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Drone advances in Ukraine have accelerated a long-anticipated technology trend that could soon bring the world’s first fully autonomous fighting robots to the battlefield, inaugurating a new age of warfare.

The longer the war lasts, the more likely it becomes that drones will be used to identify, select and attack targets without help from humans, according to military analysts, combatants and artificial intelligence researchers.

That would mark a revolution in military technology as profound as the introduction of the machine gun. Ukraine already has semi-autonomous attack drones and counter-drone weapons endowed with AI. Russia also claims to possess AI weaponry, though the claims are unproven. But there are no confirmed instances of a nation putting into combat robots that have killed entirely on their own.

Experts say it may be only a matter of time before either Russia or Ukraine, or both, deploy them. The sense of inevitability extends to activists, who have tried for years to ban killer drones but now believe they must settle for trying to restrict the weapons’ offensive use.

Ukraine’s digital transformation minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, agrees that fully autonomous killer drones are “a logical and inevitable next step” in weapons development. He said Ukraine has been doing “a lot of R&D in this direction.”

“I think that the potential for this is great in the next six months,” Fedorov told The Associated Press in a recent interview.

Ukrainian Lt. Col. Yaroslav Honchar, co-founder of the combat drone innovation nonprofit Aerorozvidka, said in a recent interview near the front that human war fighters simply cannot process information and make decisions as quickly as machines.

Ukrainian military leaders currently prohibit the use of fully independent lethal weapons, although that could change, he said.

“We have not crossed this line yet – and I say ‘yet’ because I don’t know what will happen in the future,” said Honchar, whose group has spearheaded drone innovation in Ukraine, converting cheap commercial drones into lethal weapons.

Russia could obtain autonomous AI from Iran or elsewhere. The long-range Shahed-136 exploding drones supplied by Iran have crippled Ukrainian power plants and terrorized civilians but are not especially smart. Iran has other drones in its evolving arsenal that it says feature AI.

Without a great deal of trouble, Ukraine could make its semi-autonomous weaponized drones fully independent in order to better survive battlefield jamming, their Western manufacturers say.

Those drones include the U.S.-made Switchblade 600 and the Polish Warmate, which both currently require a human to choose targets over a live video feed. AI finishes the job. The drones, technically known as “loitering munitions,” can hover for minutes over a target, awaiting a clean shot.

“The technology to achieve a fully autonomous mission with Switchblade pretty much exists today,” said Wahid Nawabi, CEO of AeroVironment, its maker. That will require a policy change — to remove the human from the decision-making loop — that he estimates is three years away.

Drones can already recognize targets such as armored vehicles using cataloged images. But there is disagreement over whether the technology is reliable enough to ensure that the machines don’t err and take the lives of noncombatants.

The AP asked the defense ministries of Ukraine and Russia if they have used autonomous weapons offensively – and whether they would agree not to use them if the other side similarly agreed. Neither responded.

If either side were to go on the attack with full AI, it might not even be a first.

An inconclusive U.N. report last year suggested that killer robots debuted in Libya’s internecine conflict in 2020, when Turkish-made Kargu-2 drones in full-automatic mode killed an unspecified number of combatants.

A spokesman for STM, the manufacturer, said the report was based on “speculative, unverified” information and “should not be taken seriously.” He told the AP the Kargu-2 cannot attack a target until the operator tells it to do so.

Honchar thinks Russia, whose attacks on Ukrainian civilians have shown little regard for international law, would have used killer autonomous drones by now if the Kremlin had them.

“I don’t think they’d have any scruples,” agreed Adam Bartosiewicz, vice president of WB Group, which makes the Warmate.

AI is a priority for Russia. President Vladimir Putin said in 2017 that whoever dominates that technology will rule the world. In a December 21 speech, he expressed confidence in the Russian arms industry’s ability to embed AI in war machines, stressing that “the most effective weapons systems are those that operate quickly and practically in an automatic mode.” Russian officials already claim their Lancet drone can operate with full autonomy.

An effort to lay international ground rules for military drones has so far been fruitless. Nine years of informal United Nations talks in Geneva made little headway, with major powers including the United States and Russia opposing a ban. The last session, in December, ended with no new round scheduled.

Toby Walsh, an Australian academic who campaigns against killer robots, hopes to achieve a consensus on some limits, including a ban on systems that use facial recognition and other data to identify or attack individuals or categories of people.

“If we are not careful, they are going to proliferate much more easily than nuclear weapons,” said Walsh, author of Machines Behaving Badly. “If you can get a robot to kill one person, you can get it to kill a thousand.”

