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14 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 4 JANUARY 2023 OPINION Matthew 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 criticizing 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 characterizations of Benedict's theology, which I believe will influence the Catholic Church for generations. While the brilliance of this intellectual legacy will certain- ly 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 emer- itus. 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 Par- ty. He was later drafted into an anti-aircraft unit and then the infantry of Nazi Germany. In 1945, he deserted the Ger- man military and was held as a prisoner of war by the Amer- icans; he was released when World War II concluded. In 1946, he went to study for the priesthood and was ordained five years later. He completed his doctorate in theology in 1953. While teaching at the Uni- versity of Bonn, Ratzinger was chosen as a theological advis- er to Cardinal Joseph Frings of Cologne, a strong critic of Nazism, for the Second Vati- can Council held between 1962 and 1965. The Second Vatican Council attempted to renew the Catholic Church by engag- ing the modern world more constructively. At the council, Ratzinger argued that Catho- lic theology needed to develop a "new language" to speak to a changing world. As pope, Benedict would lat- er reject more progressive in- terpretations of the council as a revolutionary event that was intended to remake the Catho- lic Church. While the council did bring substantial changes to Catholic life, particularly by allowing mass in local lan- guages, Benedict resisted any suggestion that the Second Vatican Council was calling for a fundamental break with cen- turies-old Catholic doctrine and tradition. And during his pontificate, he would permit wider celebration of the old Latin Mass – a decision that his successor Pope Francis would later reverse In 1966, Ratzinger accepted an important teaching position at the University of Tubingen. During the late 1960s, Tubin- gen saw widespread student protests, some of which called for the Catholic Church to be- come more democratic. When protesting students disrupted the Tubingen faculty senate, Ratzinger reportedly walked out instead of speaking with students as other faculty did. Ratzinger was disturbed by what he felt were dictatori- al and Marxist tendencies among the student protesters. Ratzinger then moved to the University of Regensberg. In 1977, he was named bish- op of Munich and Freising by Pope Paul VI. Soon after, he was named a cardinal, a mem- ber of the administrative body that elects the pope. Cardinal and pope As a skilled theologian, Ratzinger was chosen by Pope John Paul II to head the Con- gregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which oversees and enforces Catholic doc- trine. In this position, Cardinal Ratzinger disciplined a number of theologians. Most notable was the case of American priest and theologian Charles Cur- ran, who was fired from The Catholic University of America because he challenged official Catholic teachings on sexuali- ty. Ratzinger was also chosen to head the committee drafting The Catechism of the Catho- lic Church. Published in 1992, The Catechism remains an important foundation for any understanding of Catholic thought and practice. After John Paul II's death in 2005, Ratzinger was elected pope. He chose the name "Ben- edict" in honor of Benedict of Nursia, the founder of Western monasticism, a religious move- ment that preserved Western culture after the fall of Rome. The name "Benedict" also ac- knowledged Benedict XV, a much-overlooked pope who tried to broker a peace agree- ment to end the First World War. Controversies in the pontifi- cate After his election, Pope Ben- edict XVI had to confront a growing sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. While Pope Benedict XVI leaves a legacy of intellectual brilliance and controversy