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.

USCCB Sponsors ‘Pope Culture’ Week on Twitter

(USCCB Press Release):

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is encouraging Catholics to learn about the pope—in 140 characters or less.

From Monday, October 25, to Friday, October 29, the USCCB will post one question a day (using the hashtag #popeculture) on the life and teachings of Pope Benedict XVI to the Twitter followers of the USCCB (http://twitter.com/USCCB).

The first person to provide the correct answer as an @reply will receive a free copy of the book, Benedict XVI: Essays and Reflections on his Papacy, published by Sheed & Ward and edited by Mercy Sister Mary Ann Walsh, USCCB director of media relations.

Pope Benedict Roundup!

News

• 10/16/10 - From Catholic News Agency, a report that The Holy Father displayed in his home a signed flag from the 33 Chilean miners as a reminder to pray for the trapped men until they were freed. His prayers were answered on October 13th, when all 33 miners were freed in a "flawless" rescue. (MSNBC.com).

• 10/14/10 - a different papal coat of arms appeared on a tapestry hung from the window of Pope Benedict XVI’s apartment last week, prompting much speculation because it featured "a crown or tiara topping the crest, rather than the miter Pope Benedict chose — apparently very intentionally — when he was elected in 2005." (Catholic News Agency).

• 10/11/10 - Pope condemns ‘false god’ of terrorism, by John Thavis (Pope Benedict XVI has warned participants at the opening session of the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East of the threat of “false gods” that beset the modern world. | Video

• 10/08/10 - Pope Benedict XVI “understands” the criticism that he did “too little, too late” in response to the clerical abuse crisis, says Peter Seewald, author of the forthcoming book-length interview with the Pope (Catholic Herald).

• 09/30/10 - Spanish prelates are leading their faithful in preparing for Benedict XVI's arrival on Nov. 6, with the launch of the official Web site. Zenit news has a full report on the preparations. The website for the papal visit to Spain is: www.visitadelpapa2010.org. On September 27, the intinerary for the pope's visit to Spain was announced.

• 09/28/10 - Msgr. Georg Ganswein praised Pope Benedict's courage, his fearlessness regarding confrontation and debate, and his constant stand for the truth in an awards ceremony:

  The priest was awarded the Capri San Michele prize for his Italian-language book "Benedict XVI Urbi et Orbi" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2010).

  In his reflections, published by L'Osservatore Romano, Monsignor Gaenswein spoke about the "warm" side and the "simplicity" of the Holy Father.

  The priest particularly highlighted the courage that marks this pontificate: "He calls by name the defects and errors of the West, criticizes the violence that attempts to have a religious justification."

  He noted that Benedict XVI "does not cease to remind us that with relativism and hedonism and by imposing religion through threats and violence one turns one's back on God."

Commentary

• Dr. Tracey Rowland, gave an interview with Ignatius Press' Ignatius Insight on "the truth about the pope—and why it matters" (October 15, 2010). Rowland is author of Ratzinger's Faith: The Theology of Pope Benedict XVI (2008), and, most recently, Benedict XVI: A Guide for the Perplexed. Responding to the question "what misunderstandings or misrepresentations of Benedict's thinking do you find most bothersome or in need of correction?", Rowland answered:

  Unfortunately many people, in particular journalists, can only think in dialectical categories like: left-wing, right-wing, progressive, conservative. They never ask questions like: conserve what? or progress toward what? It is very difficult to present Ratzinger's ideas in sound-bites without doing violence to the nuances.

  There is, for example, a sense in which it may well be right to classify Ratzinger as a progressive in 1964 and a conservative today but what changed is not the actual theological beliefs held by Ratzinger, but the historical and theological contexts. In 1964 to be progressive meant wanting to introduce some flexibility into a theological framework which had become ossified and dry. It meant being critical of Suárezian Thomism. Today, being progressive means being in favour of contraceptives, women priests, homosexual "marriage" and Marty Haugen.

  An important point that she makes elsewhere in a series of columns for The Record (Australia) -- the first asserting "Ratzinger was no liberal" (10/07/10); the second addressing the conservative characterization of "Ratzinger as Prefect" (10/13/10).

