Forthcoming Books by (and about) Pope Benedict XVI

Some exciting books from Pope Benedict (and related scholarship) coming out this Fall. I expect Seewald's third book-length interview will be one of the most anticipated releases this year.

	Light of the World: The Pope, The Church and the Signs of the Times Pope Benedict XVI | Peter Seewald. Introduction by George Weigel. Ignatius Press (November 24, 2010) Never has a Pope, in a book-length interview, dealt so directly with such wide-ranging and controversial issues as Pope Benedict XVI does in Light of the World. Taken from a recent week-long series of interviews with veteran journalist Peter Seewald, this book tackles head-on some of the greatest issues facing the world of our time. Seewald poses such forthright questions to Pope Benedict as: What caused the clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church? Was there a "cover up"? Have you considered resigning? Does affirming the goodness of the human body mean a plea for "better sex"? Can there be a genuine dialogue with Islam? Should the Church rethink Catholic teaching on priestly celibacy, women priests, contraception, and same-sex relationships? Holy Communion for divorced-and-remarried Catholics? Is there a schism in the Catholic Church? Should there be a Third Vatican Council? Is there any hope for Christian unity? Is Christianity the only truth? Can the Pope really speak for Jesus Christ? How can the Pope claim to be "infallible"? Is there a "dictatorship of relativism" today? Twice before these two men held wide-ranging discussions, which became the best-selling books Salt of the Earth and God and the World. Then, Seewald's discussion partner was Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Vatican's chief doctrinal office. Now, Joseph Ratzinger is Pope Benedict XVI, the spiritual leader of the world's over one billion Catholics. Though Seewald now interviews the Pope himself, the journalist "pulls no punches", posing some of the thorniest questions any Pope has had to address. Believers and unbelievers will be fascinated to hear Benedict's thoughtful, straightforward and thought-provoking replies. This is no stern preachment or ponderous theological tract, but a lively, fast-paced, challenging, even entertaining exchange.
	The Theology of Pope Benedict XVI: The Christocentric Shift by Father Emery de Gaál, Ph.D. Palgrave Macmillan (November 23, 2010) Many refer to Pope Benedict XVI as “the Mozart of Theology.” Who are the personalities and thinkers who have informed his theology? What events, and which religious devotions, have shaped his personality? What are the central themes of his complex scholarship encompassing more than 1500 titles? This study attempts to shed light on the unifying melody of the policies and positions of a pontificate charged with spiritual and theological depth. Especially in the 1970s an anthropocentric shift had occurred. Emery de Gaál argues that, amid a general lack of original, secular ideas stirring public opinion, Benedict XVI inaugurates an epochal Christocentric shift; by rekindling the Patristic genius, he provides Christianity with both intellectual legitimacy and the scholarship needed to propel it into the twenty-first century. About the Author Fr. Emery de Gaál is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of St. Mary of the Lake operated by the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago and located in Mundelein, Illinois. He studied theology in Munich and Pittsburgh and also published Theology: The Art of Equanimity. He is a Catholic priest of the diocese of Eichstätt, Bavaria, Germany. * * * “Pope Benedict XVI’s theological work and his pastoral and spiritual writings are here placed in the perspective of the mystery of Christ. Father Emery de Gaal has beautifully and exhaustively clarified the fundamental interpretative key to the Ratzinger texts and to the life of Pope Benedict XVI.” -- Francis Cardinal George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago “He was already one of the most important theologians of the past century before his election to the papacy as Benedict XVI in this century. But now Joseph Ratzinger must count as perhaps the most important postconciliar theologian, bar none. de Gaál gives us the most comprehensive study of the pope’s theology now available. But even more, he places the pope’s thought in the context of the revolution in Catholic theology that started well before Vatican II and has continued on to this day: the revolution that abandoned neoscholasticism and shifted its focus to Christology. That story is indeed a dramatic one, and here it is dramatically and comprehensively told. This book is a ‘must purchase’ for every theological library – and for all admirers of that perhaps greatest of great theologians, Joseph Ratzinger.” —Fr Edward T. Oakes, S. J., Chester & Margaret Paluch Professor of Theology, University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary “Father de Gaál’s work is indispensable for anyone who wishes to understand the Christocentric shift in the papacies of John Paul II and Benedict XVI and in contemporary theological anthropology generally. It is the deepest analysis of the topic currently available.” — Tracey Rowland, Professor and Dean, John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family, Melbourne, Australia
	The Virtues Our Sunday Visitor (October 18, 2010). "...The truly great thing in Christianity, which does not dispense one from small, daily things but must not be concealed by them either, is this ability to come into contact with God." ---Pope Benedict XVI One of the greatest teachers of our day, Pope Benedict XVI has frequently spoken about the pursuit of virtue. In these selections from homilies and addresses, the Holy Father draws on the lives of saints, the Catechism, and common experiences to bring us into a deeper understanding of the virtues and how to cultivate them in our own lives so that we can grow closer to the Lord. Allow Pope Benedict XVI to instruct you on nurturing all the basic Christian virtues: Faith, Hope, and Charity, called the Theological Virtues and Prudence, Fortitude, Justice, and Temperance the Cardinal Virtues. A virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do the good. It allows the person not only to perform good acts, but to give the best of himself. The virtuous person tends toward the good with all his sensory and spiritual powers; he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions. Catechism of the Catholic Church (1803)
	Heart Speaks to Heart: Sermons and Addresses of Benedict XVI in the UK Darton,Longman & Todd Ltd (September 2010) In advance of his historic visit in September 2010, Pope Benedict XVI prepared several important addresses on religion and society, on education, and on the contribution made by the Catholics of the United Kingdom to the story of the Church. Heart Speaks to Heart collects together the complete texts of all the sermons, talks and addresses given during his four-day visit to Britain, which reaches its climax with the ceremonies at Cofton Park in Birmingham for the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman.