Church’s situation in Ireland ‘improving’ – Benedict XVI

Pope Emeritus continues to pray for Ireland

Pope Emeritus Benedict has told an Irish theologian that he continues to pray for Ireland, but believes that the situation is improving for the Irish Church.

Pope Benedict celebrated a special Mass last Sunday morning in the church of the Campo Santo Teutonico within Vatican City, upon the conclusion of the Schuelerkreis, a yearly gathering of his former students and theologians interested in his writing.

The four-day gathering was attended by Fr Vincent Twomey SVD, a former doctoral student of Joseph Ratzinger, and Dr Mary McCaughey, a lecturer in Systematic Theology in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth.

Fr Twomey told The Irish Catholic that Pope Benedict was looking in good health. “He was looking much better than last year, and said Mass in a strong voice, giving a wonderful homily,” Fr Twomey said. “He was in very good form and his old smile is back again. The rest has done him good and he is very well looked after.”

Greeting

Pope Benedict greeted each member of the gathering individually after Mass and Dr McCaughey told The Irish Catholic the retired Pontiff looked much stronger than previous years.

“He stood and greeted everyone after Mass, and I was quite surprised because two years ago, when he told me he would pray for the Church in Ireland, he was much frailer. This year he said things seem to be improving for Church in Ireland and I asked him to continue to pray for us,” she said.

The Ratzinger Schuelerkreis is formed by about 50 people who studied for their doctorates under Joseph Ratzinger, but the circle has enlarged in recent years, establishing a “youth branch” composed of academics who had not studied with Ratzinger, but are developing upon his theological work.

Theologian Karl-Heinze Menke, Dogmatic Professor at the University of Bonn, gave a paper on the Theology of the Cross and a presentation was made to Fr Stephen Horn, a Salvatorian who was Ratzinger’s academic assistant at the University of Regensburg and is now the organiser of the annual Schuelerkreis meeting.