A Tribute to Pope Benedict
Pope Benedict XVI, The Emeritus Pope
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, was born at Marktl am Inn, Diocese of Passau (Germany) on 16 April 1927 (Holy Saturday) and was baptized on the same day.
His father, a Police Commissioner, belonged to an old family of farmers from Lower Bavaria of modest economic resources. His mother was the daughter of artisans from Rimsting on the shore of Lake Chiem. Before marrying, she worked as a cook in a number of hotels.
Joseph spent his childhood and adolescence in Traunstein, a small village near the Austrian border, thirty kilometres from Salzburg. In this environment, which he himself has defined as “Mozartian”, he received his Christian, cultural and human formation.
His youthful years were not easy. His faith and the education received at home prepared him for the harsh experience of those years during which the Nazi regime pursued a hostile attitude towards the Catholic Church. The young Joseph saw how some Nazis beat the Parish Priest before the celebration of Mass.
It was precisely during that complex situation that he discovered the beauty and truth of faith in Christ; fundamental for this was his family’s attitude, who always gave a clear witness of goodness and hope, rooted in a convinced attachment to the Church.
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was elected to the papacy on April 19, 2005, as the 265th Pope. He was the oldest person to be elected Pope since 1730 and had been a Cardinal for a longer period of time than any Pope since 1724.
On 11 February 2013, during the Ordinary Public Consistory for the Vote on several Causes for Canonization, Benedict announced his decision to resign from the Petrine ministry with these words:
“After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the barque of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom, I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter.”
(taken from his official bio)
Throughout his early years, Pope Benedict’s life was filled with suffering. When one suffers much, one grows in compassion and empathy towards others. There were times in his papacy when it was evident of the position of his heart, especially when he felt called to address hard topics like limbo.
Limbo is a complicated topic, and there has been much speculation and debate about it throughout the history of the Church. The doctrine of Limbo developed out of theological controversy concerning two Truths that are difficult to reconcile: (1) God wills the salvation of all, while (2) Baptism is necessary for salvation.
The fifth-century heretic Pelagius took the comforting but intellectually slack way out by simply denying the reality of original sin and, therefore, also denying the necessity of infant Baptism. In response to Pelagius, St. Augustine formulated the notion of what would be described later as the “Limbo of the Children” (limbus infantium or limbus puerorum). St. Augustine held that without Baptism, none could be saved (on account of original sin), but that unbaptized infants had not committed any personal sin that would merit particular punishment.
During this time, the teaching was necessary to confirm baptism's necessity, but it left the faithful who were confident in baptism but unable to choose anguish over where their baby was. To one who has not experienced the loss of a baby in utero, you may not understand the necessity of having clarity in this teaching. For many families of pregnancy loss, the very thought of not knowing where their baby was would keep them awake at night.
Pope Benedict, himself a top theologian who, before his election in 2005, expressed doubts about limbo and authorized the publication of the document called “The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die Without Being Baptised.” In a long-awaited document, the Church’s International Theological Commission said limbo reflected an “unduly restrictive view of salvation.” The 41-page document was published by Origins, the documentary service of the U.S.-based Catholic News Service, which is part of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Because of Pope Benedict, families who struggle with knowing where their baby is after pregnancy loss can look to the love that he carefully addressed about limbo, one may draw a conclusion that it was because of Pope Benedict’s deep confidence in God’s love and mercy that the message of limbo did not sit well with him knowing it could confuse and bring doubts to the faithful.
The verdict that limbo could now rest in peace had been expected for years. The document was seen as most likely the final word since limbo was never part of Church doctrine, even though it was taught to Catholics well into the 20th century.
“The conclusion of this study is that there are theological and liturgical reasons to hope that infants who die without baptism may be saved and brought into eternal happiness even if there is not an explicit teaching on this question found in revelation,” it said.
“People find it increasingly difficult to accept that God is just and merciful if he excludes infants, who have no personal sins, from eternal happiness, whether they are Christian or non-Christian,” the document said.
The commission’s conclusions had been widely expected.
In writings before his election as Pope in 2005, the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger made it clear he believed the concept of limbo should be abandoned because it was “only a theological hypothesis” and “never a defined truth of faith.”
In the Divine Comedy, Dante placed virtuous pagans and great classical philosophers, including Plato and Socrates, in limbo. The Catholic Church’s official catechism, issued in 1992 after decades of work, dropped the mention of limbo.
There are many reasons to give thanks and gratitude to God for the life of his good and faithful servant. But for the families of Red Bird and all families of pregnancy loss, we want to take this moment in history to thank Pope Benedict for his courage to speak out against this teaching, especially to reexamine a teaching that was first introduced by a doctor of the Church St. Augustine, one of my favorites. We commend him on the courage it took to look at it again and seek the truth through prayer, discernment, and a committee of holy men.
Pope Benedict April 16, 1927, to December 31, 2022
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.