On April 16, 1927, Joseph Ratzinger was born in a little village in Bavaria, Germany’s southernmost state. Raised in a Catholic family in traditionally Catholic Bavaria, it isn’t surprising that he and his elder brother George went to seminary and were ordained as priests. What is remarkable is Father Ratzinger’s trajectory from priesthood to academia, then into the Church’s hierarchy as archbishop, cardinal, and pope, and most remarkable, his retirement from the prelacy of Rome to become the first “Pope Emeritus.” Throughout that journey, Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI, has been committed to the task of teaching, in the university, in the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, and in the papal office. And while Benedict XVI has always been a distinctively Roman Catholic theologian, his commitment to an unshakeable truth founded in the Scriptures means that even Protestants can learn much from him.
In this episode of Christian Humanist Profiles, David Grubbs interviews Dr. Tim Perry, Adjunct Professor of Theology at Saint Paul University and Trinity School for Ministry and editor of The Theology of Benedict XVI: A Protestant Appreciation (Lexham Press, 2020).
I find this episode interesting, his path to academia is one that all aspiring scholars should admire and strive to imitate.