Pope Benedict XVI in the context of "Congregation for Catholic Education"

Altötting (German pronunciation: [altˈʔœtɪŋ] , lit. 'Old Ötting', in contrast to "New Ötting"; Bavarian: Oideding, pronounced [ɔidˈɛːde̝ŋ]) is a town in Bavaria, capital of the district Altötting of Germany. For 500 years it has been the scene of religious pilgrimages by Catholics in honor of Mary, including a visit by Pope John Paul II in 1980 and one by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006.

Donald William Wuerl (born November 12, 1940) is an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Washington from 2006 to 2018. He previously served as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle (1986 to 1987) and Bishop of Pittsburgh (1988 to 2006). Pope Benedict XVI made him a cardinal in 2010.

Wuerl is widely viewed as a theological moderate, and is well known in the church for his ability to forge consensus between different factions. Questions arose in 2018 of whether Wuerl had adequately dealt with allegations of sexual abuse against clergy under his jurisdiction. A 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report criticized how he handled sexual abuse cases during his time as bishop in Pittsburgh. Wuerl has denied mishandling the cases.

The Slovenian Catholic Church, or Catholic Church in Slovenia (Slovene: Katoliška cerkev v Sloveniji) is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. The 2018 Eurobarometer data shows 73.4% of Slovenian population identifying as Catholic that fell to 72.1% in the 2019 Eurobarometer survey. According to the Catholic Church data, the Catholic population fell from 78.04% in 2009 to 72.11% in 2019.

There are total of 1,509,986 (72.11%) Catholics in Slovenia in 2019 by official statistics published by Catholic Church of Slovenia. The country is divided into six dioceses, including two archdioceses. The diocese of Maribor was elevated to an archdiocese by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006. Additionally, the pope created three new sees, namely Novo Mesto, Celje and Murska Sobota.

Gerhard Ludwig Müller (pronounced [ˈɡeːɐ̯haʁt ˈluːtvɪç ˈmʏlɐ]; born 31 December 1947) is a German Catholic prelate who served as the Cardinal-Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 until 2017. Pope Francis elevated him to the rank of cardinal in 2014.

A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden seal (bulla) traditionally appended to authenticate it.

The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians, Patroness of Australia, locally known as Saint Mary's Cathedral, is a Catholic basilica and the seat of the Archdiocese of Sydney. The cathedral is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the venerated title of “Our Lady, Help of Christians" and Patroness of Australia.

Pope Pius XI raised the shrine to the status of Minor Basilica via the Pontifical decree Inter Potiores Sacras on 4 August 1932. Pope Benedict XVI made an Apostolic Visit to the shrine in 19 July 2008.

Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from 13 March 2013 until his death in 2025. He was the first Jesuit pope, the first Latin American, and the first born or raised outside Europe since the 8th-century Syrian pope Gregory III.

Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to a family of Italian origin, Bergoglio was inspired to join the Jesuits in 1958 after recovering from a severe illness. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969, and from 1973 to 1979 he was the Jesuit provincial superior in Argentina. He became the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the 2013 papal conclave elected Bergoglio as pope on 13 March. He chose Francis as his papal name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J., (French: [pjɛʁ tɛjaʁ də ʃaʁdɛ̃] ; 1 May 1881 – 10 April 1955) was a French Jesuit, Catholic priest, scientist, paleontologist, philosopher, mystic, and teacher. Teilhard de Chardin investigated the theory of evolution from a perspective influenced by Henri Bergson and Christian mysticism, writing multiple scientific and religious works on the subject. His mainstream scientific achievements include his palaeontological research in China, taking part in the discovery of the significant Peking Man fossils from the Zhoukoudian cave complex near Beijing. His more speculative ideas, sometimes criticized as pseudoscientific, have included a vitalist conception of the Omega Point. Along with Vladimir Vernadsky, he contributed to the development of the concept of the noosphere.

In 1962, the Holy Office issued a warning regarding Teilhard's works, alleging ambiguities and doctrinal errors without specifying them. Some eminent Catholic figures, including Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, have made positive comments on some of his ideas since. The response to his writings by scientists has been divided.

The Shrine of Santa Maria della Steccata is a Greek-cross design Renaissance church in central Parma, Italy. The name derives from the fence (Italian: steccato) in the church. A Nursing Madonna is enshrined within, crowned on 27 May 1601 by a Marian devotee, Fray Giacomo di Forli of the Capuchin order. Pope Benedict XVI raised the Marian sanctuary to the status of Basilica minor on 9 February 2008.

Catholic social teaching (CST) is an area of Catholic doctrine which is concerned with human dignity and the common good in society. It addresses oppression, the role of the state, subsidiarity, social organization, social justice, and wealth distribution. CST's foundations are considered to have been laid by Pope Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical, Rerum novarum, of which interpretations gave rise to distributism (formulated by G. K. Chesterton), Catholic socialism (proposed by Andrew Collier) and Catholic communism, among others. Its roots can be traced to Catholic theologians such as Thomas Aquinas and Augustine of Hippo. CST is also derived from the Bible and cultures of the ancient Near East.

According to Pope John Paul II, the foundation of social justice "rests on the threefold cornerstones of human dignity, solidarity and subsidiarity". According to Pope Benedict XVI, its purpose "is simply to help purify reason and to contribute, here and now, to the acknowledgment and attainment of what is just ... [The church] has to play her part through rational argument and she has to reawaken the spiritual energy without which justice ... cannot prevail and prosper." Pope Francis, according to Cardinal Walter Kasper, made mercy "the key word of his pontificate... [while] Scholastic theology has neglected this topic and turned it into a mere subordinate theme of justice."