Multiple countries, and every branch of the U.S. military, are developing drones that can attack in deadly synchronized swarms, according to Zachary Kallenborn, a George Mason University weapons innovation analyst.

So will future wars become a fight to the last drone?

That’s what Putin predicted in a 2017 televised chat with engineering students: “When one party’s drones are destroyed by drones of another, it will have no other choice but to surrender.”
…

Tens of thousands more people paid homage to former Pope Benedict on Tuesday on the second day his body lay in state, and the Vatican announced that his funeral will be similar to that of a reigning pope, including a three coffin burial.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who like Benedict has called for the protection of Europe’s Christian roots, was among some 70,000 people paying their respects at St. Peter’s Basilica, following 65,000 on Monday.

Also among them was Rome resident Loredana Corrao, who said she was a great admirer of Benedict, a towering figure as an academic and a hero to conservatives but also a controversial leader who did not tolerate theological dissent.

“It was a fitting tribute. It was very emotional and moving. I also came yesterday but I had things to say to him and I also came today,” she told Reuters.  

“I am sure that an important part of the Church’s history has closed and now we have to move on without him.” 

Pope Francis has been carrying on his normal workload since Benedict died on Saturday at age 95. He had a regular series of audiences and meetings on Monday and Tuesday and will hold his weekly general audience on Wednesday. 

The death of Benedict, who in 2013 became the first pontiff in 600 years to step down instead of reigning for life, could make any decision to leave office easier on Francis and the Church, which encountered difficulties with having “two popes.” 

Francis will preside at Benedict’s funeral in St. Peter’s Square on Thursday before a crowd that Vatican police say will number in the tens of thousands. 

Three coffins 

Because Benedict was no longer a reigning pontiff when he died, official delegations have been limited to those from Italy and his native Germany. 

Among those expected to attend in a private capacity were the presidents of Poland and Hungary and the monarchs of Spain and Belgium. 

Benedict has been laying in state without any papal regalia, such as a crosier, a silver staff with a crucifix, or a pallium, a band of wool cloth worn around the neck by popes and archdiocesan bishops to signify their roles as shepherds of their flocks. Popes are also bishops of Rome. 

The decision not to have them during the public viewing appeared to have been decided to underscore that he no longer was pope when he died. 

The liturgy for Thursday’s funeral Mass will be based mostly on that for a reigning pope, with some minor modifications, particularly in the prayers, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. 

Palliums will be placed in Benedict’s coffin along with coins and medals minted during his eight years as pope and a sealed lead tube holding a deed written in Latin describing his pontificate — all customary for funerals of popes.  

As is traditional for popes, Benedict’s body will be placed in a cypress coffin which will be carried out of St. Peter’s Basilica and into the square for the funeral. 

Later, as is also traditional, that one will be placed into a zinc coffin and then both will be placed into another coffin made of wood. 

Benedict will be buried according to his wishes in the same spot in the crypts under St. Peter’s Basilica where Pope John Paul II was originally interred in 2005 before his body was moved up to a chapel in the basilica in 2011. 

 
…

Zohra stuffs packages of sliced bread, fresh fruit and canned vegetables into her shopping cart — free handouts she once never thought she would need.

Other Parisians patiently wait their turn for the Salvation Army’s weekly food distributions in the French capital: two women from Africa, a middle-aged man from the French Antilles, a young woman who looks like a student. Most are reluctant to talk. In a room nearby, volunteers prepare food packages for the charity’s swelling clientele.

“The prices for everything are rising — rent, electricity, gas telephone,” Zohra said, declining to give her last name. She lost her job at a medical clinic a few months ago. “People can’t live like this.”

Such sentiments are growing across the European Union that greets 2023 with an energy crisis and a war at the bloc’s doorstep for the first time in decades. If Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked sometimes stunning displays of EU unity and power, analysts say, some question how long that will last as winter bites and the price for supporting Kyiv and European values mounts.

“It’s been transformative in so many ways — and in areas in which it’s difficult for the European Union to act quickly,” said Ian Lesser, vice president of the German Marshall Fund and head of the policy institute’s Brussels office, of the Ukraine conflict. “In some of these areas, it acted very quickly — which surprised many people.”

This past year, the EU slapped eight rounds of sanctions against Moscow, earmarked billions of dollars of military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine and took in millions of Ukrainian refugees. The war in Ukraine led Europe to end its dependency on cheap Russian energy, pushing the bloc to seek new suppliers and power sources — and to stock up on its all-important gas reserves before the cold sets in.

