Cardinal Ratzinger in Print

Following is a list of books by and about Pope Benedict XVI available on the web. The majority of them available are from Pope Benedict's official publisher in English:


Ignatius Press - Catholic Books

OR, Search for books by Cardinal Ratzinger on Amazon.com.

See also our compilation of the growing number of books about Cardinal Ratzinger.

Images of Hope: Meditations on Major Feasts

In Images of Hope: Meditations on Major Feasts, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) masterfully weaves together Scripture, history, literature and theology as he reflects on major feasts of the liturgical calendar. In each chapter, he examines works of sacred art that illustrate the hope we celebrate in our most important Christian holy days.

What do the humble ox and ass at the manger of the Christ Child tell us about Christmas? In an icon of Christ's Ascension, what do the Savior's hands held in blessing promise us? What is the meaning of the sword held by the great statue of Saint Paul before the Roman church that bears his name?

These and many other questions are explored with depth and sensitivity in this collection of meditations by the man who became Pope Benedict XVI. Several beautiful colored images of the relevant paintings, mosaics and sculptures accompany the rich and detailed text.

What It Means to be a Christian
Ignatius Press (June 20, 2006).

Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, writes eloquently and persuasively about how one can live as a serious Christian in today’s secular world. He talks in depth about the true meaning of faith, hope, and love--the love of God and the love of neighbor. He also discusses at length the crucial importance of a lived faith, for the believer himself as well as being a witness for our age, and striving to bring faith in line with the present age that has veered off into rampant secularism and materialism. He passionately encourages the reader to practice a deep, abiding Christian faith that seeks to be at the service of humanity.

As Joseph Ratzinger mentions in the preface, "the book presents in written form three sermons that the author preached in the Cathedral at Muenster to a congregation from the Catholic Student Chaplaincy, December 13-15, 1964."

In other words, these are essays derived from sermons preached to college students toward the end of Vatican II. They are remarkable, among other reasons, for their insights into the ongoing Christian struggle to understand and realize in action "what it means to be a Christian".

God's Revolution
Ignatius Press (February 28, 2006).

The theme of the World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany August 2005 was "We Have Come to Worship Him." Throughout these talks and encounters with the youth, Benedict reinforced the meaning of this theme by leading us to adore the Child who is God, whose love renews and transforms the whole world. Radiating from this book, as from World Youth Day, is a sheer joy over the beauty of faith, the beauty of Christ and of our life in Christ. Reading this book reinforces the conviction that, in the person of Pope Benedict XVI, God has given the Church a great Teacher of the faith, and also a great Pastor who knows the way that can lead us to intimacy with God. His special charism seems to be his ability to combine universal openness with Catholic identity, clear and comprehensive witness to the truth of Christ with the gentleness of fraternal charity.

Without Roots: Europe, Relativism, Christianity, Islam
Perseus Books Group (February 28, 2006).

Pope Benedict XVI joins the President of the Italian Senate to offer a provocative critique of the spiritual, cultural, and political crisis afflicting the West.

On May 12, 2004, Pope Benedict XVI--then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger--addressed the Italian Senate on the state of the West; the very same day, Marcello Pera, President of the Italian Senate, spoke before the Lateran College of the Papal University. Together they called upon the West to confront the spiritual, cultural, and political malaise that have afflicted it in the earliest years of the 21st century. In the months that ensued, before Cardinal Ratzinger's election to the papacy, they developed their ideas into the eloquent dialogue that is Without Roots -- a book that quickly became an Italian bestseller and is even more timely today than ever.

With Europe shaken by the war in Iraq, terrorism, security, Israel, relations with the U.S., immigration, and the rejection of the EU constitution in both France and the Netherlands, the issue of European identity has profound implications for the rest of the world. Bringing together their unique vantage points as leaders of Church and State, Pope Benedict XVI and Pera challenge us to imagine what can be the future of a civilization that has abandoned its history for a relativist secularism. They call on the West to embrace a spiritual rather than political renewal-and to accept the moral beliefs that alone can help us to make sense of changes in technology, economics, and society.

