Replies

Has Ratzinger legally changed his name? I thought Benedict XVI was a formal regnal/pontifical name linked to his title as Pope, not an actual legal name change.

I bet his friends still call him Joseph and last I checked he’s still in charge of the Ratzinger Foundation. In the same way that Elizabeth II is still a Windsor (though she should be a Hanover) while called Queen Elizabeth, Benedict XVI is still a Ratzinger, though Roman Catholics call him Pope Benedict.

This is a good example of why non-Catholics have no business offering their opinions on subjects for which the actual facts are available and well-known. The Pope's drinking buddies most certainly do not call him Joseph in public (possibly in private -few close friends continued to call KP2 Karol affectionately). His name is Benedict. The name change thing dates back to the 6th century, when a man named Mercurius was elected Pope. To avoid confusion with the pagan god, he became John II. Over the past 1500 years this tradition has continued. There is no real religious basis for it, but it has come to symbolize the new life that is taken on when one becomes Pope. The choice of the name is also symbolic, it is indicative of the priorities that will guide his reign. It is also each Pope's first official act. It is not a formal regnal/pontifical name linked to the title. The Pope does not stop being the Pope when he goes home each night. And the idea that "it is not an actual legal name change" is one of the more asinine things I have read on FR in a while. The Pope is head of state of the Holy See, the oldest nation on the planet. When he says someting, it is official and binding. To compare him to Queen Elizabeth, who did not change her name and who's presiding role over however many million British subjects is ceremonial doesn't even make a heck of a lot of sense.

I forgive you because I know that you didn't understand this, but the man's name as far as you are concerned is Benedict. For you to refer to him by any other name isn't even an insult. It just looks like you don't know what you're talking about.

Elizabeth II is still a Windsor (though she should be a Hanover)

from the wiki-wacky-pedia: [snip] Hanover (an electorate, which became a kingdom in 1814) was joined to the British crown until 1837. In that year Victoria inherited the British crown but, by continental Salic Law, was barred as a woman from succession to Hanover, which went to William IV's brother, Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. [end] The House of Windsor was renamed from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.