This work features the most discussed topics of the life of the Church, treated with unique frankness and depth by the Church's spiritual and theological leader. In this collection of essays, theologian Joseph Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI, tackles three major issues in the Church today--the nature of the Church, the pursuit of Christian unity, and the relationship of Christianity to the secular/political power.

The first part of the book explores Vatican II's teaching on the Church, what it means to call the Church "the People of God", the role of the Pope, and the Synod of Bishops. In part two, Ratzinger frankly assesses the ecumenical movement--its achievements, problems, and principles for authentic progress toward Christian unity. In the third part of the work, Ratzinger discusses both fundamental questions and particular issues concerning the Church, the state and human fulfillment in the Age to come. What does the Bible say about faith and politics? How should the Church work in pluralistics societies? What are the problems with Liberation Theology? How should we understand freedom in the Church and in society?

Beneath a penetrating analysis on these important topics by this brilliant teacher and writer, both concise and also surprising, is revealed the passion of a great spiritual leader.

Discover the Pope s insightful, personable, and refreshingly accessible responses to the questions we all want to ask.

Live audiences of children, clergy, young adults, and others gain unprecedented access to ask the Pope about everything from divorce and remarriage to the Mass, consumerism, relativism, sacraments, Scripture, music, sex, vocations, and more.

Based on Pope Benedict XVI's weekly teaching on the relationship between Christ and the Church, this book tells the drama of Jesus' first disciples -- his Apostles and their associates -- and how they spread Jesus' message throughout the ancient world. Far from distorting the truth about Jesus of Nazareth, insists Pope Benedict, the early disciples remained faithful to it, even at the cost of their lives.

Beginning with the Twelve as the foundation of Jesus' re-establishment of the Holy People of God, Pope Benedict examines the story of the early followers of Christ. He draws on Scripture and early tradition to consider such important figures as Peter, Andrew, James and John, and even Judas Iscariot. Benedict moves beyond the original Twelve to discuss Paul of Tarsus, the persecutor of Christianity who became one of Jesus' greatest disciples. Also considered are Stephen, the first Christian martyr, Barnabas, Timothy, Titus, the wife and husband "team" of Priscilla and Aquila, and such key women figures as Mary, the Mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Phoebe.

Themes the Cardinal covers include Advent, Candlemas, Mardi Gras, Easter, Corpus Christi, Marian Devotion, Vacation & Rest, Peace and Creation.

This lovely little book, profusely illustrated, is ideal for the Christmas and Advent season with its inspiring, profound, yet popular meditations on the blessings of the season by the current Pope. Taken from his sermons as well as his writings, these beautiful meditations by the acclaimed spiritual teacher, writer and now Pontiff, give his usual fresh insights into the deeper meaning of this most wondrous event, and show the Pope to be a man who knows how to address both the mind and the heart.

The volume consists of two fundamental texts by Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, on the ecclesial movements and new communities within the Church since the Second Vatican Council. These writings are particularly meaningful with regard to the intense spiritual journey which the ecclesial movements and the new communities are experiencing in view of their meeting with Pope Benedict XVI on Pentecost 2006.

These writings are a precious guide for the entire Church, leaders and laity alike, who are invited to welcome the new "outpourings of the Spirit". The first part of the book presents in an articulate and exhaustive way the theological vision of the Pope on these ecclesial movements and the new communities. It is his talk titled Church Movements and their Place in Theology which he gave at the beginning of the World Congress of the Ecclesial Movements in Rome in Ma, 1998. It combines extraordinary theological depth with a warm pastoral tone.

The second part of the book is very different from the first, but complements the first part. It contains the dialogue of Cardinal Ratzinger with a large group of Bishops from all continents, convened together for a seminar on the topic, The Ecclesial Movements in the Pastoral Concern of the Bishops held in Rome in 1999.This dialogue format was very favorably received by the Bishops, and it is quite wide-ranging, touching on topics such as the relation between the old and the new charisms, the institutional dimension and the charismatic dimension of the Church, and the Church's mission in a non-Christian society and more.

Eschatology presents a balanced perspective of the doctrine at the center of Christian belief--the Church's faith in eternal life. Recognizing the task of contemporary eschatology as "to marry perspectives, so that person and community, present and future, are seen in their unity," Joseph Ratzinger brings together recent emphasis on the theology of hope for the future with the more traditional elements of the doctrine. His book has proven to be as timeless as it is timely.

Through the Apostles, we come to Jesus himself---Pope Benedict XVI

In this fascinating and inspirational journey with the friends of Jesus, Pope Benedict XVI demonstrates a profound, unbreakable continuity--built upon the foundation of the Apostles and alive in the succession of the Apostles---by which Christ is present today in His people and His church.

Let Pope Benedict be your guide as the distance of centuries is overcome and he reveals the impact of Christ s vision through the calling and works of the Apostles. Ignite your faith with this timeless connection between Jesus, His Apostles, the Church, and you.