The Journey to Easter: Spiritual Reflections for the Lenten Season
The Crossroad Publishing Company, Inc. (February 25, 2006).

Pope Benedict XVI offers us a great Lenten blessing in Journey to Easter. This book is rich meditation on the meaning of Lent, the significance of the birth and death of Jesus Christ, and the meaning of Jesus in the life of Christians everywhere.

Christianity and the Crisis of Cultures
Ignatius Press (February 14, 2006)

Written by Joseph Ratzinger shortly before he became Pope Benedict XVI, Christianity and the Crisis of Cultures looks at the growing conflict of cultures evident in the Western world.

The West faces a deadly contradiction of its own making, he contends. Terrorism is on the rise. Technological advances of the West, employed by people who have cut themselves off from the moral wisdom of the past, threaten to abolish man (as C.S. Lewis put it)—whether through genetic manipulation or physical annihilation.

In short, the West is at war—with itself. Its scientific outlook has brought material progress. The Enlightenment’s appeal to reason has achieved a measure of freedom. But contrary to what many people suppose, both of these accomplishments depend on Judeo-Christian foundations, including the moral worldview that created Western culture.

More than anything else, argues Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, the important contributions of the West are threatened today by an exaggerated scientific outlook and by moral relativism—what Benedict XVI calls "the dictatorship of relativism"—in the name of freedom.

Christianity and the Crisis of Cultures is no mere tirade against the moral decline of the West. Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI challenges the West to return to its roots by finding a place for God in modern culture. He argues that both Christian culture and the Enlightenment formed the West, and that both hold the keys to human life and freedom as well as to domination and destruction.

Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI challenges non-believer and believer alike. "Both parties," he writes, "must reflect on their own selves and be ready to accept correction." He challenges secularized, unbelieving people to open themselves to God as the ground of true rationality and freedom. He calls on believers to "make God credible in this world by means of the enlightened faith they live."

The Way of the Cross
Pauline Books & Media (November 1, 2005)

Pray through the mystery of salvation with our new pope, Benedict XVI! Experience for yourself the Way of the Cross that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote for this time-honored devotion held on Good Friday at Rome's Colosseum.

Mary: The Church at the Source, by Hans Urs Von Balthasar & Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger.
(Ignatius Press, October 30, 2005)

Two great theologians offer a spiritually rich approach to Mariology that brings into new relief the Marian contours of ecclesial faith. Ratzinger and Balthasar show that Mary embodies the Church and co-operates in giving birth to the Church in the souls of believers. At once profound and accessible, Mary offers a theologically balanced and biblically grounded presentation of traditional and contemporary thought on Marian doctrine and spirituality.

"This book contains a treasury of reflections on the meaning of Mary for the Church, theology, and indeed for anthropology generally. An indispensable source for anyone who would understand the Marian doctrine intended by the Council and in the pontificate of John Paul II—and now Benedict XVI."

—David Schindler, Ph.D. Dean, John Paul II Institute

"This marvelous book of theological meditations on Mary by the two most important Catholic theologians of the 20th century explains why Mary is such a peerless jewel set inside that wretched frame called human history. Because Mary is the very birthplace of the Church and thus the locus of all that gives us hope, our tainted and fallen race itself has hope."

—Fr. Edward Oakes, S.J.


On the Way to Jesus Christ
Ignatius Press (October 8, 2005)

On the Way to Jesus Christ is a series of meditations that Pope Benedict XVI wrote while he was Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. The true Jesus, he writes, is the Jesus of the Gospels, who "is quite different, demanding, bold. The Jesus who makes everything OK for everyone is a phantom, a dream, not a real figure. The Jesus of the Gospels is certainly not convenient for us. But it is precisely in this way that he answers the deepest question of our existence, which--whether we want to or not--keeps us on the lookout for God, for a gratification that is limitless, for the infinite. We must again set out on the way to this real Jesus."

This book also examines whether Jesus Christ is the only savior, and the Church's responsibility to evangelize. It concludes with reflections on Jesus' Presence in the Holy Eucharist, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church's presentation of the Christian mystery as seen through the Catechism's dynamic view of Sacred Scripture.

