In 1997, when he turned 70, Ratzinger asked Pope John Paul II for permission to leave the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith and to become an archivist in the Vatican Secret Archives and a librarian in the Vatican Library, but Pope John Paul ll refused his assent.
Godine 1997., kada je navršio 70 godina, Ratzinger je pitao papu Ivana Pavla II. za dopuštenje, da napusti Kongregaciju za nauk vjere i postane arhivist u Vatikanskim tajnim arhivima i knjižničar u Vatikanskoj knjižnici, ali je papa odbio.