• Music as Witness to the Faith: Benedict on Beethoven and Pärt - noting that "Of all the speeches Pope Benedict XVI makes in his role as the Successor of Peter, those of the greatest cultural importance are also those that unfortunately get the least exposure," Daniel B. Gallagher examines a brief address the Pope gave to the Orchestra and Choir of the Academy of Saint Cecilia following a concert given in his honor. (Ignatius Insight October 12, 2010). According to RomeReports.com, along with cardinals, politicians and businessmen was a group of Rome’s poor who attended at the invitation of the Pope [VIDEO].

• Bridging the Anglican-Catholic Gap Kevin M. Clarke examines the ecumenical impact of Pope Benedict XVI's September visit to the UK. On Benedict's praise of John Henry Cardinal Newman as an ecumenical witness:

  The graceful mention of Newman’s fidelity to his conscience is an important one. All too often one hears personal conversion stories in which pastors from other communities desiring full communion with Rome were encouraged -- in some cases even by Catholics themselves -- to remain separate from the Catholic Church to achieve the greatest possible unity. But what is lost in such an approach is the pastor’s duty himself to follow his conscience.

  And this, of course, is why Blessed Newman’s example is so vital. Newman’s ecumenical witness brilliantly illumines the true path to union -- one in which followers of Christ achieve the real unity for which our Lord prays (cf. John 17) by following their consciences, and dialogue and friendship continue in charity and in truth.

• Deus Caritas Est - A Foundation. A commentary on the Pope's first encyclical by Jake Tawney. Roma Locuta Est September 28, 2010.

• The Other Curia of Benedict XVI. The Appointments, the Results, by Sandro Magister (Chiesa). "Museums, library, culture, music, media. They are the most visible face of the Vatican. And also most exposed to the judgment of all. Here are the pros and cons, case by case, name by name."

• A 1999 letter by Cardinal Ratzinger on the reform of the liturgy via Rorate Caeli. In September, Fr. Matias Auge CMF, a veteran professor of liturgy in Rome, former consultant to the Congregation for Divine Worship and disciple of the reformers of the 1960's, published an exchange of letters that he had with then-Cardinal Ratzinger on the topic of the reform of the sacred liturgy. Upon Rorate's request, Natasja Hoven, who works with the Swedish Catholic website Katolsk Observator, provided a translation in English.

• CNN Report on Benedict XVI Met With Protest: Scholars Lament Media's Failure to Make Real Contribution The secular media's unfounded accusations against Benedict XVI is nothing new. Yet, Catholics quickly responded to another journalistically-shoddy production about the Pope and the sexual abuse crisis. (Zenit News September 29, 2010).

On a lighter note ...

• The owner of a Napoli restaurant in Glasgow was asked to create a "special" pizza for the Pope - and spent hours perfecting the perfect dish for the pontiff during his visit to Glasgow.

• A black cat that was blessed by the Pope during his UK state visit has been sent international fan mail, apparently from other felines (BBC News).

Benedict XVI: Essays and Reflections on His Papacy

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), with Sheed & Ward, an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, has published Benedict XVI: Essays and Reflections on His Papacy -- "an unprecedented look into the first five years of Benedict’s reign":

Edited by Mercy Sister Mary Ann Walsh, director of media relations for the USCCB, it features forewords by King Abdullah II of Jordan and President Shimon Peres of Israel, and articles by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Cardinal Francis George, OMI, USCCB president, and John Thavis, Rome bureau chief for Catholic News Service. ...

Elegantly designed and produced in the style of the USCCB’s award-winning tribute to Benedict’s predecessor, John Paul II: A Light for the World, the new book features more than 100 full-color photographs. Images range from formal public appearances and meetings with world leaders and lay Catholics around the globe, to quiet moments of personal study or contemplation. [...]

Essays by USCCB staff illuminate the pope’s life and work as Pilgrim, Pastor, and Prophet and include topics such as his response to the sex abuse crisis; support of Africa, China, and Latin America; relations with Jews and Muslims; papal travels; liturgical reform; human rights, justice, war and peace, bioethics, the environment, and immigration; and his use of social media.

Personal reflections by friends and church leaders Cardinal Edward Egan, Cardinal Seán O’Malley, OFM Cap., Cardinal Justin Rigali, Sister Eileen McCann, CSJ, Ambassador Johnny Young and many more, provide a glimpse into the warm, human aspect of Benedict, including his sense of humor. The book also includes excerpts from Pope Benedict’s writings and an extensive resource section.

Source: USCCB Press Release. * * *

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a personal copy for review. This is a beautiful tribute, with a full-color photographic retrospective on the pontificate of Benedict XVI to date, accompanied by reflections and brief personal anecdotes. Not only is this a good item for the library of any "Benedict fan", I imagine it would be a fitting gift for somebody not very well acquainted with, and wanting to learn about, the Holy Father.

I can only imagine the time and effort taken to assemble and edit something of this size -- Sister Mary Ann Walsh (and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) are to be commended for a job well done.

Pope Benedict Roundup!

News

• Pope Benedict XVI will have a full schedule following his visit to the United Kingdom, says Rome Reports. His Fall calendar looks to be one of the busiest of his pontificate. On the agenda: closing the Italian Meeting of Families in Palermo, Siciliy; meeting Church Leaders at the Synod of Bishops and its Special Assembly for the Middle East; canonizing six new saints and a pastoral visit to Spain.

• 09/03/10: The Archbishop of Santiago, Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz, brought 33 rosaries blessed by Pope Benedict XVI to the miners trapped 700 metres underground in San Jose, Chile (Rome Reports). See also: "Surviving the Darkness": How 33 trapped Chilean miners can beat the danger of living without sunlight (Newsweek). On September 17th, the New York Times reported an important milestone in the effort to rescue 33 trapped miners, reaching the caverns where the men are trapped with a bore hole that will now be widened so they can be pulled to safety.

• 09/03/10: Pope Benedict XVI has released his message for the next World Youth Day to be held in Madrid 2011 (Rome Reports):

  In warm and personal way, the Pope has invited young people around the world to turn out for the celebrations which will be held in the Spanish capital next summer. Recalling his own youth, Benedict XVI reflected on his time as a university student and the challenges of responding affirmatively to his vocation to the priesthood.

  Full Text of Pope Benedict's message for World Youth Day 2011.

• 09/01/10: Pope Benedict XVI has given a series of interviews to a German journalist that will form the basis of a new book to be published later this year (Catholic Herald) | Video:

  The Vatican said this week that the Holy Father and fellow Bavarian Peter Seewald spoke several times over the course of the final week in July at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, just outside Rome. It will be the third time their conversations have been published. Mr Seewald interviewed then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger for his 1996 book Salt of the Earth: The Church at the End of the Millennium, a transcript of interviews on the state of the Church from Cardinal Ratzinger’s perspective as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. [Also, 2002's God and the World: A Conversation With Peter Seewald -- Christopher

  The Vatican spokesman, Fr Federico Lombardi, said the new book would be published before the end of the year by the Vatican’s publishing house in German and Italian. ...

  Mr Seewald has written three other books about the Pope, The German Pope – From Joseph Ratzinger to Benedict XVI, Benedict XVI: An Intimate Portrait and Benedict XVI: Life and Mission.

• 08/24/10: Zenit covers an interview with Pope Benedict's personal physician, Doctor Patrizio Polisca. Originally published in L'Osservatore Romano, Polisca recalled his prior service to Pope John Paul II as well:

  "I cannot think of my life without the responsibility to the Pope and to the Church. I live it, rather, as a joy that I share with my family." A job that enables him to realize his dream: "to practice the medical profession and have the possibility to do so in a dimension that is always mine: the Christian, to the utmost of its earthly expression."

Commentary

• "Mainstream US media asleep on the job?" asks the Pertinacious Papist (September 24, 2010):

  A friend of mine, a retired Hollywood actor, who rightfully prides himself on keeping up with the news, wrote me recently and included a newspaper clipping on the Pope's recent trip to Great Britain. The newspaper article featured a large photo of crowds of placard-bearing anti-Catholic demonstrators and was substantially devoted to only one subject: the Pope's meeting with sex-abuse victims and the outrage of Britons over the sex scandal. If one's news sources were limited to the mainstream print media and TV networks in the US, this is likely all he would know about the Pope's journey to Britain, if he knew about it at all.

  Likewise, Deacon Greg Kandra notes, One of the biggest surprises of Pope Benedict's historic trip to the United Kingdom may be how few people realize that it was, in fact, historic."

