Georg Ratzinger (3 April 1844 – 3 December 1899) was a German Catholic priest, political economist, social reformer,

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He saw the

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

and

Catholic social teaching Catholic social teaching (CST) is an area of Catholic doctrine which is concerned with human dignity and the common good in society. It addresses oppression, the role of the state, subsidiarity, social organization, social justice, and w ...

as a means of empowering the poor. Ratzinger was a pupil at the gymnasium at

Passau Passau (; ) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the ("City of Three Rivers"), as the river Danube is joined by the Inn (river), Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's population is about 50,000, of whom ...

during the years 1855–63, studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at Munich, 1863–67, and was ordained priest in 1867. In 1868 he received the degree of Doctor of Theology at Munich. During the following years he devoted himself partly to

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

al, partly to journalistic work. In 1869 he was chaplain at Berchtesgaden; 1870–71 he was editor of the journal "Fränkisches Volksblatt" at

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

; 1872–74, chaplain at Landshut, then editor, until 1876, of the "Volksfreund", at Munich. He was a member of the Parliament of Bavaria from 1875 to 1878 and of the German Reichstag from 1877 to 1878. During this period he belonged to the Centre Party. With exception of a pastorate of three years at Günzelhafen, 1885–1888, he lived for a number of years at Munich, where he devoted himself to journalism and research. In 1893 Ratzinger was again elected to the Bavarian Landtag, where he was now a moderate adherent of the Bavarian Peasants' League (Bayerischer Bauernbund), his views of social politics having caused him in the meantime to sever his connections with the Centre Party. In 1898 he was again elected a member of the Reichstag. He remained a member of both bodies until his death. As a literary man Ratzinger deserves much credit for his scholarly work in political economy and in historical subjects. His chief works, distinguished by erudition, richness of thought, and animated exposition, are: "Geschichte der Armenpflege" (prize essay, Freiburg, 1868, 2nd revised ed., 1884); "Die Volkswirtschaft in ihren sittlichen Grundlagen. Ethnischsociale Studien über Cultur und Civilisation (Freiburg, 1881; 2nd. completely revised ed., 1895). The later work maintains the ethical principles of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

as the only sure basis of

political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

and opposes the materialistic system of what is called the " classical political economy" of Adam Smith. "Forschungen zur bayerischen Geschichte" (Kempten, 1898) contains a large number of studies on early Bavarian history and on the history of civilization, based on a series of unconnected treatises, which had first appeared in the "Historisch-politische Blätter". Of his smaller works the following should be mentioned: "Das Concil und die deustche Wissenschaft" (anonymously issued at

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

, 1872) appeared first in the "Katholik", 1872, I; "Die Erhaltung des Bauernstandes" (

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

, 1883). His nephew was the police officer Joseph Ratzinger, Sr., father of

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

and Georg Ratzinger, the priest and church musician.

References

External links

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Georg Ratzinger alias Robert Waldhausen ''Jüdisches Erwerbsleben. Skizzen aus dem sozialen Leben der Gegenwart'' (1892)Georg Ratzinger alias Gottfried Wolf ''Das Judentum in Bayern. Skizzen aus der Vergangenheit und Vorschläge für die Zukunft'' (1897)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratzinger, Georg 1844 births 1899 deaths People from Deggendorf (district) Politicians from the Kingdom of Bavaria Georg 19th-century German Roman Catholic priests Centre Party (Germany) politicians Bavarian Peasants' League politicians Members of the 3rd Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the 10th Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the Bavarian Chamber of Deputies Papal family members Pope Benedict XVI