THE SPEECH was crucial in getting him elected Pope. Hours before the 2005 conclave began, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger reflected on the “winds of doctrine” that have “tossed about” the “small boat” of Christian thought. This, the soon-to-be Pope Benedict XVI told his fellow cardinals, was creating “a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognise anything as definitive”. It was a bold and clear message: the Church must hold on to the truth in the face of changing fads and fashions. 

Twelve years on and Pope Emeritus Benedict returned to the theme in the message he sent for the funeral last week of his friend, Cardinal Joachim Meisner.