As Jesus said to his first two future Apostles, Come and see. Come so that you will be able to see.

In this bold, momentous work, the pope—in his first book written as Benedict XVI—seeks to salvage the person of Jesus from recent “popular” depictions and to restore Jesus’ true identity as discovered in the Gospels. Through his brilliance as a theologian and his personal conviction as a believer, the pope shares a rich, compelling, flesh-and-blood portrait of Jesus and incites us to encounter, face-to-face, the central figure of the Christian faith.

Some of the main issues he raises include: How did Europe originate and what are its boundaries? Who has the right to call himself European and be admitted into the new Europe? What about the spiritual roots of Europe and the moral foundation she is founded on?

Ratzinger sees the lack of focus on these fundamental questions in the forming of a new Europe as a very serious dilemma for the future of Europe, and the world. The ties that Europe has to the USA, and the rest of the world make these questions and reflections by the current Pontiff of critical importance for facing the future together.

On April 24, 2005, Cardinal Joseph Alois Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI, the twenty-first-century successor of the Apostle Peter and the spiritual leader of more than one billion Roman Catholics. Who is this complex man whose office grants him sole charge of the world's largest religion? How will his tenure influence the future? The Essential Pope Benedict XVI answers these questions through carefully chosen selections from his homilies, interviews, theological essays, and articles on the crises facing the church today. This collection lays out Benedict's thinking and relates it to a variety of contemporary issues, including modern culture's abandonment of traditional religious values, social mores regarding conception and the sanctity of life, current challenges to the priesthood, and the Catholic Church's tenuous relations with other world religions.

Prepared and co-published by the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia, this book is a combination of two lengthy essays written by Cardinal Ratzinger and delivered in talks when he was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ["Conscience and Truth" (1984) and "Bishops, Theologians and Morality" (1991)]. Both talks deal with the importance of conscience and its exercise in particular circumstances.

Ratzinger's reflections show that contemporary debates over the nature of conscience have deep historical and philosophical roots. He says that a person is bound to act in accord with his conscience, but he makes it clear that there must be reliable, proven sources for the judgment of conscience in moral issues, other than the subjective reflections of each individual.

Two of the worlds great contemporary thinkers--theologian and churchman Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, and Jurgen Habermas, philosopher and Neo-Marxist social critic--discuss and debate aspects of secularization, and the role of reason and religion in a free society. These insightful essays are the result of a remarkable dialogue between the two men, sponsored by the Catholic Academy of Bavaria, a little over a year before Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope.

Jurgen Habermas has surprised many observers with his call for "the secular society to acquire a new understanding of religious convictions", as Florian Schuller, director of the Catholic Academy of Bavaria, describes it his foreword. Habermas discusses whether secular reason provides sufficient grounds for a democratic constitutional state. Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI argues for the necessity of certain moral principles for maintaining a free state, and for the importance of genuine reason and authentic religion, rather than what he calls "pathologies of reason and religion", in order to uphold the states moral foundations. Both men insist that proponents of secular reason and religious conviction should learn from each other, even as they differ over the particular ways that mutual learning should occur.

Edited by Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P., (the editor of Magnificat), Benedictus is compiled from books, talks, and homilies by the Pope. In the same richly decorated and beautifully typeset style of the Magnificat missal, this volume gives 366 meditations for the entire year, from January 1st to December 31st. Each meditation is accompanied by two masterpieces of sacred art, helping you with your prayer and reflection.

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.

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".

Everyone needs love. Everyone desires love. But not everyone understands love. In fact, love is probably the most misunderstood subject in history.

In his first Encyclical, Pope Benedict helps to clarify the meaning of love. He examines the nature of various kinds of love—human love and divine love, eros, friendship, and charity. He writes beautifully and inspirationally of how man was made for love by the God who is love, the God who became one of us out of love—Jesus Christ.

In the second part of the Encyclical, Benedict addresses the Church's practice of love. He examines the relationship between justice and charity, as well as the call of every Catholic to serve others in love. The Pope's "love letter" to mankind is remarkably accessible and timely.

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.

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.

Reviews:

• Ratzinger and Pera warn of the new dogma of relativism, by Jon Jay Hughes. National Catholic Reporter Oct. 6, 2006.
• Review: Without Roots, by Jay. Living Catholicism [blog]. March 4, 2006.
• Roots: Europe's Salvation National Review March 2, 2006.
• The Politician and the Pope, by Pranay Gupte. The New York Sun February 8, 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.

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."

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.

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 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.

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:

• A Good Place to Start, by Kenneth Baker, S.J. Homiletics & Pastoral Review

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.

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.

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:

• Rehabilitating Truth, by Paul J. Griffiths. First Things 153 (May 2005): 49-51.
• Cardinal Ratzinger looks at the world today, by Dennis Doyle. National Catholic Reporter April 22, 2005.

