Letters | From China to Iraq, the legacy and lessons of former Pope Benedict

Readers discuss lessons from the eight-year papacy of Benedict XVI, and the current information war around Ukraine

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A picture of Pope Benedict XVI between the pages of a hymn book during Mass at a church in Beijing on Christmas Day in 2005. As soon as he was elected, Benedict made clear he wanted to re-establish diplomatic relations with China that were severed in 1951. The Vatican announced on December 31, 2022 that Benedict had died at age 95. Photo: AP

Published: 11:30am, 3 Jan 2023

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The former Pope Benedict died on the last day of 2022, raising mixed feelings among Catholics as we also celebrate the start of 2023. I would like to emphasise three often overlooked aspects of his eight-year pontificate.

Although Benedict never visited Hong Kong, it is worth noting that both of Hong Kong’s cardinals were elevated by him. Also, he appointed Hong Kong priest Savio Hon Tai-fai as secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, making him the highest-ranking Chinese to have served in the Roman Curia.

Benedict held his flock in China dearly in his heart, founding a commission which worked with the so-called bridge churches in Hong Kong and Macau to support the faithful on the mainland and maintain dialogue with the Chinese government. His letter to Chinese Catholics not only provided pastoral guidance, but also laid the groundwork for the normalisation of the church’s status in China, although official diplomatic ties have not yet been restored.

Benedict was committed to Christian unity and interfaith dialogue. His ecumenical theology paved the way for Anglicans to join the Catholic Church. In addition, Benedict sought reconciliation with Muslims and Jews and was concerned with the peace process in the Middle East. Notably, he condemned violence in the name of religion, including the war in Iraq.

Although there was a scandal in his final years over his handling of cases of abuse by priests when he was archbishop of Munich, Benedict had been instrumental in formulating a more assertive response to sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. He was the first pope to meet abuse victims. In the last two years of his pontificate, he defrocked about 400 priests for sexual abuse.

Benedict will be remembered as a traditionalist, but he broke with tradition when he resigned the papacy in 2013 and was supportive of necessary reforms that made the church more accessible. As we arrive at the crossroads of our times, perhaps his example could shed some light on how we can seek and defend the truth, while keeping an open mind.