The course, Thursday, January 5, of the funeral of Joseph Ratzinger, pope from 2005 to 2013, is, with a few details, that of a sovereign pontiff in exercise, even if it is not a question of funeral ‘State.
by Sarah Belouezane
Faced with the body exposed under the bronze ball of the Italian sculptor Le Bernin, in the Saint-Pierre Basilica of Rome, a man is on his knees, in meditation. The Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, is not Catholic, but he held, Tuesday, January 3, to come and pay tribute personally to Benoît XVI, Pope Emeritus, died on Saturday December 31, 2022, and whose funeral is scheduled for Thursday, January 5 . The two men knew each other and, it seems, appreciated.
The funeral of Joseph Ratzinger, who was Pope from 2005 to 2013, before his spectacular resignation, are not a state event. Only Italian and German leaders are officially invited. But, like Mr. Orban, several political and religious dignitaries decided to come and bow, privately, before the remains of the predecessor of François.
A ballet that takes the appearance of a rallying demonstration to the conservative conception of the company and the Church which was that of ex-cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the name of Benoît XVI, before he Do not access the throne of Saint-Pierre.
The Hungarian Prime Minister was not to be present on Thursday. This representation role was to be provided by the country’s president, Katalin Novak. The Polish president, Andrzej Duda, another conservative figure, is also expected for the funeral, as well as the Archbishop Emeritus of Hong Kong, Joseph Zen Ze-Kiun, whose passport is retained by the Chinese authorities, but who obtained an authorization special exit from the territory.
a defying world with regard to François
Criticism towards Pope Francis’s policy with regard to China, the prelate is also known for having regretted certain liturgical reforms of the in activity. His coming to the Vatican illustrates the fact that Joseph Ratzinger had become the tutelary figure of an entire conservative world, defying with regard to François, perceived as too much on social issues, especially migrants, and not enough on theology.
France, for its part, was to be represented by the Minister of the Interior and Cults, Gérald Darmanin, and the United States, however led by the Catholic Joe Biden, by their simple ambassador to the Vatican.
Recognized theologian, great figure of the Church of the XX e century, Joseph Ratzinger attracted, according to the sociologist Yann Raison du Cleuziou, of the University of Bordeaux, the attention of conservative circles Long before his accession to the dignity of Pope. As a prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, he appeared as a guardian of the Catholic temple, of “intellectual watch to defend the orthodoxy of the faith”, according to the reason of the Cleuziou.
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