Still, the conflict in Ukraine has delivered a blow to Europe’s economy and energy security, at least in the short term. It also slowed, as some countries revive coal mines, Brussels’ emissions-cutting goals. The International Monetary Fund and other experts believe the bloc will fall into recession this year. Despite government efforts to cushion the blow, prices and poverty are rising.

“What really shook us is we’re seeing a lot of young people — students who are having a hard time making it to the end of the month,” said Salvation Army spokesperson Samuel Coppens. “Also, single parents and older people with tiny pensions who can’t even afford heat. For them, food is a top priority.”

A recent IFOP poll found that more than half of the French surveyed feared their income wouldn’t cover their monthly expenses. One quarter believed they would need help from charities like the Salvation Army.

“I can go shopping with 50 euros ($53) and my shopping cart is still pretty empty,” said Valerie, a health care worker from Cameroon, who signed up for the Salvation Army’s food distributions a few weeks ago.

“From the start I didn’t like this war,” she added of the Ukraine conflict. “I thought there would be consequences here. Now, I see it is hitting the poorest.”

Even as Europeans send generators to power-crippled Ukraine after Russian strikes on its energy facilities, some are bracing for possible blackouts at home. Germans are squirreling away candles, Finns who own electric cars are asked not to heat them before climbing inside.

In France, normally an electricity exporter, half the country’s nuclear fleet is offline for repairs. Authorities have urged citizens and businesses to lower their thermostats, hoping energy savings will avert possible blackouts.

“My village raised funds for Ukrainians,” said Valerie, a tourist from southern France. “But if there are electricity cuts, it will be very difficult for French and Europeans. It will really impact our daily lives and our morale.”

“At the moment, solidarity is pretty strong” among European citizens, said John Springford, deputy director for the Center for European Reform think-tank. “But if the Ukraine war turns into a complete stalemate, things might get more difficult.”

French energy expert Thierry Bros is more pessimistic, describing a Russian energy war to defeat Ukraine and unravel European unity.

“The fact we are getting less energy, the fact we are getting less rich, that the economy is turning into a recession, could lead to Ukraine fatigue,” Bros added. “European citizens will look out for themselves first.”

Divisions are already showing in other areas.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, with once-close ties to Russia, has suggested EU sanctions against Moscow should be scrapped, and temporarily blocked $19 billion in EU financial aid for Ukraine. The legislation ultimately passed last month.

Poland and Germany have sparred over the placement of a German Patriot missile air defense system, in what some reports suggest underscores larger differences.

EU divisions also exist over Russia’s threat and Europe’s future relationship with Moscow, analysts say. French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent suggestion that the West should consider “security guarantees” for Russia drew sharp pushback from Poland and the Baltic states.

“There is a clear understanding the fight against Russia’s invasion is a fight for their own liberty,” said Sebastien Maillard, head of the Jacques Delors Institute in Paris, describing mindsets in European countries located near Russia. “It’s very obvious for Poland, the Baltic states and the Balkans. It’s not that obvious for the western part of Europe.”

Lesser, of the German Marshall Fund, believes Europe will face another test. To date, U.S. financial and military support for Ukraine has dwarfed the EU’s.

“When it comes to reconstruction in Ukraine, including things that could be done now to support Ukrainian society even before the war ends — I think there’s going to be a much stronger push from the American side for Europe to do more, and spend more,” Lesser said. “Because it can.”
…

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s longtime personal secretary has written a tell-all book that his publisher on Monday promised would tell the truth about the “blatant calumnies,” “dark maneuvers,” mysteries and scandals that sullied the reputation of a pontiff best known for his historic resignation.

Archbishop Georg Gaenswein’s Nothing but the Truth: My Life Beside Pope Benedict XVI is being published this month by the Piemme imprint of Italian publishing giant Mondadori, according to a press release.

Benedict died Saturday at age 95 and his body was put on display Monday in St. Peter’s Basilica ahead of a Thursday funeral to be celebrated by his successor, Pope Francis.

Gaenswein, a 66-year-old German priest, stood by Benedict’s side for nearly three decades, first as an official working for then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, then starting in 2003 as Ratzinger’s personal secretary.

Gaenswein followed his boss to the Apostolic Palace as secretary when Ratzinger was elected pope in 2005. And in one of the most memorable images of Benedict’s final day as pope Feb. 28, 2013, Gaenswein wept as he accompanied Benedict through the frescoed halls of the Vatican, saying goodbye.