• "It is a bad sign when the head of a Catholic college’s theology department ends an interview by calling Pope Benedict an Austrian." David Mills, First Things on Religion News Service's interview with Mark J. Massa, SJ.
• I lived next door to the Pope - Gerald O'Collins SJ (The Guardian September 18, 2010):

  It was summer 1968 and I'd just finished my PhD at Cambridge. I wanted a few months somewhere different and hit on Tübingen, a lovely, medieval city in southern Germany. I was researching and writing at the university before taking a post in the US.

  I found a room on the outskirts of town and moved straight in. The landlady wasted no time in telling me about the hotshot on the block, my next-door neighbour Professor Joseph Ratzinger. ...

• "Why They Are Attacking Me." Autobiography of a Pontificate Ever since he was elected, Joseph Ratzinger has been the target of a crescendo of assaults, from inside and outside of the Church. Is an "invisible hand" moving them? Here's how the pope sees and explains it. (Sandro Magister)

• Responding to the vicious critics of the papal visit to the UK, the blogger of Heresy Corner offers "ten reasons to love the Pope":

  ... the Heresiarch will not be joining in the frenzy of pope-baiting. As Brendan O'Neill astutely points out, "the great irony of this allegedly rationalist protest against the pope is that it is indulging in precisely the kind of demonology that the Catholic Church once excelled at."

• Space Alien Followers vs. Pope Benedict (No, Seriously) (Above The Law September 13, 2010):

  A prophet, who now goes by the name “Rael,” once encountered space aliens who told him the secret of life. Later, his followers, “the Raelians,” set up an advocacy group to expose pedophilia in the Roman Catholic Church. But the group’s work was frustrated when Pope Benedict XVI (a.k.a. Joe Ratzinger) covered up the crimes of Catholic priests, in an effort to discredit the Raelians and suppress their message. ...

• Mark Dowd, author of the BBC documentary Trials of the Pope, on "How I changed my mind about the Pope" (Catholic Herald September 10th, 2010):

  . . . those who complain of the betrayal of Vatican II and have this pontificate down as unreservedly restorationist and insular have some explaining to do. How is it that such a man commands the respect of a towering figure and atheist intellectual such as Jürgen Habermas, so much so that they are prepared to engage in a dialogue in public? How is it that such a man devotes his first encyclical to a profound discussion of human love and ponders on the potential for Eros and Agape to be a bridge between the human and the divine? Furthermore, how is it that this pope has taken every opportunity to emphasise that care from the environment is not some woolly-minded aspect of New Ageism, but an integral part of his theological outlook?

• Tracey Rowland, Dean of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family, on Benedict XVI and the banality of sacro-pop (Religion and Ethics ABC.net.au September 6, 2010).

• How the Pope Brought God to Drug Addicts: Interview on Brazil's "Farms of Hope" When Benedict XVI visited Brazil in 2008, one of his stops was at a center for recovering drug addicts. A young patient later recounted what the experience meant for him: Not even my family wants to see me, he explained, but the Pope comes to see me and others like me. (Zenit September 6, 2010).

• Pope Benedict XVI: Theologian of the Bible, by Fr. Joseph T. Lienhard, S.J. This talk was the 15th Annual Peter Richard Kenrick Lecture, delivered at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, on March 18, 2010. (Homiletic and Pastoral Review)

Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Journey to the UK: September 16-19, 2010

Roundups Day Four - September 19, 2010: Roundup Day Three - September 18, 2010: Roundup Day Two - September 17, 2010: Roundup Day One - September 16, 2010: Roundup

Supplementary Website

"No Credible Threat" against Pope Benedict; 'Terrorist' suspects released

Five arrested in alleged terror plot (The Guardian):

Scotland Yard arrested five street cleaners today over an alleged terrorist threat to the pope.

The men were arrested by armed officers in central London at 5.45am on the second day of the pope's visit.

Sources say the men are believed to be Muslim and that some of them are Algerian. A spokesperson for Westminster city council said they were working for Veolia Environmental Services, a contractor which employs 650 on-street staff to keep Westminster's streets clean. The suspects, aged 26, 27, 36, 40 and 50, were held under the Terrorism Act 2000 at business premises in the central London. They were taken to a nearby police station, where they will be interviewed by detectives.

