As a defense against the Nazi regime, Ratzinger threw himself into the Roman Catholic Church, "a citadel of truth and righteousness against the realm of atheism and deceit," he wrote. Ratzinger entered preparatory seminary in But he could not avoid the realities of the day. Ratzinger was briefly a member of the Hitler Youth in his early teens after membership became mandatory in In , Ratzinger and fellow seminarians were drafted into the anti-aircraft corps. He has said his unit was attacked by Allied forces that year, but he did not take part in that battle because a finger infection had kept him from learning to shoot.
After about a year in the anti-aircraft unit, Ratzinger was drafted into the regular military. Ratzinger was sent home and then called up again before deserting in late April He was captured by American soldiers and held as a prisoner of war for several months. Ratzinger returned to the seminary at the University of Munich in the fall of and was ordained a priest in Two years later, he earned his doctorate at the University of Munich.
He earned his teaching licentiate in and became a professor of Freising College in , teaching dogma and fundamental theology. Ratzinger became a professor at the University of Bonn in He was viewed as a reformer during this time.
In , Ratzinger helped found the theological journal Communio , which became one of the most important journals of Catholic thought.
The joy and freshness of his understanding of Catholic doctrine were contagious and stood in marked contrast to the dryness of a type of scholasticism that seemed then to have become stale.
Listening to him, one recognized that it was the transcendent beauty of truth that had captured his heart and his mind, a beauty he found expressed in its highest possible form in the living Liturgy of the Church, most centrally in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The final blessing: Pope Benedict's last general audience. Experience the richness of your faith What will you discover? Explore more inspirational selections here. Ordination of a Bishop, of Priests, and of Deacons. Lectio Divina of Gospels Caritas in veritate.
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