Pope Benedict XVI Has Died At 95

Pope Benedict XVI, the conservative German priest who served as the head of the Catholic Church for almost eight years before becoming the first pope in centuries to resign, has died. He was 95.The Holy See Press Office announced that Benedict died at 9:34 a.m. on Dec. 31. On Jan. 2, the body of Benedict will be at St. Peter's Basilica so people can pay their respects. Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said that Pope Francis will preside over Benedict's funeral Jan. 5 in St. Peter's Square. Leading the Vatican between the papacies of two enormously popular men, Benedict, a shy introvert, never managed to enjoy the same cultural impact or public favor as the charismatic popes John Paul II and Francis.The writings and encyclicals of Benedict, regarded as one of the foremost theologians of his generation, as pontiff were popular even among his critics, and he will undoubtedly be remembered as a “teaching pope” who worked to make doctrine accessible to all.But his tenure as pope was rocky. Most notably, he was heavily criticized for the Vatican’s handling of child sex abuse committed by priests. He also struggled to reconcile a fundamentalist interpretation of church teachings with an ...