He remained Benedict’s gatekeeper, confidant and protector during a decade-long retirement, while also serving until recently as the prefect of Francis’ papal household. It was Gaenswein who performed the anointing of the sick last Wednesday, when Benedict’s health deteriorated, and it was he who called Francis on Saturday to tell him that Benedict had died.

According to Piemme, Gaenswein’s book contains “a personal testimony about the greatness of a mild man, a fine scholar, a cardinal and a pope who made the history of our time.” But it said the book also contained a firsthand account that would correct some “misunderstood” aspects of the pontificate as well as the machinations of the Vatican.

“Today, after the death of the pope emeritus, the time has come for the current prefect of the papal household to tell his own truth about the blatant calumnies and dark maneuvers that have tried in vain to cast shadows on the German pontiff’s magisterium and actions,” the press release said.

Gaenswein’s account would “finally make known the true face of one of the greatest protagonists of recent decades, too often unjustly denigrated by critics as ‘Panzerkardinal’ or ‘God’s Rottweiler,'” it said, referring to some common media nicknames for the German known for his conservative, doctrinaire bent.

Specifically, the publisher said Gaenswein would address the “Vatileaks” scandal, in which Benedict’s own butler leaked his personal correspondence to a journalist, as well as clergy sex abuse scandals and one of the enduring mysteries of the Vatican, the 1983 disappearance of the 15-year-old daughter of a Vatican employee, Emanuela Orlandi.

The book appears to be just part of what is shaping up as a postmortem media blitz by Gaenswein, including the release Monday of excerpts of a lengthy interview he granted Italian state RAI television last month that is to be broadcast Thursday after the funeral.

According to the excerpts published by La Repubblica newspaper, Gaenswein recounted how he tried to dissuade Benedict from resigning after the then-pope told him in late September 2012 that he had made up his mind. That was six months after Benedict took a nighttime fall during a visit to Mexico and determined he no longer could handle the rigors of the job.

“He told me: ‘You can imagine I have thought long and hard about this, I’ve reflected, I’ve prayed, I’ve struggled. And now I’m communicating to you that a decision has been taken, it’s not up for discussion,'” Gaenswein recalled Benedict saying.

Gaenswein also referred to the struggles, scandals and problems Benedict faced during his eight-year pontificate, recalling he had asked for prayers at the start to protect him from the “wolves” who were out to get him. Gaenswein cited in particular the “Vatileaks” betrayal, which resulted in the butler being convicted by the Vatican tribunal, only to be pardoned by the pope two months before his resignation.

“Anyone who thinks there can be a calm papacy has got the wrong profession,” he said.
…

Ukraine and the European Union will hold a summit in Kyiv on February 3 to discuss financial and military support, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office said in a statement on Monday.

Zelenskyy discussed details of the high-level meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in his first phone call of the year, the statement said.

“The parties discussed expected results of the next Ukraine-EU summit to be held on February 3 in Kyiv and agreed to intensify preparatory work,” the statement read.

The leaders talked about the supply of “appropriate” weapons and a new $19 billion financial assistance program to Ukraine, with Zelenskyy pushing for the first tranche to be sent this month, it said.

Last month, the EU cleared the way to giving Ukraine the aid in a so-called “megadeal” that included the adoption of a minimum 15% global corporate tax rate.

The move followed an impassioned plea from Zelenskyy not to let internal disputes within the 27-nation bloc stand in the way of backing Kyiv.
…

The German government Monday condemned incidents on New Year’s Eve in which police officers and firefighters were attacked, mostly with fireworks. 

People across Germany on Saturday resumed their tradition of setting off large numbers of fireworks in public places to ring in the new year. That followed two years in which sales of fireworks were banned as part of efforts to avoid overloading hospitals and discourage large public gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The celebrations were accompanied by a large number of cases in which emergency officials were assailed with fireworks. In Berlin, the fire service counted at least 38 such attacks and said 15 officers were injured. Police said they had 18 injured officers, German news agency dpa reported. 

Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey said that “this scale of readiness to use violence and destruction … damages our city.” She tweeted that her administration will discuss expanding the number of areas in which fireworks are banned. 

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, who thanked police for intervening with more than 100 arrests in Berlin alone, said that “the perpetrators must now feel the legal consequences clearly.” 

Government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann said Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his administration “of course condemn in the strongest terms these, in some cases, massive assaults.” 

 
…

Europe’s wholesale natural gas prices fell Monday to their lowest level since Russia invaded Ukraine, which had driven them to a record high last year.

A mild winter has enabled countries to tap less gas from stocks that were built up in anticipation of cuts in supplies from Russia, which was Europe’s main supplier before the war.

