Schülerkreis Will Continue With Holy Father

München (kath.net/KNA) The. Schülerkreis around Benedikt XVI. Will continue its meetings with the emeritus Pope. This is what the Schülerkreis head Father Stephan Horn to Munich Church Radio. The Schülerkreis is very close to Benedict which has had a meeting every year.

The next meeting for this year is already planned, explains Horn: "We had hoped at least to celebrate Holy Mass with him in Castel Gandolfo in Rome." Even Cardinal Christoph Schönborn from Vienna as well as Kurt Cardinal Koch from Basel are to have already said they will come.

Horn, who was the assistant of Joseph Ratzinger at the University of Regensburg explains that the emeritus Pope will continue his hobbies in retirement: "He will certainly not go swimming like the previous Holy Father, John Paul II,"said Horn, "he always liked
to go on walks. Then he will surely continue to study Holy Scripture, meditate, pray and play the piano."

In addition, Horn expects that the retiring Pope will continue writing, because this excites him. His already begun Faith Encyclopedia and will apparently be published.

The regular meetings which began in 1977 which earlier included academic students to regular events, which the former Professor Ratzinger did not give up even as Pope. Every year he meets with several dozen theologians who were awarded doctorates with him, were made doctors by him, or worked as assistants to him.

The meeting always takes place behind closes doors and were a kind of withdrawal to old times where the Pope would discuss ordered scientific themes answered in questions and asked. In the past years it has addresses questions like Darwin and Evolution, Islam, Ecumenism, the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) or the New Evangelization.

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