各国名人英文介绍-Pope Benedict（在线收听）

Pope Benedict XVI is the 265th Pope, also known as the Bishop of Rome and Sovereign of the Vatican. He is the spiritual head of the Roman Catholic Church. He was elected Pope in 2005 and succeeded John Paul II. Benedict is a prolific author and has written dozens of books on religion. He believes consumerism is the biggest threat to our world.

Benedict was born as Joseph Ratzinger in Bavaria, Germany, in 1927. He was very interested in the Church from a young age. When he was five, he wanted to be a cardinal. World War II saw him drafted into the army, but an illness meant he didn’t fight. When the war finished, he went into training to become a priest.

Ratzinger became a professor of theology at the University of Bonn in 1959. He was a highly respected scholar on Vatican matters. He wrote in his 1968 book ‘Introduction to Christianity’ that Rome had too much control of the Church. In 1977, he was appointed a cardinal, fulfilling his boyhood wish. He was very influential in the Vatican and was close to John Paul II.

Ratzinger had hoped not to be elected as Pope, preferring instead to quietly retire. He joked that God hadn’t listened to his prayers. In his time as Pope, he has stuck to the traditional values of Biblical teaching and has modernized the Church. He has reached out to other faiths and apologized for child sex abuse cases committed by priests.