Benedict XVI

Joseph Ratzinger was one of the most respected Catholic theologians of the twentieth century before he became pope. As a young peritus at Vatican II, he helped shape the Council's documents. As Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under John Paul II, he earned a reputation as a doctrinal enforcer, though his actual writings were far more nuanced than the "God's Rottweiler" nickname suggested. As pope, he wrote three encyclicals and a three-volume work on Jesus of Nazareth that combined scholarly rigor with devotional warmth. He liberalized access to the Traditional Latin Mass, hoping to reconcile traditionalists with the broader Church. He confronted the sexual abuse crisis more directly than his predecessor, meeting with victims and defrocking hundreds of abusive priests. But he struggled with Vatican governance, and the Vatileaks scandal exposed dysfunction and infighting within the Curia. In February 2013, citing declining strength, he became the first pope since Gregory XII in 1415 to resign. He spent his remaining years as "Pope Emeritus" in quiet prayer within the Vatican, a role without precedent that created its own awkwardness. He died in December 2022.