Profile: Pope Benedict XVI

The Vatican has been a pains to soften the Pope's image

Pope Benedict XVI came to the papacy with a reputation as a doctrinal hardliner, but since he was elected in 2005, he has turned out to be a less authoritarian leader than many expected.

The former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith - once known as the Holy Office of the Inquisition - from 1981 until his election. His defence of church doctrine led to him be called "the Pope's enforcer" and "God's rottweiler".

Since his election, the Vatican has been at pains to portray a softer image.

The music-loving, professorial Pope is described by those who know him as laid back, with a mild and humble manner.

Pope Benedict has a lower profile than that of his predecessor, John Paul II, and lacks his charisma and showmanship.

"If John Paul II had not been Pope, he would have been a movie star; if Benedict had not been Pope, he would have been a university professor. No surprise that John Paul took the world by storm, while Benedict stands a bit off the beaten path," wrote US Vatican expert John L Allen recently.

Despite this apparent lack of populist appeal, Pope Benedict consistently draws crowds as large as those of the late John Paul II to his weekly audiences.

Setbacks on Islam

Joseph Ratzinger was elected to the papacy in April 2005. At the age of 78, he was the oldest cardinal to become Pope since Clement XII was elected in 1730.

The public image was of a staunch defender of conservative theology. He campaigned against liberation theology, which had gained ground among priests in Latin America and elsewhere as a means of involving the Church in social activism and human rights issues - but to him it was too close to Marxism.

The Pope has focused on his defence of Christian values

He also described homosexuality as a "tendency" towards an "intrinsic moral evil" and has previously called for pro-choice politicians to be denied Communion.

In his first year in office, he upheld a ban on men with "deep-seated homosexual tendencies" becoming priests, but was said to be considering relaxing the Church's ban on condoms to allow their use by people infected with HIV.

But commentators say his papacy has not produced much of the hard-line action that many expected.

Critics who thought Benedict would do all he could to stamp out dissent have been surprised, says former BBC Vatican specialist Peter Gould.

He says the Pope has not appointed hard-line traditionalists to key posts. Instead he has promoted men who occupy the centre ground on Church issues.

A central theme of Pope Benedict's papacy has been his defence of core Christian values in the face of what he sees as moral decline across much of Europe.

Another theme is to improve the Church's relations with other religions. This, however, has not been without its setbacks, particularly in the Muslim world.

In 2006, in a controversial papal speech, the Pope quoted a 14th century Byzantine emperor who said the Prophet Muhammad had brought the world only "evil and inhuman" things. This provoked intense anger in the Muslim world. The Vatican denied that Pope Benedict had intended to offend Muslims.

He recently generated more anger among some Muslims by personally baptising a prominent Muslim convert, Magdi Allam, who has been an outspoken critic of Islamist militancy and a strong supporter of Israel.

Recently, however, the Pope has focused on encouraging Christian-Muslim dialogue.

Other issues that he has focused on are China, speaking out against human rights abuses, while quietly working to re-establish full diplomatic relations with the country. He has spoken out against the "continual slaughter" in Iraq, the "catastrophic" situation in Darfur, the urgent need to protect the environment and the "scandal" of poverty.

Conservative

Joseph Ratzinger was born into a traditional Bavarian farming family in 1927, although his father was a policeman.

The eighth German to become Pope, he speaks many languages and is said to be an accomplished pianist with a preference for Beethoven.

In his view, religion was being subordinated to a political ideology that he considered "tyrannical, brutal and cruel"

His studies at Traunstein seminary were interrupted during World War II when he was drafted into an anti-aircraft unit in Munich.

He deserted the German army towards the end of the war and was briefly held as a prisoner of war by the Allies in 1945.

His supporters say his experiences under the Nazi regime convinced him that the Church had to stand up for truth and freedom.

The Pope's conservative, traditionalist views were intensified by his experiences during the liberal 1960s.

He taught at the University of Bonn from 1959, and in 1966 took a chair in dogmatic theology at the University of Tuebingen.

However, he was appalled at the prevalence of Marxism among his students.

One incident in particular at Tuebingen, in which student protesters disrupted one of his lectures, seems to have particularly upset him.

In his view, religion was being subordinated to a political ideology that he considered "tyrannical, brutal and cruel".

"That experience made it clear to me that the abuse of faith had to be resisted precisely," he later wrote.

In 1969 he moved to Regensburg University in his native Bavaria - where he would return as Pope to make his controversial remarks on Islam in September 2006 - and eventually rose to become its dean and vice-president.

He was named Cardinal of Munich by Pope Paul VI in 1977.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version