IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 838 
Welcoming His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI on his first apostolic visit to 
the United States. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 4, 2007 
Mr. MCCOTTER submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Welcoming His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI on his first 
apostolic visit to the United States. 
Whereas Joseph Alois Ratzinger ascended to the Papacy and 
chose the name Benedict XVI on April 19, 2005, becom-
ing the 265th reigning Pope in the history of the Roman 
Catholic Church; 
Whereas he was born and baptized on April 16, 1927, in 
Marktl am Inn, Germany; 
Whereas his priestly vocation was evident from a young age 
to family and friends; 
Whereas he was required to leave seminary at the age of 16 
and forced into compulsory military service for Nazi Ger-
many; 
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•HRES 838 IH 
Whereas he risked grave danger by defecting from the Nazi 
anti-aircraft corps in 1945 and subsequently spent time 
in an Allied prisoner of war camp; 
Whereas he was ordained to the priesthood on June 29, 
1951; 
Whereas he is a highly regarded theologian and scholar, hav-
ing served in various university posts from 1959 until 
1977; 
Whereas he participated as a theological advisor to the monu-
mental Second Vatican Council from 1962 until 1965; 
Whereas he was appointed Archbishop of Munich and 
Freising in Germany on March 24, 1977, and ordained 
a bishop on May 28, 1977; 
Whereas he was elevated to cardinal on June 27, 1977; 
Whereas he was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for 
the Doctrine of the Faith and President of the Pontifical 
Biblical Commission on November 25, 1981; 
Whereas he was elected Dean of the College of Cardinals on 
November 27, 2002; 
Whereas Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was installed as Bishop 
of Rome on April 24, 2005; 
Whereas Pope Benedict XVI has made repeated calls for 
peaceful resolutions to international conflicts, especially 
with respect to North Korea’s nuclear ambitions; 
Whereas Pope Benedict XVI has made reconciliation and 
peace an important goal of his Papacy on an ecumenical 
level reaching out to both Orthodox and Protestant 
Churches and in an inter-religious manner with Judaism 
and Islam; 
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•HRES 838 IH 
Whereas Pope Benedict XVI has affirmed the dignity of the 
human person with respect to refugees, exiles, evacuees, 
and other migrant persons; 
Whereas Pope Benedict XVI has written 25 books and given 
thousands of hours of lectures, making him one of the 
most prolific theologians in modern times; 
Whereas Pope Benedict XVI has decried the imminent dan-
gers terrorism and extremism pose to Western Civiliza-
tion; and 
Whereas Pope Benedict XVI has identified the failed revolu-
tions and violent ideologies of the 20th century as being 
the result of the ‘‘Dictatorship of Relativism’’ stating 
that ‘‘absolutizing what is not absolute but relative is 
called totalitarianism’’: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the United States House of Rep-
resentatives welcomes His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI on 
his first apostolic visit to the United States. 
Æ 
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