Francesco Zanardi, founder of the Italian victims' group Rete l'Abuso stated that "Ratzinger was less communicative than Francis but he moved" in the right direction, and that he was the first pontiff to effectively do so. Following his 14th birthday in 1941, Ratzinger was conscripted into the Hitler Youth – as membership was required by law for all 14-year-old German boys after March 1939 [30] – but was an unenthusiastic member who refused to attend meetings, according to his brother.

Benedict's second encyclical titled Spe Salvi ("Saved by Hope"), about the virtue of hope, was released on 30 November 2007. Pope denounces gay marriage as 'people manipulating their God-given gender to suit sexual choices' ".

In a statement, he cited his deteriorating strength and the physical and mental demands of the papacy; [236] addressing his cardinals in Latin, he gave a brief statement announcing his resignation. Main article: Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI Benedict in a popemobile at his final Wednesday General Audience in St. In a message released 14 November 2006, during a Vatican press conference for the 2007 annual observance of World Day for Migrants and Refugees, the Pope urged the ratification of international conventions and policies that defend all migrants, including refugees, exiles, evacuees and internally displaced persons. Some voices, among them Küng, deemed this period in Ratzinger's life a turn towards conservatism, while Ratzinger himself said in a 1993 interview, "I see no break in my views as a theologian [over the years]". He took as his episcopal motto Cooperatores veritatis ( Latin for 'cooperators of the truth'), [56] from the Third Epistle of John, [57] a choice on which he commented in his autobiographical work Milestones.

The Joseph Ratzinger–Benedict XVI Roman Library at the Pontifical Teutonic College was announced in April 2015 and was scheduled to open to scholars in November 2015. Just a year after its foundation in 1990, Ratzinger joined the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in Salzburg. His first tweet was made on 12 December and was "Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. He had served there as a professor of theology before becoming Pope, and his lecture was entitled "Faith, Reason and the University – Memories and Reflections". He attacked "gender theories", which he described as "man's attempt at self-emancipation from creation and the Creator.

Main article: Ceremonial of Benedict XVI Benedict wearing a red Cappello romano during an open-air Mass in front of St. Fisher, Ian "Pope tries to quell anger over speech he gave in Brazil", The New York Times, 23 May 2007. As a German soldier, he was interned in US prisoner of war camps, first in Neu-Ulm, then at Fliegerhorst Bad Aibling (shortly to be repurposed as Bad Aibling Station) where he was at the time of Victory in Europe Day, and released on 19 June 1945.

He was a member of several social science academies, such as the French Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques. Pius X: Mired in Antisemitism" Archived 16 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine The Anti-Defamation League 26 January 2009. The first beatification under the new pope was celebrated on 14 May 2005, by José Cardinal Saraiva Martins, Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.Apostolic Journey to Cologne: Vigil with youth at Marienfeld area (August 20, 2005) | Benedict XVI". Peter's Basilica, a woman later identified as 25-year-old Susanna Maiolo, who holds Italian and Swiss citizenship, jumped the barrier and grabbed the Pope by his vestments and pulled him to the ground. Following the consistory of 27 August 2022, Francis and the newly created cardinals paid a brief visit to Benedict at Mater Ecclesiae Monastery. Following the announcement of his resignation, the Vatican revealed that Benedict had been fitted with a pacemaker while he was still a cardinal, before his election as pope in 2005.