Professorship to be created in Pope Benedict XVI's honor

Rome, Italy, Jun 23, 2010 / 13:51 pm

According to L'Osservatore Romano, the "Joseph Ratzinger Papst Benedikt XVI" Foundation has come to an agreement with the administration at the University of Regensburg, Germany to create a new professorship carrying the Pope's name.

The foundation, created by former students of the Pope from his time as a theology professor, includes Archbishop of Vienna Christoph Schonborn as a member.

The Vatican's semi-official newspaper, which cited the publication Kathpress, reported that a position is to be created for a researcher, who will not necessarily be a theologian, to teach and lead studies regarding philosophy.

The article cited comments made to Kathpress by Bernhard Laux, Dean of the Catholic Theological Faculty, in which he explained that the eventual professor could also be of Orthodox or Protestant background and will contribute to the study of theology "according to the spirit of Joseph Ratzinger" and to further advancing his ideas. At the same time, the new professor will not be solely dedicated to Ratzinger's thoughts or to his person, Laux explained.

The position will be for a five-year term and the professor will carry out his or her teaching and research duties during the summer session.

Pope Benedict XVI once held the chair of dogmatics and history of dogma at the University of Regensburg while at the same time serving as its vice president.