The benchmark European contract — Dutch TTF gas future for the coming month — soared to a record $367 per megawatt-hour in March. It still reached as high as $364 in August.

But prices have been falling since then, hitting $77 on Monday — 50% down from a month ago and the lowest level since before the war on February 21.

Gas exports by Russian energy giant Gazprom to the European Union and Switzerland fell by 55% last year, the company said Monday.

Europe was previously Gazprom’s main export market, but supplies have been drastically reduced because of sanctions following Russia’s offensive in Ukraine in 2022.

European nations filled up their gas storage facilities and launched campaigns to encourage consumers to save on energy during the winter.

European storage levels were at 83% on Monday, reducing the need to buy more gas for now.

The EU has scrambled to find new sources of natural gas in efforts to cut its heavy reliance on Russian supplies.

EU nations have also adopted a mechanism to cap natural gas prices, but analysts say it will likely have only a limited impact on reducing what businesses and households pay.

Experts have warned that a cold snap could send gas prices rising again.

Russian President Vladimir Putin could also cause more commotion in the markets.

“He could send less [gas], but he could also send more to certain destinations in the hope of dividing European countries,” said Thierry Bros, an energy market analyst who teaches at the Sciences Po school in Paris.

Europe will struggle to fill up stocks this summer if it does not receive 30 billion cubic meters of Russian gas, Bros said.

“Prices risk rising again,” he said.

Europe is better prepared than in January 2022, when storage was only at 54% capacity, Bros added.

Competition between Europe and Asia for imports of liquefied natural gas could also send prices higher, said Nicolas de Warren, president of the French association of industries that consume the most energy.
…

The president of the European Parliament has launched an urgent procedure to waive the immunity of two lawmakers following a request from Belgian judicial authorities investigating a major corruption scandal rocking EU politics.

The European Parliament said Monday that President Roberta Metsola asked all services and committees to give the procedure priority, with the goal to have it finished by Feb. 13.

“From the very first moment the European Parliament has done everything in its power to assist in investigations and we will continue to make sure that there will be no impunity,” Metsola said. “Those responsible will find this Parliament on the side of the law. Corruption cannot pay and we will do everything to fight it.”

The EU Parliament press service did not identify the two parliament members (MEPs). According to two people familiar with the case who were not allowed to speak publicly because the investigation is ongoing, they are Italian Andrea Cozzolino and Belgian Marc Tarabella.

The two did not immediately respond to queries asking for comments.

Tarabella, whose home was raided last month, and Cozzolino have denied wrongdoing and self-suspended their membership of the Parliament’s Socialists and Democrats group (S&D).

Cozzolino had previously said he was ready to abandon his parliamentary immunity so that he would be able to answer questions from authorities.

“When it comes to the request to lift their immunity the S&D group would follow, in the context of the European Parliament, the procedures foreseen in a responsible and constructive manner,” the Socialists and Democrats said.

A third member of Parliament, Eva Kaili, has already been charged in relation with the scandal, which allegedly involves Qatari and Moroccan officials suspected of influencing economic and political decisions with gifts and money.

Prosecutors accuse Kaili of corruption, membership in a criminal organization and money laundering. A Greek socialist MEP, Kaili has been in custody since Dec. 9. Her partner, Francesco Giorgi, an adviser at the European Parliament, is jailed on the same charges.

Kaili was relieved of her duties of parliament vice president after being charged. She would have normally enjoyed immunity from prosecution but was brought before a judge after Belgian police launched raids on premises across Brussels last month and large sums of cash were reportedly found at her home.

Kaili and Giorgi are suspected of working with Giorgi’s one-time boss, Pier Antonio Panzeri, a former EU lawmaker. According to arrest warrants, Panzeri “is suspected of intervening politically with members working at the European Parliament for the benefit of Qatar and Morocco, against payment.”

The Parliament has halted work on files involving Qatar as it investigates what impact the cash-and-gifts-for-influence bribery scandal might have had. Qatar vehemently denies involvement and Morocco has yet to respond to allegations that its ambassador to Poland might have been involved.

Belgian prosecutors are also seeking the handover of Panzeri’s wife and daughter from Italy, where they were put under house arrest on similar charges.

A fourth suspect in Belgium — Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, secretary-general of the non-governmental organization No Peace Without Justice — was also charged and jailed over the affair.

The scandal came to public attention after police launched more than 20 raids, mostly in Belgium but also in Italy. Hundreds of thousands of euros were found at a home and in a suitcase at a hotel in Brussels. Mobile phones and computer equipment and data were seized.
…

Tens of thousands of people filed into St. Peter’s Basilica Monday to pay their respects to the late Pope Benedict XVI, whose body is lying in state.   

