This week in Christian history: CS Lewis marries, Ratzinger becomes pope

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, April 17, 2022

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger elected pope – April 18, 2005

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany addresses the faithful as the new pope in this frame from TV, at the Vatican, Tuesday, April 19, 2005. Bells chimed at St. Peter's Basilica Tuesday evening, announcing to the world that a new pope was elected.

This week marks the anniversary of when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, a prominent theologically conservative German leader in the Roman Catholic Church, was elected pope.

Taking the name Benedict XVI upon his becoming pontiff, Ratzinger succeeded Pope John Paul II and served as head of the Catholic Church until his retirement in February 2013.

During his reign, Benedict XVI continued to deal with controversies over hot-button social issues like abortion and homosexuality, and the ongoing priest abuse scandal.

“For many feminists, gays, dissident theologians, liberal Catholics of various stripes, and victims of clerical abuse, Benedict simply wasn't the pope they wanted. Others will be inclined to celebrate Benedict not so much for what he did, but what he represented,” read a 2013 column published by the National Catholic Reporter. “For someone who proclaimed himself a ‘humble laborer in the vineyard of the Lord’ in his first remarks as the bishop of Rome, it's probably enough to say he tried his best and had the courage to walk away when he believed his best was no longer good enough.”