Pope Benedict has taken a number of public stands on controversial issues since his election by papal conclave in 2005.

Wealth: "Efforts must also be made to ensure a prudent use of resources and an equitable distribution of wealth," the pope said in January 2008. "In particular, the aid given to poor countries must be guided by sound economic principles, avoiding forms of waste associated principally with the maintenance of expensive bureaucracies. Due account must also be taken of the moral obligation to ensure that the economy is not governed solely by the ruthless laws of instant profit, which can prove inhumane."

Harry Potter: A conservative Christian online news site, LifeSiteNews, posted letters in 2005 signed by Cardinal Ratzinger in 2003, before he was elected pope, in which he expressed dislike of the Harry Potter books written by J.K. Rowling. The letters were addressed to German writer Gabriele Kuby after she authored the book, "Harry Potter; Good or Evil?" Kuby's book said that the Harry Potter books would corrupt the religious spirit of youngsters. "It is good that you, esteemed and dear Mrs. Kuby, enlighten the people about Harry Potter, because there are subtle seductions, that act unconsciously, deeply distorting Christianity in the soul, before it can properly grow," Ratzinger wrote in one letter to Kuby.

Consumerism: "I think about today's young people, raised in an environment saturated with messages proposing false models of happiness," Benedict told pilgrims in December 2007. "These boys and girls risk losing hope because they often seem to be orphans of true love, which fills life with meaning and joy. ... adolescents, youths and even children are easy victims of the corruption of love, deceived by unscrupulous adults who, lying to themselves and to them, draw them into the dead-end streets of consumerism. ... Even the most sacred realities, like the human body ... become objects of consumption — and this (happens) ever earlier, already in preadolescence. ... How sad it is when young people lose the marvel, the enchantment, of the most beautiful feelings, the value of respect for one's body."

Homosexuality: Benedict has repeatedly stood by church teachings expressed in the Catechism: "Tradition has always declared that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered. They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved." Homosexuals "must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided." He holds marriage between a man and a woman as the bedrock of society and Christianity and opposes same-sex marriage.

Immigration: Ahead of the 2007 World Day for Migrants and Refugees, the pope urged the ratification of international conventions and policies that defend all migrants. "The family of Nazareth in exile, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, emigrants and taking refuge in Egypt to escape the fury of an evil king, are the model, the example and the support of all emigrants and pilgrims of every age and every country, of all refugees of any condition who, compelled by persecution and need, are forced to abandon their homeland, their beloved relatives, their neighbors, their dear friends, and move to a foreign land," he said, recalling words by Pope Pius XII in 1952.

Islam: In 2006, Benedict drew criticism from some Muslims with part of a speech at Germany's University of Regensburg, in which he said, "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." The Vatican later pointed out that Benedict was discussing a 1391 dialogue by Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos, who at the time was denouncing the practice of holy wars and forced conversions. The Vatican later posted the full text of Benedict's lecture, adding that forced conversions were "irrational."

Jews: On Easter 2008, Benedict used a traditional prayer that prompted the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Charlotte Knobloch, to sever relations with the Catholic Church. The prayer says, in part, "Let us pray for the Jews. May the Lord our God enlighten their hearts so that they may acknowledge Jesus Christ, the savior of all men... Almighty and everlasting God, you who want all men to be saved and to reach the awareness of the truth, graciously grant that, with the fullness of peoples entering into your church, all Israel may be saved." The Vatican's liaison to Jewish groups, Cardinal Walter Kasper, told the Jerusalem Post that the prayer was not a call to convert Jews. Knobloch said the prayer was "an affront that is arrogant and clearly a backward step in the Christian-Jewish dialogue."

HIV/AIDSs: Benedict insists that birth control, which the church opposes, is not a viable solution for the spread of HIV/AIDS. "I urge you to continue your efforts to fight this virus which not only kills but seriously threatens the economic and social stability of the (African) continent," the pope said in a 2005 address to bishops in Africa. "The Catholic Church has always been at the forefront both in prevention and in treatment of this illness. The traditional teaching of the Church has proven to be the only failsafe way to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS."

Environment: The pope says that environmentalism and faith are intertwined. "The family needs a home, a fit environment in which to develop its proper relationships. For the human family, this home is the earth, the environment that God the Creator has given us to inhabit with creativity and responsibility," Nenedict said in January. "We need to care for the environment: it has been entrusted to men and women to be protected and cultivated with responsible freedom, with the good of all as a constant guiding criterion. Human beings, obviously, are of supreme worth vis-à-vis creation as a whole. Respecting the environment does not mean considering material or animal nature more important than man. Rather, it means not selfishly considering nature to be at the complete disposal of our own interests, for future generations also have the right to reap its benefits and to exhibit towards nature the same responsible freedom that we claim for ourselves."