Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Pope Benedict Roundup!

News

  • Ratzinger to return to the Vatican the second of May, by Andrea Tornielli. La Stampa "The Vatican Insider" 04/26/13:
    Benedict XVI returns to the Vatican. He left the Holy See on 28 February, the last day of his pontificate, which ended officially on the evening of that same day, following his resignation. Unless there is last minute change of plan, the Pope Emeritus is expected to return to the Vatican the second of May. The former cloistered monastery where the former Pope will be living, is now ready for him to move in. ...
  • Author Charles Coulombe was inspired to write The Legacy of Pope Benedict XVI because he considered Benedict to have been ‘the best pope I’ve lived under' National Catholic Register 04/26/13.
  • Pope Emeritus Benedict 'relieved' he is no longer pontiff Pope Emeritus Benedict's older brother has said the former pontiff is "relieved" to be free of the responsibility of running the Catholic Church, as he insisted that while he is growing weaker with old age, he is not suffering from illness. The Telegraph 04/23/13.
  • Ratzinger celebrates first birthday as Pope Emeritus La Stampa 04/16/13
    Benedict XVI turned 86 today, celebrating his first birthday as Pope Emeritus in the solitude of Cstel Gandolfo, surrounded by his small “family”, made up of his secretary Georg Gänswein, the four Memores Domini sisters, the secretary Sister Birgit and his brother, Georg Ratzinger.

    Pope Francis made a cordial telephone call to him, repeating the wishes he sent him during mass. He also sent his wishes to Georg Ratzinger for his name day on 23 April (the two share the same name, the Pope's own name being Jorge).

Commentary

  • Pope Benedict XVI’s “First Convert”, by Roger Dubin. The Catholic World Report 04/16/13. The story of how a New York Jew wrestled with Christ and became Catholic.
  • From the Archives: Neuhaus and Ratzinger, by Matthew Schmitz. First Things "First Thoughts" Recalling Cardinal Ratzinger's 1988 Erasmus Lecture, "Biblical Interpretation in Crisis, presented in New York City and hosted by the Institute on Religion and Public Life.
  • Pope Benedict XVI’s Legacy: Faith and Future Fr. Angelo Mary Geiger on "Six essential and enduring themes of the pontificate of the Pope Emeritus." Catholic World Report 04/23/13.
  • Benjamin Wiker has written a seven part reflection on Pope Benedict's pontificate (and his battle with secularism) for the National Catholic Register. Wiker's latest book is Worshipping the State: How Liberalism Became Our State Religion.
  • Benedict XVI and the End of the “Virtual Council”, by Tracey Rowland. The Catholic World Report 04/19/13. Up to the final days of his pontificate, Benedict XVI emphasized the importance of interpreting the Council in continuity with what came before it.
  • Pope Francis wishes Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI a Happy Birthday 04/16/13:
    [Tuesday] morning, on the occasion of the birthday of Pope emeritus Benedict XVI, the Holy Father Francis began the celebration of Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, inviting all those present to pray with these words: “Today is Benedict XVI's birthday. We offer the Mass for him, so that the Lord be with him, comfort him, and give him much consolation.”

    During the morning, Pope Francis then made friendly a phone call to Benedict XVI to wish him a happy birthday as well as to extend his greetings and best wishes to his brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, who has been at Castel Gandolfo for several days, staying precisely to celebrate in a familial and fraternal way, today's occasion and who will in turn celebrate his saint's day, St. George, this coming 23 April, just as Pope Francis will.

  • Pope's sister: Francis 'plenty tough enough' to lead John Allen Jr. interviews Maria Elena Bergoglio, sister of Pope Francis. National Catholic Reporter 04/03/13:
    There’s only one other person on earth who can really understand what your brother’s going through, and that’s Benedict XVI. They’ve already spoken several times. In the same way, there’s probably only one other person who can appreciate what you’re going through, and that’s Benedict’s brother Georg. Have you thought about calling him for advice?

    You know, no one’s asked me that before. It’s true, probably no one knows what my brother is feeling as much as Benedict. I’ve never thought about calling his brother, but I’m sure it would be a very interesting phone call.

    If you did have that phone call, what would you want to ask him?