On the Way to Jesus Christ is for anyone -- believer or unbeliever -- who wants better to understand the true Jesus, the Jesus of the Gospels, the Christ of Christianity" Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, has written a brief but compelling invitation to know Jesus Christ as He really is: bold, demanding, merciful, strong, and the answer to our deepest longings. This is a must-read book for anyone serious about deepening his or her faith." -- Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Denver


Reviews:

  • Review by Justin Dziowgo. Democracy of the Dead [blog] Nov. 16, 2005.
  • "A Jesus Worth Dying For", by Justin Nickelsen. Ressourcement: Restoration in Catholic Theology [blog] Sept. 1, 2005.

Values in a Time of Upheaval
Crossroad Publishing Company (June 7, 2005).

First published in April 2005 in Germany, Values in a Time of Upheaval instantly became a bestseller. The critique of relativism Ratzinger offered as the world mourned Pope John Paul II is here presented in richer detail. In chapters on the history and destiny of human life, Benedict XVI covers such topics as the dangers of secularism, the meaning of truth in a pluralistic world, morality, and the Christian basis for hope.


Pilgrim Fellowship of Faith: The Church as Communion
Ignatius Press (April 1, 2005).

On the occasion of the Cardinal's seventy-fifth birthay, his former students have selected essays, lectures, letters, and conferences that Ratzinger has written in recent years-writing that they feel best represents the position of the Cardinal on issues of theology, the modern world, secularism, non-Christian religions, and other key topics of the Catholic Church. This book, characterized by Ratzinger's concisely reasoned style, is an invaluable resource to those who wish to understand the modern Church, as well as a treasured volume for those who are students of Ratzinger's theology.

"Cardinal Ratzinger is one of the great spirits and most distinguished theologians of contemporary Catholicism. This tribute is a living testimony to Cardinal Ratzinger's lifelong labors on behalf of the communion of the Church, which is rooted in the love of Christ. No one demonstrates better than Cardinal Ratzinger that the Church's tradition is a living and dynamic reality, born of a truth that everyone can know and love ??and, in so doing, be transformed."

-- George Weigel


Reviews:


The End of Time?: The Provocation of Talking about God
Paulist Press (January 3, 2005).

On the occasion of his seventieth birthday Professor Johann Baptist Metz was joined by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Defense of the Faith, as well as by Eveline Goodman-Thau, a Jewish philosopher of religion, and Protestant theologian Jürgen Moltmann, for a meeting at Ahaus Palace on the subject of God and the end of time.

This work, translated for the first time from German, now makes available the proceedings from this significant meeting. Of particular interest for readers is the joint appearance here of Metz and Ratzinger, two theologians who had clashed in the past and who are, theologically, poles apart. It is remarkable here that the participants were able to put aside personal differences and church politics to "do theology." Readers will read with appreciation this thought-provoking work that offers them the unique opportunity to listen in on what was an important forum for theological discussion and an experiment in church politics.


Introduction to Christianity
Ignatius Press (November 30, 2004) [Reprint, with new introduction by Cardinal Ratzinger].

Revised Edition. One of Cardinal Ratzinger's most important and widely read books, this volume is a newly revised second edition with an improved translation and an in-depth 20 page preface by the Cardinal. As he states in the preface, since this book was first published over 30 years ago, many changes and significant events have occurred in the world, and in the Church. But even so, he says he is firmly convinced that his fundamental approach in this book is still very timely and crucial for the spiritual needs of modern man. That approach puts the question of God and the question about Christ in the very center, which leads to a "narrative Christology" and demonstrates that the place for faith is in the Church. ' Thus, this remarkable elucidation of the Apostle's Creed gives an excellent, modern interpretation of the foundations of Christianity. Ratzinger's profound treatment of Christianity's basic truths combines a spiritual outlook with a deep knowledge of Scripture and the history of theology.


