Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) has the late Pope Benedict XVI. as a "historical personality in church history and one of the most distinguished theologians of the 20th and 21st centuries". As the head of the Roman Catholic Church and an outstanding theologian, Joseph Ratzinger will "go down in the collective memory of German history," Wüst said on Saturday. "The ecclesiastical and theological heritage of Joseph Ratzinger is historical."
Benedict's work both in science and as the theologian of the Second Vatican Council made him "one of the most important theologians over the centuries," said Wüst. The fact that even as Pope he always remained a scientist at heart "also caused him irritation in the practice of the pontificate."
