Pope says Benedict XVI was prophetic to foresee smaller Church
April 14, 2022
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CWN Editor's Note: Pope Francis said that Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI “was a prophet of this Church and of the future” when he predicted that the Church would become smaller but more energetic.
In an address to Jesuits during his visit to Malta earlier this month, the Pontiff said that his predecessor’s prediction was “one of his most profound intuitions.” The Pope’s words were made public by the Vatican on April 14, Holy Thursday.
In 2004, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said that he could foresee the Church as a “creative minority” in a secularize world. As Pope Francis explained to the Malta Jesuit gathering, that meant “a Church that will become smaller, lose many privileges, be more humble and authentic, and find energy for the essential.”
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