Pope Benedict Roundup

News

• In a New Letter, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI Seeks Shepherds for the Whole World National Catholic Register. 05/12/15:

  In a letter to his former secretary of state, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has underscored the need for the Church to extend its pastoral care to nonbelievers and to share “the questions of the times” in its continuing efforts to announce the Gospel to the world.

  Benedict XVI’s new reflections came in an April 21 letter to Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who served as his secretary of state from 2006 to 2013. A summary of the letter was published in the May 10 edition of the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano.

  The letter is the second original work of Benedict XVI’s made public since his resignation in February 2013.

• Retired Pope Benedict XVI Celebrates 88th Birthday With A Pint Of Beer Huffington Post 04/17/15:

  Retired Pope Benedict XVI celebrated his 88th birthday Thursday with a party and a pint of beer.

  Photos released by the Vatican newspaper Thursday showed the German pope toasting a group of Bavarians in the Vatican gardens accompanied by his older brother, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, and his longtime private secretary.

  Pope Francis celebrated Mass in Benedict's honor Thursday morning, saying he hopes God "supports him and gives him much joy and happiness."

  

Commentary

• My Cousin Is the Pope -- and It's Everything, by Lauren Cahn. Huffington Post 05/04/15:

  I'm Jewish. I married a Jew. Both of my parents were Jewish. And so on. And yet, apparently, I am the cousin of a Pope - specifically, the still-living but now-retired Pope Benedict XVI. In fact, Pope Benedict XVI and I descend from at least two common ancestral lines. ..."

• How Benedict XVI vanquished the New Atheists, by Mary O'Regan. Catholic Herald 04/19/15.

• On 88th Birthday, Benedict XVI Lauded for Emphasis on Mercy National Catholic Register 04/16/15. The Vatican official charged with organizing the upcoming Jubilee for Mercy says the topic was the “heart” of Benedict XVI’s pontificate, due to the emphasis he placed on love, which is lived out in mercy.

• Abp Ganswein: Benedict XVI prayerful at 88 Vatican Radio [interview]. 04/15/18:

  Archbishop Ganswein told Mediaset’s La strada dei miracoli programme, “It is clear that a man who soon will turn 88 should be thinking about this [referencing his "dialogue of prayer in preparation for death].” He continued, “His is a Christian art – because preparing for death means preparing to meet the LORD, and this is a decisive meeting.”

• Cardinal George Pell: Pope Benedict XVI laid the groundwork for financial transparency The Pilot 04/01/15. Cardinal George Pell, Prefect of the Prefecture of the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, explained that "it must not be thought that Pope Benedict XVI did nothing and we are now doing everything."

• ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ Concluded Benedict XVI’s Theological Work, Secretary Says National Catholic Register 03/23/15:

  Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is no longer writing on theology, as he doesn’t have the strength to continue with this work, his personal secretary has said.

  In an interview with the Italian weekly magazine Oggi, published March 17, Archbishop Georg Gänswein said Benedict XVI “no longer dedicates himself to theological or scientific writings,” and with the completion of his three volumes of Jesus of Nazareth, "he has concluded his theological work.”

  “He says he doesn’t have the strength to write anymore," Archbishop Gänswein said. "He continues to preach a homily at holy Mass on Sunday — without notes. He has a great memory."

• Two years into retirement, the legacy of Father Benedict endures, by Ann Schneible. Catholic News Agency 02/11/15. Two years to the day since Pope Benedict XVI told the world of his historic decision to step down from the papal office, those impacted by his pontificate say that his legacy is still burning bright.

Ratzinger Scholarship - Recent Books

A Liberation Ecclesiology?: The Quest for Authentic Freedom in Joseph Ratzinger's Theology of the Church Peter Lang Pub Inc (April 29, 2015). 576 pp. Freedom, one of the most potent ideals of the post-Enlightenment era, came to remarkable prominence in ecclesiology through the emergence of liberation theologies in the twentieth century. At the same time, Joseph Ratzinger - a German university professor - was appointed a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church and prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. His interaction with the pioneers of the liberationist movement led him to engage directly with the Christian understanding of freedom and its significance. As a result, his interest in freedom as a theological question expanded from the 1970s onwards. This book explores whether the basis for a liberation ecclesiology can be attributed to Ratzinger in his own right. While the volume's focus is ecclesiological, the author also gathers together many strands of Ratzinger's core theological insights in an attempt to establish how he approaches an issue that is both provocative and highly topical. Ratzinger is a controversial and engaging figure, and this book is essential reading for those who wish to understand how he deals with a theological topic of ongoing concern to society in general and the Catholic Church in particular.