Pope Benedict XVI will be known as “Pope Emeritus” after his retirement Feb. 28, and will continue to wear white vestments, the Vatican announced Feb. 26.
— Pope Benedict XVI will continue living inside the Vatican once his retirement becomes official on Feb. 28, but observers say he will probably keep a low profile -- both before and after the election to choose his successor.
The controversy over Cardinal Roger Mahony’s vote in the conclave that will elect a new pope has now reached the Vatican, with at least one cardinal musing aloud that the former archbishop of Los Angeles should consider staying home.
Pope Benedict XVI will soon become the first pope to resign since 1415, short-circuiting many of the initial stages of electing a new pope. But the Vatican says the transition to a new papacy shouldn’t be all that different from normal.
Pope Benedict XVI has asked the Vatican’s highest appeals court to consider reviewing church rules on marriage annulments — a statement that may signal a change in tone more than a change in substance.
Bishops must exercise closer supervision over Catholic charities and ensure that their activities do not contradict church doctrine, according to new rules issued by Pope Benedict XVI on Dec. 1.
Just in time for Christmas, the Vatican on Nov. 20 unveiled a new book by Pope Benedict XVI focused on Jesus’ birth and childhood, the final installment of his trilogy on the life of Jesus.
Pope Benedict XVI on May 5 called on Catholic colleges and universities in the United States to do more to affirm their “Catholic identity,” particularly by ensuring the doctrinal orthodoxy of their faculty and staff.
Pope Benedict XVI on March 9 denounced the “powerful political and cultural currents” that are working to “alter the legal definition of marriage” in the United States.
Pope Benedict XVI spent more than 40 minutes meeting privately with Cuban President Raúl Castro and asked the Cuban leader for further freedoms for the Catholic Church in Cuba and attention to certain “humanitarian” situations.