This is a collection of statements from Pope Benedict XVI that need sourcing.
| Statement | Comments |
|---|---|
| One of the best-known Catholic theologians since the 1950s | According to what source? Bestseller lists? Popularity contests? |
| Benedict XVI is viewed as a defender of traditional Catholic doctrine and values. | Viewed by who? What is "traditional"? |
| Even before becoming Pope, Ratzinger was one of the most influential men in the Roman Curia, | Needs a source |
| Like his predecessor, Benedict XVI maintains the traditional Catholic doctrines | Again, traditional according to who? |
| As well as his native German, Benedict XVI fluently speaks Italian, French, English, Spanish and Latin, and has a knowledge of Portuguese. He can read Ancient Greek and biblical Hebrew. | Polyglotism should be easy to source, assuming it's true. |
| Ratzinger became an admirer of Karl Rahner, | We need to source people's beliefs and such |
| In his 1968 book Introduction to Christianity, he wrote that the pope has a duty to hear differing voices within the Church before making a decision, and he downplayed the centrality of the papacy. He also wrote that the Church of the time was too centralized, rule-bound and overly controlled from Rome | Already has a citation tag, again, when you're quoting something, you have to show it. |
| During this time, he distanced himself from the atmosphere of Tübingen and the Marxist leanings of the student movement | How did he distance himself? |
| student movement of the 1960s that quickly radicalized, in the years 1967 and 1968 | 'quickly radicalized' is very POV, especially without a source |
| Ratzinger publicized articles in the reformist theological journal Concilium, though he increasingly chose less reformist themes than other contributor | |
| condemning liberation theology twice (in 1984 and 1986), accusing it of Marxist tendencies and of inciting hate and violence | again already has tag, when you show someone's opinion... |
| the letter did not discourage victims from reporting such crimes to the police. | Given that it seems to be in place to protect people who are investigated, this needs to be proven. Already has tag |
| continued at his post in obedience to the wishes of Pope John Paul II. | If it's Pope John Paul's wish, it's again an opinion, which needs... |
| This was known to the Conclave that elected him Pope | So prove it |
| On January 2, 2005, Time magazine quoted unnamed Vatican sources as saying that Ratzinger was a front runner to succeed John Paul II should the pope die or become too ill to continue as pope. | When someone writes.. |
| On the death of John Paul II, the Financial Times gave the odds of Ratzinger becoming pope as 7–1, the lead position, but close to his rivals on the liberal wing of the church. | |
| In April 2005, before his election as pope, he was identified as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine. | |
| While Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Ratzinger repeatedly stated he would like to retire to his house in the Bavarian village of Pentling near Regensburg and dedicate himself to writing books. | |
| Piers Paul Read wrote in The Spectator on March 5, 2005: | When you say someone says/wrote/thinks something, what do you do, audience? |
| Despite being the favorite (or perhaps because he was the favorite), it was a surprise to many that he was actually elected | Probably OR, already tagged |
| during which time he passionately pursued peace between the warring nations. | Probably pretty precise, but policy promotes proof. |
| cited "exceptional circumstances" which suggested that the waiting period could be waived. | Wikipedia should cite that too, huh? |
| saying that he wanted to be closer to the people. | When someone says... |
I got tired of it at this point, but you can see where I'm going on this. For what should be one of the most widely known and loved person on the planet, the lack of sources is appalling.
FYI -- not trying to mess up your page here, but since I don't know how to tag these things, I thought I'd just leave the info. On the number of times he's said he wanted to retire, The Ratzinger Interview (EWTN Video 2003) would be sufficient. He discusses at least three occasions when he thought seriously enough about retiring that it became a concrete plan. As for him staying put because Pope John Paul II asked him to, that's probably actually true, but some care should be taken. In the EWTN interview he says instead that he felt he could not just run off and write his books while leaving "the suffering Pope" behind at work. Knowing what someone is thinking is just really hard -- the only "evidence" is what someone says, and what that person says may not be true. On the other hand, just because Pope John Paul II asked him to stay and he did stay does not mean there's a precise causal connection. "Obedience," "sympathy" and perhaps even "shame" are very different. If we asked him now, he might say that the Holy Spirit must have been at work through circumstance.
Oh, and for someone looking for sources, his works Milestones, Salt of the Earth and God and the World are all significantly autobiographical.--Morsefan 04:43, 28 July 2007 (UTC)