An assessment of the intelligence judged it to be so severe that police needed to disrupt the alleged plot immediately.

A sixth conspirator was arrested at his home, later in the day (AP). Related

• "Oh, those suspects in alleged pope threat" GetReligion:

  ... the response of some of the world’s major news players has been interesting. The key point, again, is this: How high in the story do you answer the question that everyone really wants answered?

• The Vatican said the arrest of terrorist suspects would not affect Pope Benedict XVI's schedule of events and hat the pope remained "calm" and happy with the visit (Catholic News Service).
• Extensive coverage of plots against Pope Benedict (this was not the first!) courtesy of Dave Hartline (The American Catholic).
• Metropolitan Police have completed their investigations into the six Muslim street cleaners arrested in connection with a plot to assassinate Pope Benedict, concluding there was “no credible threat” to the Holy Father (Catholic Herald 7/18/10).
• BBC reports that Six men arrested by police investigating an alleged plot to attack the Pope have all been released without charge. (7/19/10)

Further updates at benedictintheuk.blogspot.com

Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal John Henry Newman

In 2005 a small book was published by Catholic journalist and broadcaster Peter Jennings, entitled, simply: Benedict XVI and Cardinal Newman.

Zenit News ran a brief article at the time of its publication, from which we gather the following description:

"Benedict XVI and Cardinal Newman" was presented to an audience of Curia members, journalists and pontifical university students during an upright English, yet relaxed Roman affair.

The glossy book is filled with select writings from both Church figures and other leading English clergy, and is edited by longtime religious commentator Peter Jennings.

Produced in only six months (from the time of the papal election), Jennings' book clearly presents Benedict XVI's keen interest in this convert from Anglicanism which dates back to his seminary days.

Declared venerable in 1991 for heroic virtues, the cardinal's effect on the current Holy Father is recognized throughout the writings in the new book.

These include introductory addresses given by the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger at the symposium "John Henry Newman, Lover of Truth," to his address on conscience and truth, presented at a bishops workshop in Texas.

Jennings told me how he tried to enhance the in-depth chronology of Newman's life by using previously unpublished pictures like that of Newman in his role as founder of the English Oratory of St. Philip Neri, from the archives of the Birmingham Oratory.

Unfortunately, as far as I can tell the book is only available through various bookstores in the UK -- although some copies may be purchased through Amazon's UK website.

On August 26, 2010, it was announced that Peter Jennings was given the task by the Bishop's Conference of Wales & Scotland of compiling the official record of the historic State Visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom, to be published by the Catholic Truth Society in October:

Peter Jennings said: “It is an honour and privilege to have been invited to compile the official record of this historic State Visit of Pope Benedict XVI, culminating as it does with the beatification of Cardinal Newman.”

Mr Jennings added: “I was baptised by the eminent Newman scholar Fr Stephen Dessain in the Newman Memorial Church situated next to the Oratory of St Philip Neri, Edgbaston, where Cardinal Newman lived from 1852 until his death on 11 August 1890, aged 89. I have worked on the Newman Cause since the Holy Year of 1975, helping to raise the world-wide profile of Cardinal Newman not only as a great academic, theologian, writer and preacher but in particular as a holy pastoral parish priest who looked after the sick and poor in Birmingham.”

See Also

• The Influence of John Henry Newman on Benedict XVI, by Tracey Rowland. ABC Religion and Ethics | 16 Sep 2010. "Few English speakers seem to realise the extent to which Newman influenced German Catholic thought in the first half of the twentieth century, and particularly the theology of Joseph Ratzinger."
• Newman, Sophie Scholl, and Joseph Ratzinger - Carl Olson (Insight Scoop) observes a personal connection between Cardinal Newman, Joseph Ratzinger and German heroine Sophie Scholl, martyred for resisting the Nazis.
• Ratzinger the Professor: the influence of Cardinal Newman - The Cause for the Canonisation of Cardinal Newman reports on a new book by Gianni Valente, published in Italian: Ratzinger Professore: Gli anni dello studio e dell’insegnamento nel ricordo dei colleghi e degli allievi (1946-1977) (Milan: Edizioni San Paolo, s.r.l., 2008) [‘Ratzinger the Professor: the years of study and teaching as recalled by his colleagues and students’] -- which addresses Newman's influence on Ratzinger's theological development.

