[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 838 Engrossed in House (EH)]


                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                         April 9, 2008.
Whereas Joseph Alois Ratzinger ascended to the Papacy and chose the name 
        Benedict XVI on April 19, 2005, becoming the 265th reigning Pope in the 
        history of the Roman Catholic Church;
Whereas he was born and baptized on April 16, 1927, in Marktl am Inn, Germany;
Whereas he was required to leave seminary at the age of 16 and forced into 
        military service for Nazi Germany;
Whereas he risked grave danger by defecting from the Nazi anti-aircraft corps in 
        1945 and subsequently spent time in an Allied prisoner of war camp;
Whereas he was ordained to the priesthood on June 29, 1951;
Whereas he is a highly regarded theologian and scholar, having served in various 
        university posts from 1959 until 1977;
Whereas he has written 25 books and given thousands of hours of lectures, making 
        him one of the most prolific theologians in modern times;
Whereas he participated as a theological advisor to the Second Vatican Council 
        from 1962 until 1965;
Whereas he was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising in Germany on March 
        24, 1977, and ordained a bishop on May 28, 1977;
Whereas he was elevated to cardinal on June 27, 1977;
Whereas he was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the 
        Faith and President of the Pontifical Biblical Commission on November 
        25, 1981;
Whereas he was elected Dean of the College of Cardinals on November 27, 2002;
Whereas Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was installed as Bishop of Rome on April 24, 
        2005;
Whereas Pope Benedict XVI has made repeated calls for peaceful resolutions to 
        international conflicts;
Whereas Pope Benedict XVI has made reconciliation and peace an important goal of 
        his Papacy on an ecumenical level reaching out to both Orthodox and 
        Protestant Churches and in an inter-religious manner with Judaism and 
        Islam;
Whereas Pope Benedict XVI has affirmed the dignity of the human person with 
        respect to refugees, exiles, evacuees, and other migrant persons;
Whereas Pope Benedict XVI has decried the imminent dangers posed by terrorism 
        and extremism; and
Whereas Pope Benedict XVI has identified the failed revolutions and violent 
        ideologies of the 20th century as being the result of the ``Dictatorship 
        of Relativism'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the United States House of Representatives welcomes His 
Holiness Pope Benedict XVI on his first apostolic visit to the United States.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.