The Vatican has announced that Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) has died at the age of 96.
Benedict XVI ruled the Catholic Church for less than eight years. In 2013, due to health reasons, he resigned. He became the second head of the Roman Catholic Church to do so of his own accord, the first being Gregory XII in 1415.
In 2010, for the first time in the history of the papacy, he issued a pastoral message to the Catholics of Ireland on pedophilia in the Catholic Church. Benedict stated that pedophile priests "betrayed the trust placed in them by innocent young people and their parents" and "should answer for that before Almighty God and before the law in the manner established by the court." In the same year, several media outlets claimed that Benedict was personally involved in the cover-up of several cases of pedophilia in Bavaria and the United States.
Benedict was known for his conservative views. In 2010, he stated that condoms "are not a way to fight against this evil, HIV infection."