See Pope Benedict in the UK for ongoing roundups of articles, commentary and information on the Pope's September 16-19 visit to England and Scotland. See Cardinal John Henry Newman online archive for news, articles and books on the thought of England's most renowned theologian.

Understanding Pope Benedict on the Liturgy

Assessing Benedict's views of the liturgy

In "Where Truth and Beauty Meet": Understanding Benedict (The Tablet August 14, 2010) - Eamon Duffy, Professor of the History of Christianity, and Fellow and Director of Studies at Magdalene College, Cambridge, aptly summarizes Pope Benedict's view of the liturgy and his calls for reform

[Pope Benedict] believes that behind many celebrations of the new liturgy lie a raft of disastrous theological, cultural, sociological and aesthetic assumptions, linked to the unsettled time in which the liturgical reforms were carried out. In particular, he believes that twentieth-century theologies of the Eucharist place far too much emphasis on the notion that the fundamental form of the Eucharist is that of a meal, at the cost of underplaying the cosmic, redemptive, and sacrificial character of the Mass.

The Pope, of course, himself calls the Mass the "Feast of Faith", "the Banquet of the reconciled". Nevertheless Calvary and the empty tomb, rather than the Upper Room, are for him the proper symbolic locations of Christian liturgy. The sacrificial character of the Eucharist has to be evident in the manner of its celebration, and the failure to embody this adequately in the actual performance of the new liturgy seems to him one of the central problems of the post-conciliar reforms. ...

In his view, the liturgy is meant to still and calm human activity, to allow God to be God, to quiet our chatter in favour of attention to the Word of God and in adoration and communion with the self-gift of the Word incarnate.

The call for active participation and instant accessibility seem to him to have dumbed down the mystery we celebrate, and left us with a banal inadequate language (and music) of prayer. The "active participation" in the liturgy for which Vatican II called, he argues, emphatically does not mean participation in many acts. Rather, it means a deeper entry by everyone present into the one great action of the liturgy, its only real action, which is Christ's self-giving on the Cross. For Ratzinger we can best enter into the action of the Mass by a recollected silence [emphasis mine - Chris], and by traditional gestures of self-offering and adoration – the Sign of the Cross, folded hands, reverent kneeling. [...]

For the Pope ... liturgical practice since the Council has taken a wrong turn, aesthetically impoverished, creating a rupture in the continuity of Catholic worship, and reflecting and even fostering a defective understanding of the Divine and our relationship to it.

Apropos is Ratzinger's strong criticism of certain forms of contemporary music and dance, which take on the character of 'performance'; the very spirit of which runs counter to that of authentic liturgy.

According to Professor Duffy, Benedict's 2007 Motu Proprio, Summorum Pontificum, permitting the free celebration of the Tridentine liturgy, "was intended both to repair that rupture and to issue a call to the recovery of the theological, spiritual and cultural values that he sees as underlying the old Mass."

Criticism of the Novus Ordo - Can one go too far?

In a recent column, Dr. Jeff Mirus criticizes those who he believes go to the extreme in opposing and denigrating the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, claiming that they are simply following the lead and writings of Cardinal Ratzinger ("The Mind of the Church on the Novus Ordo " Catholic Culture. August 13, 2010):

I want to emphasize that he expressed these concerns in scholarly work, and that, taken in context, it is always clear that Ratzinger as a cardinal was not ill-disposed toward the Novus Ordo. Rather, he was interested in improvements which might be made (no liturgy is perfect) and, in particular, he was opposed to the free-wheeling manner in which some ignored the rubrics when saying Mass.

Dr. Mirus reminds us that "it is absolutely critical to note that the mind of the Church or even of the Pope himself cannot be determined by looking at the writings of a future pope before he became pope," and that "while in office, Pope Benedict XVI has made his approval of the Novus Ordo clear":

[Pope Benedict XVI] has also made clear that his serious criticisms do not apply to the rite itself but to the false interpretation of the Missal of Paul VI as something that requires constant experimentation and innovation, as if priests are to superimpose their own improvisations on the official liturgy and, in so doing, frequently substitute the banal for the sublime.

