In the book What is Christianity, published after the death of Benedict XVI, there are texts of a retired pope written after his resignation. As Joseph Ratzinger himself explained, he did not want to publish it during his lifetime in order to avoid “anger” from his opponents in his homeland, in Germany. Benedict XVI wrote, among other things, about gay “clubs” in religious schools, and also about the fact that after his abdication he was “weary” and had no plan for what to do next.
Benedict XVI died December 31, 2022 i.d Buried in the Vatican Caves. He chose this burial place even before he resigned as Pope in 2013, and his will was communicated to his successor, Francis. In Italy, What is Christianity was published posthumously, a collection of hitherto unknown texts written by Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Emeritus.
In the letter quoted in the book, Benedict XVI wrote in May 2022: “This volume, which contains texts written by me in the Convent of Mother Church, will be published after my death.” The texts were created at his residence in the Vatican Gardens, where he lived for nearly 10 years.
“I don’t want to publish anything else in my life,” explained the retired pontiff. “The anger of the opposition circles in Germany is so strong that every word I say immediately provokes a verbal attack from them.” “I want to save myself and Christianity,” he added.
Benedict XVIPAP / Waldemar Disca
The coffin, along with the body of Benedict XVI, was carried in procession to the Vatican CathedralReuters
Benedict XVI: My books have been disguised as harmful literature
Benedict XVI revealed in his texts that “there have been individual bishops, and not only in the United States, who have rejected the Catholic tradition in its complexity, seeking in their dioceses to develop a kind of new modern Catholicism.”
The retired pontiff wrote: “It may be useful to highlight the fact that in quite a few theological students caught reading my books they were deemed unfit for the priesthood. My books were disguised as harmful literature and read only in secret.”
Recalling the moment he announced his resignation on February 11, 2013, he admitted he was “burned out” at the time. “I had no plan for what I would do in the new situation. I was too exhausted to plan other actions,” he notes. After Francis was elected, he slowly resumed his theological work.
Benedict XVI was Pope from 2005 to 2013ANSA / PAP / EPA
Gay “clubs” in seminars and the promise to “show a pornographic film”
The book also includes the words of Benedict XVI on the situation in seminaries. The author stated: “Gay ‘clubs’ were formed at a number of seminaries which operated more or less openly which, of course, changed the climate there”.
“In a seminary in southern Germany, candidates for the priesthood and candidates for a secular pastoral position lived together. At dinner together, the seminarians were side by side with these workers, accompanied by wives and children, and in some cases also a preacher. The seminary could not help the priesthood Upbringing.
Benedict XVI cited the example of a bishop, formerly the head of a seminary, who “promised the showing of pornographic films to his seminarians, presumably with a view to making them immune to faithless behavior.”
Main image source: ANSA / PAP / EPA
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