Some of the faithful had lined up hours before dawn to wait for the doors of the basilica to open.   

By mid-afternoon Monday, 40,000 people had filed past the late pope, according to Vatican police.   

The 95-year-old retired pontiff died Saturday morning. In 2013, Benedict became the first pope in 600 years to step down from his Vatican post.    

Filippo Tuccio, 35, told The Associated Press that he came from Venice on an overnight train to view Benedict’s body.    

“He was very important for me: for what I am, my way of thinking, my values. This is why I wanted to say goodbye today,” Tuccio said.     

Benedict’s body, dressed in traditional red liturgical garments and without any papal paraphernalia, will lie in state until Wednesday.    

On Thursday, “Pope Francis will become the first pope in modern history to preside as pope at the funeral of his predecessor,” according to the Vatican News website.    

The Vatican has said the funeral will be marked by simplicity, in keeping with Benedict’s wishes.    

On Monday, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Benedict, who was born Joseph Ratzinger, will be buried in the crypts under St. Peter’s Basilica where Pope John Paul II was originally buried before his body was moved to a chapel in the basilica in 2011.    

“Lord, I love you,” are reported to be the last words Benedict uttered shortly before his death, Vatican News reported.    

The retired pope’s personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, said a nurse was the only person with Benedict at the time.     

“I was not there at the moment, but the nurse told me about it shortly afterwards,” Ganswein said. “These were his last comprehensible words, because afterwards, he was no longer able to express himself.”    

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters. 
…

Germany has warned Iranians living in the country who have been critical of the Iranian government to be careful about traveling to Iran. 

Thomas Haldenwang, head of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, told the Germany Press Agency that for some years the Iranian government has worked to identify critics, and that those people could face serious consequences if they go to Iran. 

Haldenwang also said friends or family members of Iran’s critics face the same threats. 

He highlighted protests in Germany, such as those that brought tens of thousands of people demonstrating against the Iranian government in Berlin in October, as a possible source for Iranian government agencies to try to identify critics. 
…

“Lord, I love you,” are reported to be the last words Pope Emeritus Benedict uttered shortly before his death, according to a report on The Vatican News website.

The retired pope’s personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, said a nurse was the only person with Benedict at the time.

“I was not there at the moment, but the nurse told me about it shortly afterwards,” Gänswein said. “These were his last comprehensible words, because afterwards he was no longer able to express himself.”

Benedict’s remains will lie in state in St. Peter’s Basilica from Monday to Wednesday and his funeral will be Thursday.

Benedict, born Joseph Ratzinger, was the first pope in 600 years to step down from his Vatican post. The retired pope lived behind the Vatican’s walls for almost 10 years.

He was 95 at the time of his death.
…

Pope Francis hailed the “beloved” Benedict XVI in New Year’s Day services on Sunday as the Vatican released the first pictures of the former pontiff following his death at the age of 95.

Official photos showed the German theologian’s body on a catafalque in the chapel of the monastery in the Vatican grounds where he spent the last decade of his life.

As previous popes, he is dressed in red vestments with a gold-edged mitre on his head, his clasped hands holding a rosary, while behind him is a crucifix, a Christmas tree, candles and a nativity scene.

But he is not wearing the pallium, a vestment reserved for sitting popes.

Benedict, a conservative intellectual who in 2013 became the first pontiff in six centuries to resign, died on Saturday after years of declining health.

His body will be moved on Monday morning to St. Peter’s Basilica, where for three days the public will be able to pay their respects before a funeral on Thursday overseen by Pope Francis.

Francis, 86, paid tribute to his predecessor at a New Year’s Eve service on Saturday and again on Sunday.

“Today we entrust the beloved pope emeritus Benedict XVI to the most holy mother (the Virgin Mary), to accompany him in his passage from this world to God,” he said at a mass for peace at St. Peter’s Basilica.

Later, delivering his Sunday Angelus prayer in front of thousands gathered in St Peter’s Square, the pope bowed his head in a moment of silence in memory of the late pontiff.

“Let us all join together, with one heart and one soul, in thanking God for the gift of this faithful servant of the gospel and of the church,” he said.

Benedict’s funeral will be “solemn but simple,” the Vatican has said, after which he will be buried in the papal tombs under St. Peter’s Basilica.

The last papal funeral, of John Paul II in 2005, drew a million faithful and heads of state from around the world, although Benedict was a more divisive figure.

