The Pope's Brother Speaks

From The Christian Post:

Looking forward to the pope's visit to Germany and his native Bavaria Sept. 9-14, Ratzinger said he understood the expense of papal travel meant limits on his brother's lingering in his old haunts, including the house the pope still has in Regensburg's Pentling suburb.

One day of the trip is reserved for private time for the two brothers in Regensburg, and for the pope to visit the graves of his mother and father, Maria and Josef, and his sister, Maria, in a local cemetery. Otherwise, the pope will celebrate outdoor Masses in Munich, Regensburg, Altoetting and Freising.

"It's actually just half a day," Ratzinger, 82, said. "Whether it's enough or not, that's all there is. I wish there was more, but a visit is an enormously expensive matter with so many people taking part and the resulting costs. Every second is valuable."

In any case, Georg Ratzinger said he was able to spend almost a month at the papal summer retreat in Castelgandolfo, Italy this year.

The pope, born Joseph Ratzinger, and his brother were ordained priests on the same day in 1951. While Joseph became a theology professor, cardinal of Munich, top Vatican official and then pope, Georg made his career in music, conducting the renowned boys' choir of Regensburg Cathedral.