Truth and Tolerance: Christian Belief and World Religions
Ignatius Press (October 31, 2004)

Is truth knowable? If we know the truth, must we hide it in the name of tolerance? Cardinal Ratzinger engages the problem of truth, tolerance, religion and culture in the modern world. Describing the vast array of world religions, Ratzinger embraces the difficult challenge of meeting diverse understandings of spiritual truth while defending the Catholic teaching of salvation through Jesus Christ. "But what if it is true?" is the question that he poses to cultures that decry the Christian position on man's redemption. Upholding the notion of religious truth while asserting the right of religious freedom, Cardinal Ratzinger outlines the timeless teaching of the Magisterium in language that resonates with our embattled culture. A work of extreme sensitivity, understanding, and spiritual maturity, this book is an invaluable asset to those who struggle hear the voice of truth in the modern religious world.

"Beyond all particular questions, the real problem lies in the question about truth. Can truth be recognized? Or, is the question about truth simply inappropriate in the realm of religion and belief? But what meaning does belief then have, what positive meaning does religion have, if it cannot be connected with truth?"

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (From the Preface)


Reviews:


God Is Near Us: The Eucharist, the Heart of Life
Ignatius Press (June 1, 2003)

The Second Vatican Council says, "We ought to try to discover a new reverence for the Eucharistic mystery. Something is happening that is greater than anything we can do. The liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; it is the font from which all her power flows."

This profound statement about the Eucharist stands at the center of this book by Cardinal Ratzinger. He compellingly shows us the biblical, historical, and theological dimensions of the Eucharist. The Cardinal draws far-reaching conclusions, focusing on the importance of one's personal devotion to and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, for the personal reception of Communion by the individual Christian, as well as for the life of the Church. For Ratzinger, any transformation of the world on the social plane grows out of the celebration of the Eucharist. He beautifully illustrates how the omnipotent God comes intimately close to us in the Holy Eucharist, the Heart of Life.

"Not only does the Cardinal shed his customary theological light on many subjects, but as he does in other books, he applies his insights very directly to Catholic life and devotion. Coming at this time, this book is part of the effort of many to see the Eucharist restored to the center of Catholic piety and devotion."

-- Fr. Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R., Author, The Rosary: Chain of Hope


God and the World: Believing and Living in Our Time
Ignatius Press (August 1, 2002).

During his years as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, well-known Vatican prelate Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger has given three in-depth interviews. The first two interviews have become best selling books: The Ratzinger Report and Salt of the Earth. Because of the tremendous reception those books received, the Cardinal agreed to do another interview with journalist Peter Seewald, who had done the very popular Salt of the Earth interview. This third in-depth interview addresses deep questions of faith and the living of that faith in the modern world.

The interview took place over three full days spent at the Benedictine Abbey of Monte Cassino in a setting of the silence, prayer, and hospitality of the monks. For this meeting with the highly regarded Churchman, theologian, and author, the seasoned journalist, who had fallen away from the faith but eventually returned to the Church, once again provided a very stimulating, well-prepared series of wide-ranging questions on profound issues. The Cardinal responds with candor, frankness and deep insight, giving answers that are sometimes surprising and always thought provoking.

"When Cardinal Ratzinger, one of the Church's great wise men, sat opposite me in the Abbey and patiently recounted to me the Gospel and the belief of Christendom from the beginning of the world to its end, something of the mystery that holds the world together became more tangible. 'Creation itself', he said, 'bears within itself an ordered pattern from which we can understand the ideas of God -- and even the right way to live.'"

--- Peter Seewald


Reviews:


The Spirit of the Liturgy
Ignatius Press (September 1, 2000)

Cardinal Ratzinger compares this work to a much earlier classic of the same title by Romano Guardini because Ratzinger feels that his insights here are similar with what Guardini achieved in his time regarding a renewed understanding of the Liturgy.


Reviews

Many Religions, One Covenant
Ignatius Press (September 1, 1999).

In Many Religions, One Covenant, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger spans the deep divides in modern Catholic scholarship to present a compelling biblical theology, modern in its concerns yet classical in its breadth. It is his classical mastery, his ressourcement, that enables the Cardinal to build a bridge.

Cardinal Ratzinger seeks to deepen our understanding of the Bible's most fundamental principle. The covenant defines religion for Christians and Jews. We cannot discern God's design or his will if we do not meditate upon his covenant.