A brilliant theologian, he alienated many Catholics with his staunch defense of traditional values and as pope struggled to impose his authority on the church as it battled a string of crises, including over clerical sex abuse.

Most of those gathered at the Vatican on Sunday were on long-planned holidays, but many nevertheless welcomed the opportunity to pay tribute to Benedict.

Paola Filippa, a 58-year-old Italian teacher visiting Rome for Christmas, praised “a simple, humble and great man. Great in faith, life, simplicity and love.”

Tributes to the ex-pontiff have poured in from around the world, from Catholic U.S. President Joe Biden, who praised Benedict’s “devotion to the Church,” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed him as a “defender of traditional Christian values.”

Benedict’s death brought to an end an unprecedented situation in which two “men in white” — Benedict and Francis — had co-existed within the walls of the tiny city-state.

Benedict had almost entirely withdrawn from public view, although his occasional public statements were closely followed by Catholic conservatives who dislike the more liberal approach of Francis.

Francis has raised the prospect that he might follow Benedict’s example and step down if he became unable to carry out his duties.

In July, suffering knee problems that have forced him to rely on a wheelchair, he admitted he needed to slow down or think about stepping aside.

And earlier in December, the Argentine revealed he had signed a resignation letter when he took office should poor health prevent him from carrying out his duties.

Born on April 16, 1927, in Marktl am Inn, in Bavaria, Benedict was 78 when he became the first German pope of the modern era — an election he later said felt “like the guillotine.”

Unlike his successor, a Jesuit who delights in being among his flock, Benedict was more at home with his books, a cat-lover who delighted in study and playing the piano.

He was dubbed “God’s Rottweiler” in a previous post as chief doctrinal enforcer, and fiercely defended traditional Catholic teaching on abortion, euthanasia and gay marriage.

But as pope he struggled to contain numerous scandals in the church.

Benedict was the first pope to meet with victims of clerical child sex abuse, but critics said he did not go far enough in addressing the problem and decades of cover-ups.
…

There was no tolling of the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica, no solemn announcement by a Vatican monsignor to the faithful in the square. A fisherman’s ring did not get smashed and the diplomatic corps were not mobilized to send official delegations to Rome.

The death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI passed in an entirely un-papal-like manner Saturday, with a two-sentence announcement from the Vatican press office, making clear once and for all that Benedict stopped being pope a decade ago. The rituals of his passing were less like the ones of a pontiff, monarch or Vicar of Christ on Earth and more akin to those of a retired bishop, even if he will be buried in the red vestments of a pope.

In a way it was fitting, and drove home that the new chapter in the history of the Catholic Church that Benedict began writing in 2013 when he became the first pope in 600 years to resign had ended, and that it’s now up to Pope Francis to follow up with how future popes might retire.

Will Francis issue new protocols to regulate the office of a retired pope, after Benedict largely winged it on the fly? Will he feel freer to consider his own retirement, now that the main impediment to resignation — having two emeritus popes at the same time — has been removed? How does a reigning pope celebrate the funeral of a retired one?

“I think that his death will open problems, not close problems,” said Massimo Franco, the author of “The Monastery,” a book about Benedict’s revolutionary retirement.

According to preliminary information released by the Vatican, Benedict’s funeral Thursday in St. Peter’s Square seems designed to be low-key, in keeping with his wishes for “simplicity” but also making clear that his status as an emeritus does not merit a pomp-filled papal send-off.

When John Paul II died in 2005, presidents, prime ministers and kings from more than 100 countries attended the funeral presided over by none other than Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who would become Benedict XVI after his election as pope 10 days later.

For Benedict’s funeral, the Vatican only invited Italy and Germany to send official delegations and advised foreign embassies that any other leaders who wished to attend could do so but only in their “private capacity.”

Benedict’s body will lie in state in St. Peter’s Basilica starting Monday, but the three-day window for the faithful to pay their respects suggests a limited outpouring is expected. After John Paul’s death, an estimated 2 million people lined up for four days and nights to say a final farewell, with some camping out on the cobblestones.

Italian security officials estimate some 60,000 people could attend the funeral, a fraction of the 300,000 who packed the piazza and surrounding streets in 2005.

Francis, for his part, offered a first word of tribute Saturday during his New Year’s Eve homily, after having paid his respects Saturday morning immediately after Benedict died with a visit to the converted monastery where his predecessor lived. Francis praised Benedict’s nobility and faithful prayers in his final years, but otherwise stuck to a previously prepared homily about the need for kindness and dialogue in today’s world.

