Benedict XVI, who shocked the world’s 1.2 billion followers of the Roman Catholic Church when he became the first pope to resign in almost six centuries, has died. He was 95.
Benedict XVI passed away on Saturday at 9.34am in his residence, the official Vatican News agency said on Twitter. The public will be able to pay respects to Benedict from January 2 when his body will be on view in Saint Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican said.
“With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican.”
Benedict relinquished the leadership of the church in 2013, saying that he no longer had the “strength of mind and body” to fulfil his duties. He was succeeded by Argentinian Pope Francis the following month and took the first title of pope emeritus.
The end to Benedict’s almost eight-year papacy capped a tumultuous period for the church, which had come under attack for doing little to punish paedophile priests and covering up evidence of widespread child abuse.
As a German cardinal then known as Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict XVI was elected as pope in 2005 following the death of John Paul II. Succeeding such a charismatic, revered pope — John Paul II was swiftly put on the path to sainthood — wasn’t going to be easy even under normal circumstances. But crimes kept buried during his predecessor’s time would loom large during Benedict’s papacy.
There were allegations of sexual violence by Catholic clergy in Australia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, the US and elsewhere. As the media uncovered court records of the church’s mishandling of sex crimes dating back half a century, Benedict faced questions over why he had failed to act on past warnings.
Under John Paul II, he had occupied one of the most important jobs in the church — defending Catholic doctrine and investigating crimes such as claims of sexual abuse. As a high-ranking cardinal and head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he had been in a position to probe the allegations.
Groups representing victims of abuse demanded his abdication. The scandal plunged the papacy into what Swiss theologian Hans Kueng called “its worst crisis since the Reformation”. Benedict apologised to victims of abuse and to their families but was criticised for not turning his words into action.
On 28 February 2013, Benedict became the first pontiff to step down since Gregory ...