The covenant, then, is the principle that unites the New Testament with the Old, the Scriptures with Tradition, and each of the various branches of theology with all the others. The covenant does more than bridge the gaps between these elements; it fills in the gaps, so that biblical scholarship, dogmatic theology, and magesterial authority all stand on common ground â?? solid ground.

"A book we have long awaited. By renewing the Church's appreciation of the new covenant, Cardinal Ratzinger proposes a fully integrated Christian life, with Christ at the center of the Scriptures, but also at the center of the Church today. For in the Eucharist he is still, as ever, fulfilling the old covenant and ratifying the new."

-- Scott Hahn, Author, Rome Sweet Home


Reviews:


Milestones: Memoirs: 1927 - 1977
Ignatius Press (November 1, 1998).

"Here is Cardinal Ratzinger at his most surprising. Who imagines him a teenager risking his life escaping a Nazi forced-labor camp? Or a doctoral candidate shattered by rejection of his dissertation? Or a priest telling of 'the sufferings necessary for the priestly ministry . . . those dark nights that alone can give full shape to the radical assent a priest must give'? Milestones , rich with theological insights as are all his works, gives us finally Ratzinger the person. He is a joy to meet." - Cardinal John O'Connor, Archbishop of New York.


Salt of the Earth
Ignatius Press; Reprint edition (October 1, 1997).

A full-length interview with a secular journalist on a host of controversial and difficult issues facing Catholicism and Christianity at the end of the millennium. Similar to his best-selling book interview in 1985, The Ratzinger Report, Ratzinger responds with candor and insight, giving answers that are often surprising and always thought-provoking on a series of wide-ranging topics regarding the present and future state of Christianity. Ratzinger begins by discussing his own life, including his family life, being a theology professor and writer, becoming a Bishop, Cardinal and the Pope's top authority on doctrine. He then discusses the problems of the Catholic Church today and talks about the challenges and hopes of the future of Church and the world at the beginning of the Third Millennium.

"This is Cardinal Ratzinger at his free-wheeling best, virtually roving the world with theological and cultural analyses as pungent as they are dazzling. His candor is breathtaking." -Cardinal John O'Connor

"One of the most arresting, enjoyable books I've read in years. The Joseph Ratzinger who emerges from these pages is amazingly frank and engaging-a man with a superb intellect but also with a simple, humble, generosity of spirit. He offers us tremendous encouragement." -Archbishop Charles Chaput

"An absolutely fascinating book, like a personal visit with the Cardinal. It not only reveals much of the mind and personality of one of the key figures in modern Catholic history, but it clarifies better than anything I have read the origin of the present crisis in western civilization and in the Church." -Fr. Benedict Groeschel


Reviews


Gospel, Catechesis, Catechism: Sidelights on the Catechism of the Catholic Church
Ignatius Press (September 1, 1997).

Cardinal Ratzinger offers new insights on the catechetical character and Biblical foundation of the worldwide best-selling Catechism that has had such a positive response from ordinary Catholics across the globe. The main purpose of this book is to offer an invitation to this changed approach to the Catechism. He wants people to see, as he shows here, how the Catechism is an excellent teaching tool that responds to man's deepest questions about the meaning of life, how to live a good life, and how to attain peace in this life and the fullness of joy in heaven. He shows how the Catechism affirms that man's happiness is love, and that the essence of true love has been manifested in the Person of Jesus Christ.


A New Song for the Lord
Herder & Herder (May 1, 1996).

Ratzinger addresses the critical issues of the correct form of worship, sacred music, and the important relationship of Christology and Liturgy.


Reviews:


Called to Communion: Understanding The Church Today
Ignatius Press (March 1, 1996).

Cardinal Ratzinger examines the need of the Papal Primacy to ensure Christian unity; the true meaning of the Priesthood as a sacrament and not a mere ministry; the necessity of the Eucharist as the Sacrifice of the Savior now offering Himself on our altars; the role of the Bishops as successors of the Apostles; the value of suffering in union with Christ crucified and the indispensable service of the laity in the apostolate.


