Ex-Pope Benedict XVI, a Staunch Anti-LGBTQ+ Pontiff, Dies at 95
Former pope Benedict XVI died at the age of 95 at a monastery in Vatican City on Saturday. He had been in ill health, according to Vatican officials.
Known as a conservative theologian, he left a negative legacy on LGBTQ+ rights and called homosexuality "an intrinsic moral evil."Benedict retired from the papacy in 2013 — the first to do so in about 600 years.
He was elected to the position in 2005 after the death of Pope John Paul II. His retirement gave way to the rise of Pope Francis, who has been warmer to LGBTQ+ people and has repeatedly called for some inclusion of queer people in the Catholic Church."With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican," the Director of the Press Office of the Holy See Matteo Bruni said, reports CNN.The ex-pope’s funeral will be held in St.
Peter’s Square on Thursday, while his body will lie in state at St. Peter’s Basilica beginning Monday.Benedict had been ill for several days."I want to ask you all for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict who sustains the Church in his silence.
