Pope Benedict 16th has gone to his eternal rest after a life of service, teaching and ruling the Catholic Church. He was pope from April 19, 2005 until his resignation on Feb. 28, 2013. Many remember him as a much revered and greatly respected priest, bishop and pope. He has been lauded by many on the conservative side of the Catholic Church. Before becoming pope, he was known as Joseph Ratzinger of German nationality. He became a priest in 1951 and later, in 1977, was made a bishop and then pope in 2005.
As priest, bishop and cardinal, he was a renowned academic and theologian and author of 66 books, three encyclical letters on love (2005), hope (2007) and "charity in truth" (2009). He was a conservative traditional pope and he reinstated the pre-Vatican 2 Latin liturgy with Mass in Latin, later reversed by Pope Francis. Although a kind and thoughtful person with a wide theological reputation, he was unable to cope with the reality of the widespread child sexual abuse by priests in the church like many bishops today.
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