Reviews & Related Links:

  • Joseph Ratzinger's Primer on Ecclesiology - Zenit Interviews Ave Maria University's Father Matthew Lamb on the theme of Cardinal Ratzinger's Called to Communion: Part I ; Part 2. June 23/24, 2005.

Nature and Mission of Theology
Ignatius Press (April 1, 1995)

Ratzinger wrote this book in response to the dialogue going on today concerning theology and the clarification of its methods, its mission and its limits.


Introduction to the Catechism of the Catholic Church
Ignatius Press (April 1, 1994).

This is a valuable introduction to the Catechism by the general editor of the Catechism (Schonborn) and the head of the Bishops Commission for the implementation of the Catechism (Ratzinger). Providing helpful insights on how to read and study the Catechism, this book includes a prehistory of the Catechism, an overview of its structure and contents, the major themes and methods in it, a special introduction to the four parts of the Catechism, and specific advice on how to use the Catechism. Ratzinger and Schonborn illuminate the Catechism's teaching on faith, morals, prayer and sacraments, and how a Catholic lives those teachings in today's world.



Turning Point for Europe
Ignatius Press (March 1, 1994).

Cardinal Ratzinger addresses the challenges and responsibilities that both the Church and society in Europe face after the collapse of Marxism.


Meaning of Christian Brotherhood
Ignatius Press; 2nd edition (April 1, 1993).

Written over three decades ago, Cardinal Ratzinger's profound treatise on the true meaning of Christian brotherhood is perhaps even more timely and important now as a clear statement on the biblical grounds for cooperation among believing Christians. In treating Christian brotherhood from the perspective of salvation history, Ratzinger opens up the meaning of both the Old and New Testament in this most essential area. After establishing the distinctively Christian sense of brotherhood (vis-'-vis Judaism, Hellenism, Stoicism, the Enlightenment, and Marxism), he shows how fraternal charity can only be perfected through God's fatherhood, Christ's divine sonship, and our brotherhood in Christ.


Co-Workers of the Truth
Ignatius Press (December 1, 1992).

Ratzinger offers selected passages from his profound spiritual and theological writings as meditations for each day of the year. He picked the title of this book from verse 8 in the third letter of St. John, which he also adapted for his coat of arms: ooCo-Workers of the Truth." Just as these words signify for St. John the participation of all the faithful in the service of the Gospel, which includes the faithful extending hospitality to all who come as messengers of faith, so too Ratzinger shows the importance of our uniting charity with truth to make possible the proclamation of the Gospel. Through his meditations here, he hopes to help awaken in each reader the courage and generosity to become co-workers with the Gospel, which is the truth of Jesus Christ.


In the Beginning... : A Catholic Understanding of the Story of Creation and the Fall
Our Sunday Visitor (January 1, 1990).

Buy in U.S. | Buy in UK

Ratzinger discusses God as creator, the meaning of the biblical creation accounts, the creation of human beings, sin and salvation, and the consequences of faith in creation.


Reviews:



Eschatology : Death and Eternal Life
Catholic Univ of Amer Pr (March 1, 1989).

Recognizing the task of contemporary eschatology "to marry perspectives, so that person and community, present and future, are seen in their unity," Cardinal Ratzinger unites recent emphasis on the theology of hope for a future with traditional elements of the doctrine--heaven and hell, purgatory, death, and the immortality of the soul.


Principles of Catholic Theology
Ignatius Press (April 1, 1987).

A collection of articles and talks written around a central theme the fundamental structure of Christianity: Catholicism, the inter-relationship of other forms of Christianity, the features that distinguish Catholicism from other Christian theologies. Ratzinger outlines the fundamental principles of theology and the proper relationship of theology to Church teaching and authority.


Behold the Pierced One
Ignatius Press (February 1, 1987).

Proceeding from the prayerful dialogue between Jesus and His Eternal Father, Ratzinger shows how one can only approach the mystery of the Heart of Christ through the imitation of his prayer.


Principles of Christian Morality
Ignatius Press (June 1, 1986).

A concise compendium of the fundamental principles of Christian life, co-written with Hans Urs Von Balthasar.