    It’s not so much that I have anything I’d want to ask, but I would like to congratulate him for the brother he has. Benedict XVI is an extremely humble man and an extremely honest man, and it takes a lot of guts to renounce power like he did. Also, I’d like to express how grateful I am to Benedict XVI, because he did all the hard work. First of all, he had to follow John Paul II, which was almost impossible, especially because Benedict was more introverted and shy, more intellectual. I also feel sorry for Benedict because in many ways he had to do the dirty work in the church, such as starting to talk about the bad things in the church, the rotten tomatoes, such as the abuse cases.

    You mention the abuse cases. How do you think your brother will respond to them?

    I have no idea what he’ll actually do, but I know that he’ll do what needs to be done.

    Are you glad that your brother is following Benedict and not John Paul II? Do you feel like that will make things easier for him?

    Probably, yes, because John Paul II was so much in the hearts of the people. It was an extremely difficult job for anyone to follow him. I don’t think my brother will be exactly like John Paul II or Benedict XVI … in some ways, at least in terms of personality, he’s a good mix of both of them.

  • Benedict XVI’s Theology of Holy Saturday, by Tania M. Geist. First Things "On The Square" 03/30/13.
  • The Archiving of Benedict, or a Defense of Pope Benedict XVI (Dyspeptic Mutterings 03/28/13). A stern (and warranted) essay by Dale Price on those who would use the pontificate of Pope Francis as a means to criticize -- or otherwise dismiss -- his predecessor.
  • Love, Hope, and Truth: Benedict XVI’s Three Encyclicals, by Carl Olson. CatholicPulse.com. 03/25/13.

Publications

Reason: Open to God The Word Made Love: The Dialogical Theology of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI
by Christopher S. Collins.

Liturgical Press, February 2013.

In The Word Made Love, Christopher Collins identifies in the structure of Ratzinger s thought the presentation of God as one who speaks and who ultimately speaks Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. Humanity s posture before God is one of hearing and responding. For Ratzinger, then, dialogue is the basic structure of all reality, and the Christian vision articulates the radical transformation that happens when we enter into this divine dialogue. Collins argues that this dialogical, communicative structure is a distinctive aspect of Ratzinger s thought and a unique contribution to the renewal of theology in our day.

Christopher S. Collins, SJ, is assistant professor of theology at Saint Louis University. He is a former parish priest on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, as well as a high school instructor at both Brophy College Prep in Phoenix, Arizona, and Jesuit College Preparatory in Dallas, Texas.
Reason: Open to God Joseph Ratzinger in Communio, Vol. 2: Anthropology and Culture (Ressourcement: Retrieval and Renewal in Catholic Thought)
by Pope Benedict XVI. Edited by David Schindler and Nicholas J. Healy.

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (January 2013)

In this second volume of Joseph Ratzinger in Communio, Pope Benedict XVI speaks to various issues relating to humanity today -- conscience, technological security, the origin of human life, the meaning of Sunday, Christian hope, and more.

As editor David L. Schindler notes, "Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) rarely writes on any churchly matter that does not manifest its implications for man and culture, and vice versa. Indeed, this indissoluble linking is one of the main distinguishing features of his theology." This is the second of three volumes; the first deals with themes relating to the Church, and the third volume is to focus on theological renewal.

Reason: Open to God
By Mariusz Biliniewicz.		 The Liturgical Vision of Pope Benedict XVI: A Theological Inquiry Available in the UK only - order overseas from Amazon.co.uk.

Peter Lang AG, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften (20 Feb 2013)

This book presents and evaluates the liturgical vision of Pope Benedict XVI and the theological background underlying that vision. It describes the main features of Joseph Ratzinger's theology of the liturgy and analyses them within the context of his theology as a whole. Ratzinger's evaluation of the contemporary Roman Catholic liturgy is explored in relation to his overall assessment of the post-Vatican II era in the Church, alongside an examination of his project of liturgical renewal ('reform of the reform') and its practical implementation during his pontificate. The author discusses the various critical voices which have been raised against the Pope's liturgical agenda and against certain aspects of his general theology. Overall, the book offers an assessment of the importance of Ratzinger's vision for the Church at the threshold of the third millennium.


Additional Reference Resources

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