ANALYSIS | Pope Benedict XVI: A man at odds with modern world leaves legacy of brilliance, controversy | News24

While the brilliance of Benedict XVI's intellectual legacy will certainly endure, it will also have to contend with the shadows of the numerous controversies that marked his time as pope and, later, as pope emeritus, writes Mathew Schmalz.

Benedict XVI leaves behind a complex legacy as a Pope and theologian.

To many observers, Benedict, who died on Dec. 31, 2022 at the age of 95, was known for criticising what he saw as the modern world’s rejection of God and Christianity’s timeless truths. But as a scholar of the diversity of global Catholicism, I think it’s best to avoid simple characterisations of Benedict’s theology, which I believe will influence the Catholic Church for generations.

While the brilliance of this intellectual legacy will certainly endure, it will also have to contend with the shadows of the numerous controversies that marked Benedict’s time as pope and, later, as pope emeritus.

Priest and professor

Benedict was born Josef Alois Ratzinger on April 16, 1927, in Marktl am Inn, Germany. During World War II, he was required to join the Hitler Youth, a wing of the Nazi Party. He was later drafted into an anti-aircraft unit and then the infantry of Nazi Germany.

In 1945, he deserted the German military and was held as a prisoner of war by the Americans; he was released when World War II con...
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