The Feast of Faith
Ignatius Press (May 1, 1986).

In these instructive and inspiring essays, Cardinal Ratzinger presents "approaches to the theology of the liturgy," the product of serious scholarship and deep love for the Church.


The Ratzinger Report
Ignatius Press (June 1, 1985).

Cardinal Ratzinger speaks candidly and forcefully about the state of the Church in the Post-Vatican II era. Here is the comlete text of a meeting many have called a "historical turnabout" in the Church. The roots of the crisis that has troubled Catholics in the twenty years since the Council are analyzed with forthright clarity by one of the most authritative voices in the Vatican. Here is a clear and uncompromising report on the dangers that threaten the Faith, fom one who every day receives the most reliable information from every continent. Yet Ratzinger's observations are as hopeful and balanced as they are clear-sighted, forcefully re-affirming the immense and positive work of Vatican II, whose genuine fruits this book provides a guideline for achieving.



Theology of History In St. Bonaventure
Franciscan Pr (June, 1971).
This is the English publication of Ratzinger's second doctoral dissertation.


Reviews / Commentary

Pope Benedict XVI: Servant of the Truth
by Peter Seewald (Ignatius Press, August 15, 2006).

Do you know the real Pope Benedict? Journalist Peter Seewald does. After writing an unfair attack on Cardinal Ratzinger, he was urged by Catholic readers to meet with the man he was maligning. He did so—and the result was two book-length interviews, Salt of the Earth and God and the World. Seewald also returned to his Catholic faith, saying that Ratzinger was the one who “taught me what it meant to swim against the stream.”

This book, written mainly by Seewald, describes the paths of Joseph Ratzinger’s life from his birthplace in Bavaria all the way to being the first German Pope in 482 years. It is lavishly illustrated with a collection of over 150 of some of the most personal, and most surprising, photographs. These show the Pope as he really is: “a humble servant in the vineyard of the Lord”.


The Rule of Benedict : Pope Benedict XVI and His Clash with the Modern World, by David Gibson.
HarperSanFrancisco (September 1, 2006).

God's Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Catholic Church, by George Weigel.
Harper Collins (November 1, 2005).

George Weigel's bestselling biography of Pope John Paul II, Witness to Hope, set the standard by which all portraits of the modern papacy are now measured. With God's Choice, he gives us an extraordinary chronicle of the rise of Pope Benedict XVI as well as an unflinching view of the Catholic Church at the dawn of a new era.

When John Paul II lapsed into illness for the last time, people flocked from all over the world to pray outside his apartment. He had become a father figure to millions in a world bereft of strong paternal examples, and those millions now felt orphaned. After more than twenty-six years of John Paul II's guidance, the Catholic Church is entering a new age, with its bedrock traditions intact but with pressing questions to address in a rapidly changing world. Beginning with the story of John Paul's final months, God's Choice offers a remarkable inside account of the conclave that produced Benedict XVI as the next pope, drawing on George Weigel's unrivaled access to this complex event.

Weigel also incisively surveys the current state of the Church around the world: its thriving populations in Africa, Latin America, and parts of the post-communist world; its collapse in western Europe; its continued struggles in Asia; and the vibrancy of many aspects of Catholic life in the United States, even as the Church in America struggles to overcome its recent experience of scandal.


Reviews


Benedict XVI: The Man Who Was Ratzinger, by Michael S. Rose.
Spense Publishing (October, 2005).

Perhaps the most imposing intellectual ever to assume the papacy, Ratzinger has been recognized as a world-class theologian since the time of Vatican II. In two decades as the chief guardian of Catholic doctrine, he addressed every controversy facing the Church: clerical sex abuse, feminism, religious pluralism, sexual revolution and the culture of death, secularism, and militant Islam. This uncommonly rich record, Rose argues, promises a new Counterreformation, purifying and reorienting the Catholic Church.

Rose reveals that Cardinal Ratzinger, unquestionably John Paul II's closest collaborator, was privately critical of certain ecumenical, liturgical, and administrative policies of the late pope. While Benedict will undoubtedly follow John Paul's fundamental path, Rose predicts some critical departures that could enable this supposedly "polarizing" figure to become a powerful unifying force, reviving the Church and reawakening the West's Christian identity in its moment of crisis.


