110 HRES 838 EH: Welcoming His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI on U.S. House of Representatives 2008-04-09 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

110th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 838 In the House of Representatives, U. S., April 9, 2008 RESOLUTION Welcoming His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI on his first apostolic visit to the United States.

Whereas Joseph Alois Ratzinger ascended to the Papacy and chose the name Benedict XVI on April 19, 2005, becoming the 265th reigning Pope in the history of the Roman Catholic Church; Whereas he was born and baptized on April 16, 1927, in Marktl am Inn, Germany; Whereas he was required to leave seminary at the age of 16 and forced into military service for Nazi Germany; Whereas he risked grave danger by defecting from the Nazi anti-aircraft corps in 1945 and subsequently spent time in an Allied prisoner of war camp; Whereas he was ordained to the priesthood on June 29, 1951; Whereas he is a highly regarded theologian and scholar, having served in various university posts from 1959 until 1977; Whereas he has written 25 books and given thousands of hours of lectures, making him one of the most prolific theologians in modern times; Whereas he participated as a theological advisor to the Second Vatican Council from 1962 until 1965; Whereas he was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising in Germany on March 24, 1977, and ordained a bishop on May 28, 1977; Whereas he was elevated to cardinal on June 27, 1977; Whereas he was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and President of the Pontifical Biblical Commission on November 25, 1981; Whereas he was elected Dean of the College of Cardinals on November 27, 2002; Whereas Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was installed as Bishop of Rome on April 24, 2005; Whereas Pope Benedict XVI has made repeated calls for peaceful resolutions to international conflicts; Whereas Pope Benedict XVI has made reconciliation and peace an important goal of his Papacy on an ecumenical level reaching out to both Orthodox and Protestant Churches and in an inter-religious manner with Judaism and Islam; Whereas Pope Benedict XVI has affirmed the dignity of the human person with respect to refugees, exiles, evacuees, and other migrant persons; Whereas Pope Benedict XVI has decried the imminent dangers posed by terrorism and extremism; and Whereas Pope Benedict XVI has identified the failed revolutions and violent ideologies of the 20th century as being the result of the Dictatorship of Relativism: Now, therefore, be it

That the United States House of Representatives welcomes His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI on his first apostolic visit to the United States.

Lorraine C. Miller, Clerk.