CNN —
Former Pope Benedict XVI, who died Saturday in a Vatican convent at the age of 95, asked forgiveness for those he had “wronged” in the spiritual testament released after his death.
Benedict, who became the first pope in nearly 600 years to resign rather than hold office for life, passed away on Saturday, according to a Vatican statement.
He was elected Pope in April 2005 after the death of John Paul II.
During the will, which consisted of a letter containing the Pope’s last words, Benedict spoke of the “many reasons” why he had to be thankful for his life.
In the August 29, 2006 letter, the former pope thanked God for guiding him “well” throughout his life. He also thanked his parents, who he said gave him “life at a difficult time.”
He thanked his sister for her “selfless” help and his brother for the “clarity of judgment” he shared with him.
Benedict has been known to be more conservative than his successor, Pope Francis, who has taken steps to soften the Vatican’s position on abortion and homosexuality and to do more to deal with the sex abuse crisis that has gripped the Church in recent years and Benedict’s situation has tarnished inheritance.
In April 2019, Benedict discussed the sexual abuse crisis in a public letter, claiming it was caused in part by the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the liberalization of the church’s moral teachings.
In January 2020, Benedict was forced to distance himself from a book widely seen as undercutting Francis as he considered allowing married men to become priests in certain cases. The book From the Depths of Our Hearts argued in favor of the centuries-old tradition of priestly celibacy within the Catholic Church. Benedict was originally listed as a co-author, but later clarified that he only contributed a portion of the text.
A year later, Benedict came under fire for his tenure as Archbishop of Munich and Freising between 1977 and 1982 after a church-commissioned report on abuse by Catholic clergy there was published.
In the 2006 letter, the former pope “sincerely” asked for “forgiveness” for those he had “in some way wronged” in his letter.
In the closing words, the former pope “humbly” asked, despite all “sins and shortcomings”, to be welcomed by God in heaven.
In a separate letter released by the Vatican in February 2022, Benedict issued a general apology to abuse survivors, writing: “Once again I can only express my deep shame, deep sadness and sincere plea to all victims of sexual abuse Forgiveness,” but he did not admit to any personal or specific wrongdoing.
There is no indication that his plea for forgiveness in his last letter relates to the Catholic Church’s handling of allegations of sexual abuse against priests.