Benedict made these points in explaining his decision to widen the use of the Tridentine Mass (the Missal of Pope John XXIII) in his 2007 Motu Proprio, Summorum Pontificum. Readers will recall that the Pope issued an accompanying Letter to the Bishops on the Occasion of the Publication of Summorum Pontificum to explain his decision. In that letter he recounted why he wanted to expand the use of what he now called the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite and, in so doing, he deliberately responded to the fear that this expansion was somehow intended to demote the Novus Ordo or undermine the Second Vatican Council’s call for liturgical reform.

Dr. Mirus' caution is a welcome one and worth reading in full, as he examines the commentary of Benedict on the liturgy as Pope -- which may be contrasted with, and qualify -- the more acerbic and oft-cited criticisms of Ratzinger the Cardinal. Dr. Mirus concludes with some advice (and admonishment) to critics of the Novus Ordo:

Admit your personal preference for the Extraordinary Form if you like; true Catholics should not criticize you for it, even if they prefer the Ordinary Form. Combat abuses of the Novus Ordo where you can; the Church will thank you for that. But do not denigrate the rite itself, as if it is something unworthy or profane, and never imply that the billion Catholics who use and have come to love it are somehow inferior in their Faith.

It is possible to debate the merits and demerits of any liturgy, but it is not possible to cite either Pope Benedict XVI or the mind of the Church as being anything less than in favor of the prescribed use of the ordinary form of the Roman Rite. Finally, no approved liturgy of the Church should ever be treated with disrespect, nor its adherents stigmatized if they are not disobedient, for it is a sacred thing.

Understanding Summorum Pontificum

Speaking of Summorum Pontificum, Ignatius Press has published a new book, The Old Mass and the New: Explaining the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum of Pope Benedict XVI, by Bishop Marc Aillet:

In July 7, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI released his motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, allowing for unprecedented freedom for priests to celebrate the so-called Tridentine Mass, now referred to as the "Extraordinary Form" of the Mass, as opposed to the Mass of Paul VI, or the "Ordinary Form". In this new book by French bishop Marc Aillet, the historical and cultural impetus for the motu proprio as well as the rich tradition of liturgical reform are explored.

As a priest of the Community of Saint Martin, which celebrates the Mass of Paul VI in Latin, Bishop Aillet has been committed to the promotion of liturgical reform that is rooted in tradition for many years. As bishop of the diocese of Bayonne in France, he has been instrumental in reintroducing the Extraordinary Form in his diocese.

A work that is both easy to understand and deeply rich, The Old Mass and the New gives an overview of the history and theology of the liturgy. At the same time, Bishop Aillet beckons us to look ahead to move beyond the crisis in the liturgy to a reconciliation of these two forms of the Latin rite. An excellent introduction for those interested in the theological foundations of the liturgy.

(Click here to read the preface).

Related Reading

• The Spirit of the Liturgy, by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. ( Ignatius Press (September 2000).
• How Should We Worship? | Preface to The Organic Development of the Liturgy by Alcuin Reid, O.S.B. | by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
• Worshipping at the Feet of the Lord: Pope Benedict XVI and the Liturgy by Anthony E. Clark, Ph.D. | Ignatius Insight April 28, 2005
• On Saying the Tridentine Mass | Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. on Pope Benedict's Summorum Pontificum | August 16, 2007
• The Mass of Vatican II, by Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J.

Pope Benedict Roundup!

• In a symbolic gesture, the Holy Father went to the mountains to pray on the Feast of the Transfiguration - Catholic News Agency reports:

  There were no public events on Pope Benedict's unannounced Aug. 6 tour, although, as Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi told Vatican Radio, despite its private nature he was able to greet some surely surprised people in the course of the day.

  The Pope left the bounds of Castel Gandolfo in the morning to pay a visit to the "Madonna dei Bisognosi" Sanctuary for the Feast of the Transfiguration, according to the Holy See's Press Office.

  During the Lord's Transfiguration, as recounted in the synoptic gospels, Jesus led Peter, James and John to a high mountain where he changed in appearance before them and was surrounded by a glorious light.

  Marking this feast also in a mountain setting, the Pope prayed with those who accompanied him in the Marian sanctuary located in Italy's Abruzzo region at an altitude of over 3,000 ft.

  During his excursion, the Pope visited a religious community in the nearby town of Carsoli and the city of Rocca di Mezzo, where he "visited St. Leucio's parish where he prayed for those affected by the earthquake that rocked the region in April of last year."