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

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:

• Back to the Heart of It, by Russell Shaw. CRISIS Magazine Feb. 1, 2003.
  

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.

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:

• Review: Many Religions, One Covenant, by Theresa O'Keefe (doctoral fellow at Boston College's Institute for Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry).

"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.

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

• Book Review: Salt of the Earth, by Thomas D. Williams. First Things, 80 (February 1998].
• Review by James Likoudis. Catholics United For the Faith. Lay Witness Dec. 1997.
• A Chat with Ratzinger, review of Salt of the Earth, by Roland Hill. The Tablet, April 19, 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.

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

Reviews:

• Book Review: A New Song for the Lord: Faith in Christ and the Liturgy Today, by Fr. Phil Bloom.
  

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.

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.

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.

Cardinal Ratzinger addresses the challenges and responsibilities that both the Church and society in Europe face after the collapse of Marxism. Both liberalism and Marxism have denied religion the right to have any influence on public affairs and the common future of humanity. Since there is also a great spiritual emptiness growing in the West with the increased secularization, consumerism and hedonism, Ratzinger's comments apply as much, if not more, to the United States as well.

With the downfall of Marxism, religion has been discovered anew as an ineradicable force for both the individual and society. While there is renewed interest in religion, the dangers also exist to lay hold of religion as an instrument to serve various political ideas. Ratzinger, whose theological work has often dealt with the "reasons for our faith," reflects upon the various problems facing humanity at this turning point of our history and offers genuine hope based upon a deep Christian faith. He also addresses the critical role that the Church has in relationship to the world and the essential task of bringing Christ back into our culture.

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.

Cardinal 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: ``Co-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.

The Cardinal picked the title of this book from the passage in the third letter of Saint John, verse 8, which he also adapted for his coat of arms: "Co-Workers of the Truth." Just as these words signify for Saint 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.

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:

• Creation Recovered, a review by Fred Kaffenberger. Aqua Et Ignis.
  

Originally published in English in 1988, Joseph Ratzinger's Eschatology remains internationally recognized as a leading text on the "last things"--heaven and hell, purgatory and judgment, death and the immortality of the soul. This highly anticipated second edition includes a new preface by Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI and a supplement to the bibliography by theologian Peter A. Casarella.

Eschatology presents a balanced perspective of the doctrine at the center of Christian belief--the Church's faith in eternal life. Recognizing the task of contemporary eschatology as "to marry perspectives, so that person and community, present and future, are seen in their unity," Joseph Ratzinger brings together recent emphasis on the theology of hope for the future with the more traditional elements of the doctrine. His book has proven to be as timeless as it is timely.

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.

In this profound and illuminating work, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger turns the gaze of an accomplished theologian upon the crucified Savior. This synthetic and meditative work is theological without being abstract or dry, and spiritual without being sentimental. The pierced heart of Christ must be the heart of theology and Christian life as well.

Proceeding from the prayerful dialogue between the Incarnate Son and his Eternal Father, Joseph Ratzinger shows how one can approach the mystery of the Heart of Christ only through the imitation of this prayer. To know and understand Jesus we must participate in his prayer. The prayer of Christ must be the interior life of all who are joined to him in his Body, the Church. Using the Old and New Testaments and the Church Fathers, Ratzinger shows that the ecclesial community (the Church) was born from the pierced Heart of Christ on the Cross.

A collection of essays by three giants of twentieth-cenutry theology: Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Heinz Schurmann. Balthasar's and Schurmann's essays were written for the International Theological Commission. Schurmann examines how the New Testament's teaching provides enduring moral norms for Christian conduct. Balthasar presents nine basic principles of the Christian moral life. Ratzinger, who originally wrote this essay as a series of articles for L'Osservatore Romano, addresses the relationship between faith and morality, and the place of the Church's teaching authority with regard to moral issues.

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.

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.

Mary’s role in salvation, according to Cardinal Ratzinger, was anticipated in the Old Testament. She was prefigured in Eve, the Mother of the Living; in the holy women of the Old Testament, such as Sarah, Hannah, Deborah, Esther, and Judith; and in the prophetic image of the daughter Zion. Cardinal Ratzinger also considers Mary’s place as the embodiment of created wisdom, who faithfully received the Uncreated Wisdom of the World of God in the Incarnation.

Daughter Zion avoids the extremes of denying any biblical foundation for Marian doctrine on the one hand and fundamentalistic proof-texting on the other. Instead, the author beautifully and lucidly develops key biblical themes to help readers understand and appreciate the Mother of God.

This joy is nothing other than the joy of the Christian faith. Indeed, the "first word of the New Testament", says Pope Benedict XVI, "is an invitation to joy". The Gospel of Jesus Christ, he insists, is not a burdensome imposition but is truly "glad tidings" for mankind. Christianity is the key to true and lasting joy, the only joy that abides in the midst of life's anxieties and difficulties.

