions" very closely you will discover that it was widely believed that Pope John Paul II would be the last Pope and the end of the world would come. This was widely circulated within the marian movement as a messege that came from Mary when she appeared to the three teenagers at Fatima in Portugal. Now if you consider the new Pope's very first messege to the people who were gathered at St Peter Sq to welcome him in my view we do not have much longer to stay on earth. This new pope has already began to fulfil prophecy which says "he (the papacy) will seek to exhaut himself above all that is called God and sit in the very place of God saying he is God" This is frightening but true. Just consider some excepts I got from his speech below:

"Grace and peace and abundance to all of you. By choosing me... the Lord has called me to be a rock on which everybody can stand with confidence".

Now you and Me know that there is only one Rock. The Rock of Ages upon which the church is founded. how can mortal man seek to be a rock for fellow humans unless he seeks to usurpe the kingdom of God. Just look at this other excerpt:

"[I] am willing to do everything in my power to promote the fundamental cause of ecumenism... and am fully determined to accept every initiative that seems opportune to promote contact and understanding among representatives of the various churches and ecclesiastical communities. I take this opportunity to send all of them my most cordial greetings in Christ, the only Lord of all".

We are sure headed for the time of trouble Elder.