Tragedy in Miami: Family Celebrates the Remarkable Life of 17-Year-Old Stabbed in Heartbreaking Incident

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (April 16, 1927-December 31, 2022) stunned the world in 2013 when he announced, after eight years in office, that he lacked the strength to continue as head of the Catholic Church. The then-85-year-old thus became the first pope in 600 years to resign.

The first German pope in a thousand years, Benedict – born Joseph Ratzinger – was a theologian and writer devoted to history and tradition who was elected to succeed Pope John Paul II. He used his position to redirect the world’s focus on faith in an era of secularization.

On his first foreign trip as pope, at a 2005 World Youth Day gathering in Cologne, Germany, he told a million attendees, “In vast areas of the world today, there is a strange forgetfulness of God. It seems as if everything would be just the same even without Him.”

He reached out to other faiths and became only the second pope in history to enter a synagogue. As a conservative, many of his actions (such as relaxing the restrictions on Latin mass) satisfied traditionalists but were controversial among more progressive voices in the clergy. There were also PR gaffes; he was criticized for telling reporters in 2009 that distributing condoms would increase, not decrease, the spread of AIDS.

But he was also forced to confront the fallout of the church’s sex abuse scandal and notably apologized to victims.

Benedict’s dramatic decision to retire rather than remain in office until his death paved the way for the election of Pope Francis, a more progressive cleric.

The two lived as neighbors, an unprecedented arrangement, as Benedict wrote and lived a monastic life in the Vatican Gardens. Francis would say having Benedict at the Vatican was like having a “wise grandfather” living at home.

Trailblazing broadcaster Barbara Walters (September 25, 1929-December 30, 2022) forged a path for women in an industry that was dominated by men, so much so that when she was hired as a writer for NBC’s “Today” in 1961, she was only allowed to write for women. Writing for male correspondents would become only one of many glass ceilings she would break.

She began making on-air appearances with light, offbeat stories, for which she once wore bunny ears to report on the life of a Playboy bunny. In addition to “Today,” she also hosted the syndicated morning show “Not for Women Only.”

Walters would become the co-host of “Today,” only to be lured away by ABC News in 1976, becoming the first woman to anchor an evening network newscast, earning an unprecedented $1 million salary. But co-anchoring with Harry Reasoner proved disastrous, and ABC News president Roone Arledge moved her into special projects, with primetime interview specials and contributions to the newsmagazine “20/20,” a show she would eventually co-host. And in 1997, she created “The View,” an all-female live talk show that tackled any and every topic.

During her decades at NBC and ABC, she earned her reputation as a tough interviewer with incisive questioning of newsmakers, celebrities, politicians and world leaders. She admitted she was never in awe around celebrities because she’d grown up around many, her father being a nightclub owner. “I’m not afraid when I’m interviewing; I have no fear!” Walters told The Associated Press in 2008. And she was not afraid to snatch an interview away from a colleague – her competitive chops to get an exclusive were strong.

By 2004, when she stepped down from “20/20,” she had logged more than 700 interviews (more than a few of whose subjects would be made to cry). She won 12 Emmys, and received a Peabody Award for her interview with Christopher Reeve, following the horseback-riding accident from which he was paralyzed.

In 1999, her two-hour talk with Monica Lewinsky, in which the former White House intern discussed her affair with President Bill Clinton, drew more than 70 million viewers.

In 2014, upon her retirement from “The View,” Walters said she was proud of her legacy, of the women who followed in her footsteps.