Benedict XVI’s death: Pope emeritus asks for “forgiveness” in his spiritual order

Published on 31/12/2022 at 20:49Reading Time: 2 minutes

LPope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday at the age of 95, asked for “forgiveness” in his spiritual testament written in 2006 to all those he had “harmed”.

“To all whom I have wronged in one way or another, I apologize from the bottom of my heart,” Joseph Ratzinger, pope from 2005 to 2013, said in a speech dated August 29, 2006, published by the Saturday Evening Post. Service of the Holy See.

The former pope, who was implicated in early 2022 for handling child abuse cases in Germany as archbishop of Munich (1977-1982), has already “apologised”, insisting he never covered up the crimes. “I pray that our land may be a land of faith, dear patriots, and do not be swayed from the faith,” writes the 265th pope, surprising the world by abdicating his post before retiring. to a monastery for nearly ten years. “Stay firm in the faith! Don’t be confused! “, he reiterates.

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Benedict XVI, who held a conservative position as head of the Catholic Church from 2005 to 2013, distanced himself from some scientific advances. “I have long lived through the changes of natural science,” he writes, “and, on the contrary, I have been able to observe how the apparent assertions against faith have disappeared.”

He thanks God for his parents, his sister and his brother and “many friends, collaborators, teachers and students” who stood by him. “I want to thank God for my beautiful homeland at the foot of the Alps. Bavaria, in which I have seen the glory of the Creator always shining,” he adds.

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