Facing the remains exposed under the bronze canopy of Italian sculptor Bernini, in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, a man is kneeling in meditation. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is not Catholic, but on Tuesday January 3, he wanted to come and pay personal tribute to Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus, who died on Saturday December 31, 2022, and whose funeral is scheduled for Thursday January 5. . The two men knew each other and, it seems, liked each other.
The funeral of Joseph Ratzinger, who was pope from 2005 to 2013, before his spectacular resignation, is not a state event. Only Italian and German leaders are officially invited. But, like Mr. Orban, several political and religious dignitaries have decided to come and bow, in a private capacity, before the remains of François’ predecessor.
A ballet that looks like a demonstration of rallying to the conservative conception of society and the Church which was that of the ex-cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the name of Benedict XVI, before he acceded to the throne of Saint Peter.
The Hungarian Prime Minister was not to be present on Thursday. This role of representation was to be performed by the president of the country, Katalin Novak. Polish President Andrzej Duda, another conservative figure, is also expected at the funeral, as well as the Archbishop Emeritus of Hong Kong, Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, whose passport is withheld by the Chinese authorities, but who has obtained authorization special exit from the territory.
A world challenging Francis
Critic of Pope Francis’ policy towards China, the prelate is also known to have regretted certain liturgical reforms of the active pontiff. His arrival at the Vatican illustrates the fact that Joseph Ratzinger had become the tutelary figure of a whole conservative world, defiant with regard to Francis, perceived as too focused on social issues, especially migrants, and not enough on theology.
France, for its part, was to be represented by the Minister of the Interior and Worship, Gérald Darmanin, and the United States, however led by the Catholic Joe Biden, by their simple ambassador to the Vatican.
Recognized theologian, great figure of the Church of the XXe century, Joseph Ratzinger attracted, according to the sociologist Yann Raison du Cleuziou, of the University of Bordeaux, the attention of conservative circles long before his accession to the dignity of pope. As prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he acted as guardian of the Catholic temple, of “intellectual lookout to defend the orthodoxy of the faith”according to Mr. Raison du Cleuziou.
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