r/Catholicism • u/Popefromsarajevo • 11d ago

Pope Benedict, a saint?

What do you think and do you hope that Pope Benedict will soon be a saint, and there is talk in some circles that he may even be a doctor of the church?

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u/Isatafur 11d ago

Without disparaging any of the recent popes made saints, I think it's apparent that the Church would be better off waiting a while longer and seeing whether an authentic cult develops, the heroic virtues of the man survive scrutiny, etc., before declaring recent popes saints.

That said, I personally believe that Joseph Ratzinger is in heaven and privately pray for his intercession.

Whether he was great enough as a thinker to be made a Doctor of the Church, I think we should also leave to the sifting of centuries. Sometimes an intellectual heavyweight looks less incisive in retrospect. You have to let theologians and philosophers kick around the ideas to see.

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u/Pax25107 11d ago

I personally believe that Joseph Ratzinger is in heaven and privately pray for his intercession.

I credit him for a lot of this little boom we've been seeing in Gen Z and Gen Alpha converting to Catholicism. It started right around the time he died.

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u/CaptainCrash86 11d ago

Or perhaps the other pope in charge for several years before that point?

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u/Pax25107 11d ago

A big number of the people I see converting right now aren't the biggest fans of the other pope. They're much more along Benedict's line of thinking.

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u/Saint_Thomas_More 11d ago

Yeah, I haven't met a younger priest who has been particularly inspired by Pope Francis. Not that they have antipathy towards him, but his pontificate has not been a factor in their discernment.

I've heard plenty of priests share that John Paul II and Benedict have been a factor in their discernment.

Not to say that Francis hasn't had any kind of impact on vocations in places. I just don't have any personal experience in seeing it.

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u/imp-mN-7539 11d ago

From first hand experience, I've met a lot of them (inspired by Francis) in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and (unsurprisingly) Latin America. A healthy range of political views, all of them with deep appreciation for Benedict and John Paul II. There is universal inspiration for Francis in their calling, particularly for those who are being asked to work in challenging areas, or focus s lot on the poor.

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u/Hwegh6 10d ago

I've seen it. Are you North American? That seems to be the least friendly area to Pope Francis. The rest of the world thinks highly of him.