VATICAN CITY (Zenit): Pope John Paul II has sent a congratulatory letter to prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, praising him highly on the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.
Cardinal Ratzinger was named Archbishop of Munich and Freising by Pope Paul VI in 1977. In
1981, John Paul II appointed him prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The Pope explained in his letter that the cardinal’s brilliant theological career and his witness in Munich were the reasons he was chosen for the post.
“Since then you have not ceased to dedicate your intellectual and moral energy to promote and safeguard the doctrine of the faith and customs throughout the Catholic world, at the same time fostering studies geared to increasing the intelligence of the faith, and to giving an adequate answer, in light of the Word of God, to the problems arising from the progress of science and civilization,” the Pope said.
