Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, 93, flew to Germany this morning to visit his brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, 96, who is gravely ill at his residence in Regensburg.

In a letter commemorating the centenary of Pope Saint John Paul II's birth, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI reflects that John Paul sought to spread the message that "God's mercy is intended for every individual" and that the late pope was no "moral rigorist" that some have portrayed him as being.

It would be a powerful outward sign of unity in the church if the pope emeritus and those who advise him sought to avoid situations in which his public comments will be inevitably misused to suggest a division that Benedict has never wanted.

On this episode of the “Inside the Vatican” podcast, America’s Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell and producer Colleen Dulle discuss a new interview with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

The retired Pope Benedict said: “Modern society is in the process of formulating an anti-Christian creed, and resisting this creed is punished by social excommunication.”

Cardinal George had much to teach us about the ways in which "reason finds itself strengthened in its dialogue with faith, and vice versa."