Reviews

  • Review. BrothersJudd.com. Nov. 12, 2005.

The Rise of Benedict XVI : The Inside Story of How the Pope was Elected and Where He Will Take the Catholic Church, by John Allen, Jr.
Doubleday (June 7, 2005).

". . . This book isn't just an examination of the new pope's Christian principles; it is also a glimpse into the inner machinations of the Vatican, which Allen covers for the National Catholic Reporter and from time to time on CNN. Drawing on his many sources—including eight cardinals who participated in the conclave that elected Pope Benedict—Allen gives a play-by-play assessment of how the pope was chosen and what he might have in store for the church's 1.1 billion followers. Readers who want a cloak-and-dagger political whodunit should look elsewhere. Allen's book is much smarter than that; it's a rich and thoughtful analysis of the present-day Catholic Church and its complex new spiritual leader." - Publisher's Weekly


Reviews:


In the Vineyard of the Lord: The Life, Faith and Teachings of Joseph Ratzinger, by Marco Bardazzi
(Rizzoli, 2005).


Reviews

  • Review by Edmund. W. Majewski, S.J. St. Peter’s College Jersey City, NJ. Homiletics & Pastoral Review


Let God's Light Shine Forth : The Spiritual Vision of Pope Benedict XVI, by Robert Moynihan
Doubleday (June 7, 2005)

Though he was a familiar Church leader for many years before becoming pope, there has been little awareness of the spiritual side of Benedict XVI. Now for the first time readers are given a brilliant overview of the Pope's most inspirational teachings in Let God's Light Shine Forth. Robert Moynihan, founder and editor of Inside the Vatican magazine, offers a brief introduction to the life and work of Pope Benedict XVI and then presents an absorbing collection of his most persuasive words.

Within these pages, Pope Benedict XVI introduces a God who is good, beautiful, and true, the fountain of all life. The most important thing for each person, in Benedict's view, is to discover and develop a loving relationship with God, because this is the way to the deepest and most lasting happiness that human beings can experience. Even in our darkest moments, he teaches, we can have hope that all things will ultimately work out in a wonderful way to show God's glory and bring blessedness to individual men and women.


We Have a Pope! Benedict XVI, by Matthew Bunson.
Our Sunday Visitor (May 19, 2005)

Matthew Bunson, the author of over 30 books including Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Catholic History, Encyclopedia of Saints, and the Catholic Almanac, discusses the events leading up to the Conclave, the candidates, the issues inside the Church, and out and most of all, the persona of Pope Benedict XVI, the events made him the man he is today and what can the Church expect under his reign.


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Looking again at the Question of the Liturgy with Cardinal Ratzinger, Edited by Alcuin Reid OSB.
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"What we previously knew only in theory has become for us a practical experience: the Church stands and falls with the Liturgy. When the adoration of the divine Trinity declines, when the faith is no longer appears in its fullness in the Liturgy of the Church, when man's words, his thoughts, his intentions are suffocating him, then faith will have lost the place where it is expressed and where it dwells. For that reason, the true celebration of the Sacred Liturgy is the centre of any renewal of the Church whatever." -- Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

But how, today, at the beginning of the third millennium, do we achieve "the true celebration of the Liturgy"? Is the answer a wholesale return to the traditional rites? Is it in accepting a wide diversity of divergent uses -- new, old and inculturated -- in the Roman rite? Or is it in seeking an official reform of the liturgical reform that followed the Second Vatican Council?

These are the issues that were discussed under the presidency of Cardinal Ratzinger at the conference held at the Abbey of Notre-Dame at Fontgombault from July 22-24 2001. This volume makes available in English translation the papers from that conference -- papers which inform and challenge, and which make a significant contribution to the consideration of the question of the Liturgy in our day.

Also of interest:

The Organic Development of the Liturgy by Alcuin Reid, OSB.
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Cardinal Ratzinger : The Vatican's Enforcer of the Faith, by John L. Allen, Jr.


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