When I look back at the decades I have lived in this late hour of my life, I primarily see how many reasons I have for gratitude. Above all, I thank God Himself, the giver of every good gift, who gave me life and accompanied me through various moments of confusion; He always lifted me up when I began to fall, and He always gave me the light of His face again. In hindsight, I see and understand that even the dark and exhausting stretches of this journey were for my salvation, and it was precisely through them that He guided me well.
I thank my parents, who gave me life in difficult times and who, at great cost, prepared a wonderful home for me with their love, which continues to shine brightly through all my days. My father's clear faith taught us children to believe and always stood firmly as a guide in the midst of all my scientific work; my mother's deep devotion and great kindness are a legacy for which I cannot thank her enough. My sister selflessly helped me for decades with loving care; my brother always showed me the way through the clarity of his judgments, decisive decisions, and calm heart; without this constant support and accompaniment, I would not have found the right path.
From the bottom of my heart, I thank God for the many friends, both men and women, whom He always placed beside me; for collaborators in all stages of my journey; for the teachers and students He has given me. I gratefully entrust them all to His goodness. And I want to thank the Lord for my beautiful homeland in the Bavarian Pre-Alps, where I have always seen the creator's glory shine. I thank the people of my homeland because I have repeatedly experienced the beauty of faith in them. I pray that our country remains a land of faith, and I ask you, dear fellow citizens: do not turn away from faith. Finally, I thank God for all the beauty I have been able to experience at all stages of my journey, but especially in Rome and Italy, which has become my second homeland.
To all those whom I have wronged in any way, I sincerely ask for forgiveness.
What I previously said to my fellow citizens, I now say to all who have been entrusted to my service in the church: Stand firm in faith! Do not be deceived! It often seems that science—natural sciences on one side and historical research (especially the exegesis of Holy Scripture) on the other—can provide undeniable results that contradict Catholic faith. I have experienced transformations in the natural sciences long ago and have seen how the apparent certainties against faith have faded, which turned out not to be science but philosophical interpretations that relate to science only superficially; just as, on the other hand, faith has learned better to understand the boundaries of its claims in dialogue with the natural sciences, and thus its specificity. For sixty years I have been observing the path of theology, especially biblical sciences, and through the shifting of different generations, I have seen how theses that seemed unshakeable have crumbled and have turned out to be mere hypotheses: the liberal generation (Harnack, Jülicher, etc.), the existentialist generation (Bultmann, etc.), the Marxist generation. I have seen and see how out of the web of hypotheses, the rationality of faith has emerged and continues to re-emerge. Jesus Christ is indeed the way, the truth, and the life—and the church, with all its shortcomings, is indeed His body.
Finally, I humbly ask: pray for me, that the Lord may accept me into eternal dwellings despite all my sins and shortcomings. For all those entrusted to me, I pray daily from the bottom of my heart.
Benedictus PP XVI.
(posthumously published text, which was created as early as 2006)
