Arguffy, the most incendiary issue that Benedict faced to become Pope, were the continuous consequences of children’s sexual abuse by Catholic priests, as well as the accusations of an concealment effort by the administration of the Church.
When Benedict became Pope in 2005, the Catholic Church was in the midst of a very public calculation with its history of sexual abuse, a crisis on which it was very well informed. In 2001, John Paul II facilitated the CDF to centralize all investigations on accusations of abuse, eliminating that power from local dioceses after it was clear that they did not take measures against predatory priests. As head of the CDF, then Cardinal Ratzinger worked to establish new procedures to inform and punish the clergy accused of sexual abuse.
As Pope, Benedict spoke repeatedly against the legacy of sexual abuse of the Church, apologized to the victims and disfigured hundreds of priests who had been convicted. However, for many, their actions fell short, in part because it could not make the public investigations of the Vatican about the accusations of abuse, a lack of transparency that allowed the dioceses to keep these accusations of the parishioners and police authorities.
“In all the history of the Church, nobody knew more, but made less to protect the children than Benedict,” said the survivors’ network abused by priests (SNAP) in a statement in 2013, in response to the coverage of Pope Emeritus. “As head of CDF, thousands of cases of predatory priests crossed their desk. Did you choose to warn families or the police about one of those dangerous clergymen? No. that, by definition, is a cover -up.”
The rumors of corruption and secret balances in the Holy See also affected Benedict’s mandate as Pope, which culminated in the “Vatileaks” scandal in 2012.
On February 10, 2013, Benedict surprised the world by announcing his papacy’s resignation. “After repeatedly examining my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suitable for an adequate exercise of the Petrina Ministry,” he said in his.
His decision to retire was dramatized later in the 2019 film. The two potatoesin which Benedict was portrayed by Anthony Hopkins, who was nominated for an Oscar for his performance.
As Pope Emeritus, Benedict made a conscious effort to stay out of the public eye. He liked to be known for such a high title after his resignation and asked others to simply call him “Father Benedict.” However, he made public appearances in events of theological importance, such as the canonization mass of Pope John XIII and Pope John Paul II on April 27, 2014.
On September 4, 2020, at the age of 93, four months and 19 days, Benedict became the Pope of the history of greater life.