Francis will have the final word Thursday, when he eulogizes Benedict, whom he has praised for his courage in “opening the door” to letting other popes retire.

But Francis himself has said protocols are needed to guide future papal retirements, saying the situation had worked out well enough in Benedict’s case because he was “saintly and discreet.” The death of Benedict now removes the key obstacle to any new law or procedures that could never be promulgated while he was still alive.

While a future pope could change any decree Francis issues, canonists, cardinals and even rank-and-file Catholics have argued new norms are needed because Benedict’s decisions in retirement impacted his successor from the very start.

From the title he chose (pope emeritus) to the cassock he wore (white) to the occasional public comments he made (on sex abuse and priestly celibacy), even Benedict’s supporters felt his choices left too much doubt about who was really in charge, especially for those Catholics nostalgic for his doctrinaire papacy.

Throughout Benedict’s 10-year retirement, many traditionalists continued to consider Benedict a point of reference, and some even refused to respect the legitimacy of Francis as pope.

“I am convinced that the most appropriate ways will be found so as not to engender confusion in the people of God, even though this doesn’t seem to me to be the right time for proclamations and clarifications,” Geraldina Boni, a professor of canon law at the University of Bologna, said.

Thanks to Benedict’s “meekness and discretion,” and Francis’ “strong and affable temperament,” any possible rivalry was avoided, she said. But that may not be the case in the future.

The work to clarify how things would work the next time there is both a sitting and a retired pope has already started. A team of canon lawyers launched a crowdsourcing initiative in 2021 to craft a new church law to govern how a retired pope lives out his final years.

The project, explained at progettocanonicosederomana.com, includes proposals on everything from his title to his dress, pension and activities to make sure they “don’t interfere directly or indirectly” with his successor’s governance.

According to the draft proposals, which were the subject of an academic conference in October, a future retired pope should be referred to as the “bishop emeritus of Rome” not a “pope emeritus.” While he could still wear the white cassock of the papacy, his fisherman’s ring must be destroyed, as Benedict’s was in 2013, and his insignia must remove “all symbols of his Petrine jurisdiction.”

He should promote the unity of the church but cannot participate in any meetings of bishops or cardinals and should consult the reigning pope before publishing anything on the doctrine and life of the church, social questions “or anything that can be considered as competing opinions with the pontifical magisterium.”

“There was a time when we were accused of having imprudently chosen a theme that was too controversial,” given Benedict was still alive, said Boni, who spearheaded the initiative. “On the contrary, the need for norms covering a pope who resigned has been affirmed repeatedly by high-level church figures.”

While it’s unclear if the proposals will be taken up by the Vatican, Francis regardless will find it easier to resign himself and to regulate the process for future popes since Benedict took the first step.

“We have to get used to the idea that popes will live long lives and that, in the end just like my grandfather or your grandfather and everyone’s grandfathers, they can’t continue,” Luis Badilla, who runs the popular Vatican blog Il Sismografo, said. “But they are still part of the family, and this is something beautiful. It gives us a normal church, not a Martian or other-worldly one.”
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Environmental group Extinction Rebellion said Sunday it would no longer stage its infamous blockades of U.K. transport networks and will instead hold a major demonstration against government policy in April.

The activist network, formed in the U.K. in 2018, has regularly used civil disobedience to protest what it calls government inaction on climate change.

Activists gained notoriety for blockading train lines, airports and roads, causing chaos for commuters. At the end of August, they blockaded London’s iconic Tower Bridge.

“As we ring in the new year, we make a controversial resolution to temporarily shift away from public disruption as a primary tactic,” the group said in a statement. 

“This year, we prioritize attendance over arrest and relationships over roadblocks, as we stand together and become impossible to ignore,” it added.

While recognizing “the power of disruption to raise the alarm,” the activists said the group would now focus on disrupting “the abuse of power and imbalance” by demanding politicians end fossil-fuel use. 

It is calling for 100,000 people to demonstrate outside the U.K. parliament in London April 21.

The group’s actions have infuriated large sections of the public, the Conservative government and much of the media. 

Many activists have been arrested, and the government is pursuing plans to further outlaw its protest tactics.

But in its latest statement, the group argued: “The latest draconian attempt by the government to shut down and criminalize effective protest is only increasing public sympathy toward brave activists using their voices to stand up for justice and the loving protection of all humanity.”

Extinction Rebellion has been overtaken by even more radical groups such as Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain, whose activists sprayed soup on Van Gogh’s masterpiece “The Sunflowers” at the National Gallery in London in October.
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