Pope can't cook, says brother

The Pope can't cook but knows how to wash dishes following dinner and practices addresses with a tape recorder, according to his older brother.

Before he became Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, kind of like the Church's head faith policeman.

Pop favourites: According to the Pope's brother, he likes reading and rarely watches TV. He likes taking a walk in u00a0the garden after dinner.u00a0file pic/getty images

A few times a year he would return home to Regensburg in Germany where the brothers would bond at the cardinal's house over dinner prepared by nuns.
"Fortunately the nuns would put something in the fridge because neither of us cook well," said Georg Ratzinger (88) in an interview. "After dinner he would wash the plates and I would dry."

Benedict, who turns 85 on April 16, likes to use a tape recorder to practice the foreign words he uses to greet the thousands of pilgrims who arrive to Rome from around the world to attend his Wednesday address, said his brother, a priest, who is promoting a book dedicated to the pope.

The pontiff has his dinner "at 7.30", according to his brother.
"At 8.00 he watches the news. Then he takes a short walk in the gardens. He rarely watches TV. At the most he'll watch a movie if it's about the Vatican."

Did you know?
The Pope enjoys playing the piano and listening to the music of Mozart and Bach daily. Pope Benedict XVI loves cats and has two of his own. One was a stray which he found in Rome.