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The Catholic Church faces a major crisis and the turmoil in priestly ministry is at the heart of it. "The priesthood is going through a dark time," write Pope Emeritus Benedict and Cardinal Robert Sarah. "Wounded by the revelation of so many scandals, disconcerted by the constant questioning of their consecrated celibacy, many priests are tempted by the thought of giving up and abandoning everything." In this book, Pope Emeritus Benedict and Cardinal Robert Sarah give their brother priests and the whole Church a message of hope. They honestly address the spiritual challenges faced by priests today, including struggles of celibacy. They point to deeper conversion to Jesus Christ as the key to faithful and fruitful priestly ministry and church reform. From the Depths of Our Hearts is an unprecedented work by the Pope Emeritus and a Cardinal serving in the Vatican. As bishops, they write "in a spirit of filial obedience" to Pope Francis, who has said, "I think that celibacy is a gift for the Church... I don't agree with allowing optional celibacy, no." Responding to calls for refashioning the priesthood, including proposals from the Amazonian Synod, two wise, spiritually astute pastors explain the biblical and spiritual role of the priesthood, celibacy, and genuine priestly ministry. Drawing on Vatican II, they present priestly celibacy as more than "a mere precept of ecclesiastical law". They insist that renewal of the Church is bound to a renewed understanding of priestly vocation as sharing in Jesus' priestly identity as Bridegroom of the Church. This is a book whose crucial message is for clergy and laity alike.



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Pope Benedict XVI

(Latin: Benedictus PP. XVI; Italian: Benedetto XVI; German: Benedikt XVI. ; born on 16 April 1927) was the 265th Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the head of . He was elected on 19 April 2005 in a papal conclave, celebrated his Papal Inauguration Mass on 24 April 2005, and took possession of his cathedral, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, on 7 May 2005. A native of Bavaria, Pope Benedict XVI has both German and Vatican citizenship. On 11 February 2013, Pope Benedict announced his resignation in a speech in Latin before the cardinals, citing a "lack of strength of mind and body" due to his advanced age. His resignation became effective on 28 February 2013. He is the first pope to resign since Pope Gregory XII in 1415, and the first to do so on his own initiative since Pope Celestine V in 1294. As pope emeritus, Benedict retains the style of His Holiness, and the title of Pope, and will continue to dress in the papal colour of white. He is expected to move into the newly renovated Mater Ecclesiae monastery for his retirement. He was succeeded by on 13 March 2013. After a long career as an academic, serving as a professor of theology at various German universities (he formally remained a professor at the University of Regensburg) , he was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising and cardinal by in 1977. In 1981, he settled in Rome when he became Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, one of the most important offices of the Roman Curia. At the time of his election as Pope, he was also Dean of the College of Cardinals, and as such the primus inter pares among the cardinals. Like his predecessor , Benedict XVI was theologically conservative and his teaching and prolific writings defended traditional Catholic doctrine and values. During his papacy, Benedict XVI had advocated a return to fundamental Christian values to counter the increased secularisation of many developed countries. He viewed relativism's denial of objective truth, and the denial of moral truths in particular, as the central problem of the 21st century. He taught the importance of both the Catholic Church and an understanding of God's redemptive love. He had reaffirmed the "importance of prayer in the face of the activism and the growing secularism of many Christians engaged in charitable work." Pope Benedict had also revived a number of traditions including elevating the Tridentine Mass to a more prominent position.Pope Benedict is the founder and patron of the Ratzinger Foundation, a charitable organisation, which makes money from the sale of his books and essays in order to fund scholarships and bursaries for students across the world. (more info on Ratzinger Foundation:



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