Written in a clear and engaging style, this book argues that joy is central to all of Pope Benedict's thought. All the other great themes of the Christian faith are intimately connected with it and radiate out from it. The world is in need of hearing once again the message of joy which Jesus Christ makes known.

This is a major work on the theology of Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, by a highly regarded German theologian, priest and writer. Since his election to the Papacy, Ratzinger's theology, and in particular his ecclesiology (theology of the Church), has been in the limelight of theological and ecumenical discussions.

This important work studies in detail Ratzinger's ecclesiology in the light of Vatican II, against the ongoing debate about what Vatican II really meant to say about the life of the Church, its liturgy, its worship, its doctrine, its pastoral mission, and more. Has his theology of the Church changed since Vatican II, or has it continued to develop consistently? Is the Catholic Church one church among many churches? Is she the object of hope or a historical reality?

Ratzinger the theologian figures centrally in this investigation, not as the former Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, but as a thinker and as a writer.

As soon as he was elected to the Papacy, Benedict XVI immediately challenged the relativism of our times that rejects God, that sees noting as definitive, and that, according to the Pope, sets as the ultimate yardstick the individual's own ego and desires alone. The Pope offers instead an opposing standard: Christ, the Son of God, the true man. The Pope's words are rousing and demand an examination of conscience. His words are meant for all.

With strong words, Benedict XVI invites us to place God at the center of our lives. Thus, this book is a selection of key words from the teachings of the Holy Father since he began his Pontificate, presented in alphabetical order. Each key word leads to an inspiring and insightful meditation from the Pope on various important spiritual themes and topics. Benedict XVI invites us in these words to become daily actors in the real revolution that comes from God and is called Love.

This volume is a handy little primer on the thought of the beloved Pontiff in which the reader can pick out any key word or topic form the alphabetical order of meditations throughout the book to meditate and focus on.

Fr. Vincent Twomey, a former doctoral student of Joseph Ratzinger, and a long time friend of the Pope's, felt the need to respond to the common question he read and heard often after Ratzinger's papal election, "What kind of person is the new Pope?"

Twomey offers here a unique double-presentation of the man, Pope Benedict XVI -- a "theological portrait" that encompasses both an overview of the writings, teachings and thought of the brilliant theologian and spiritual writer, as well as the man himself, and his personality traits and how he communicates with others.

Since Ratzinger came in to the papacy already well known and highly regarded as one of the greatest theologians of our age, and having written so much on almost every theological subject touching on the faith, morality, the Church and State, it is important to know his mind on these topics and how he approaches the major spiritual and social issues of our times. Twomey shows his style is really the opposite of how he has been depicted in the past -- that he is indeed very pastoral and will first win the hearts of people who will then read for themselves his writings. His very first encyclical, God Is Love, underscores that approach.

Twomey shows that the secret to the serene dignified behavior of Benedict is that, as a man who is an accomplished pianist, he is open to beauty as much as truth, that he lives outside himself, and is not preoccupied with his own self. He also is a man that Twomey says "has the courage to be imperfect", showing he has a deep humility and strives for teaching the truth even when misunderstood or not presented as well as he would like.

In response to Benedict XVI's first encyclical, the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies and Marriage and Family reflects, together with the Holy Father, on love. From the very beginning, the fundamental work of the Institute has been pursuing a deeper understanding of God's plan for marriage and family. In these twenty-five years various generations of students and professors, following the legacy of John Paul II, have been able to discover and communicate the beauty of the vocation for which all men have been created: the call to love.

Twenty-six professors from the Institute's various sessions express what in their understanding are the main themes of the document, approaching the topics raised by the Holy Father with different theological and philosophical perspectives; by so doing they have highlighted the significance and fecundity of the lines of thought suggested by the Pope. This book is offered as a path towards a fuller understanding of the profundity and richness of the love with which God fills us and wants us to communicate in our turn.

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”.

Reviews

• Author's liberal agenda mars biography of pope, by John F. Fink. IndyStar.com Oct. 21, 2006.
• The Puzzling Pope: Who Is Benedict XVI? Andrew M. Greeley. Commonweal November 3, 2006 / Volume CXXXIII, Number 19.
• Facing a Fragmented Church, by Paul Wilkes. America Vol. 195 No. 10. October 9, 2006.

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

• Brief Comments by Fr. Richard J. Neuhaus [First Things: "On The Square"]. Nov. 5, 2005.
  
• Comments on God's Choice, and Notes Pertaining to the Ressourcement, by Justin Nickelsen (Ressourcement: Restoration in Catholic Thought [blog]). Nov. 22, 2005.
• Review by Stephen Riddle. Flos Carmeli [blog]. Nov. 29, 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.<