• Sandro Magister highlights the role of the Transfiguration in Benedict's series on Jesus of Nazareth:

  It is important to emphasize that the Transfiguration of Jesus has a central place in the entire work. It is the endpoint for the first volume, and the starting point for the second, which is centered on the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

  In the Transfiguration, in fact – Benedict XVI wrote in the first volume – "Jesus' divinity belongs with the cross." Jesus speaks with Moses and Elijah about the "necessity" of his passion. That mystery "which God predetermined before the ages" (1 Corinthians 2:7) is revealed in the crucified Christ....

  In addition to being the center of the evangelical narrative, therefore, the Transfiguration is also necessarily the focal point of any form of the theology that intends to explore the mystery of Christ.

• The second volume of Jesus of Nazareth will be published on March 13, 2011 -- the first Sunday of Lent, according to Rome Reports.

• James V. Schall on "The Challenge of Jesus of Nazareth" (Ignatius Insight August 11, 2010):

  Ignatius Press announced recently that it will publish the English version of the second volume of Benedict's book on Jesus of Nazareth in the coming spring. In lieu of the fact that Schall has no advanced text or a copy of the Italian translation, it seems worth while again to take a second look at the first volume. This volume, I must confess, left an indelible impression on my soul. I found it frankly breath-taking in its implications, yet it was presented so calmly and clearly.

  Jesus of Nazareth was nothing less than a challenge thrown down to our times. But our times take special care not to listen, never really to consider what Benedict is saying. It is too dangerous to the culture to do so, and not just Western culture. Not considering or denying its pertinence is the protection which modern men must have to continue to do what they are doing. That they "will not listen" is, indeed, their only defense. ... [more]

• A Look at Benedict XVI's Words on Faith. In anticipation of an alleged fourth encyclical from the Holy Father, reportedly on the subject of faith, Kevin M. Clarke "at what the Pontiff has already spoken concerning faith in his previous encyclicals - "Deus Caritas Est", "Spe Salvi" and "Caritas in Veritate." (Zenit, July 30, 2010).

• Pope Benedict XVI is meeting his former doctoral students this weekend to discuss how best to interpret the teaching of the Second Vatican Council. The Catholic Herald August 27, 2010:

  The yearly closed-door seminar, dubbed the “Ratzinger-Schülekreis”, or “Ratzinger Student-Circle”, will be addressed by Archbishop Kurt Koch.

  Archbishop Koch’s talk is entitled “The Second Vatican Council, Between Tradition and Innovation”. He will also speak on the Vatican Council’s document on the liturgy and the liturgical reforms following the Council. ...

  The talks will be followed by a discussion by the participants, the Pope included. The Holy Father will celebrate Mass for the group on Sunday morning, before having breakfast with them. The group will then join the Pope in his recitation of the Angelus.

  The Schülerkreis has met annually since the 1970s, when the Pope was professor of theology at Regensburg University, and has continued to meet since Cardinal Ratzinger became Pope.

  
  
  This year's meeting will bring over 300 scholars, including Cardinal Cristoph Schonborn, the Archbishop of Vienna. Carl Olson (Insight Scoop) reports that Fr. Joseph Fessio will also be in attendance.

  According to Father Stephan Horn, president of the Ratzinger Study Circle (by way of Zenit News), the topic and main speaker were chosen by the Pope from among a series of proposals.

  In 2005, they reflected on the question of Islam; in 2006 and 2007, on creation and evolution theories; in 2008, the topic was the historical Jesus and his passion; and in 2009, mission and dialogue with religions and cultures.

• According to the Christian Science Monitor, the career of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger / Pope Benedict XVI is characterized by "a 30 year campaign to reassert conservative Catholicism", and that "to understand Pope Benedict's past, present, and perhaps future responses to the sexual abuse crisis, one must examine the arc of his religious life." Catholic Culture's Diogenes critiques The Christian Science Monitor's flight of fancy:

  Let’s concede that from the editorial perspective of the Christian Science Monitor, any authentic form of Catholicism will look like “conservative” Catholicism. Yes, Pope Ratzinger has been working to reassert that faith. It’s not too tough to demonstrate that proposition. So it’s all the more remarkable that in developing the argument, the Monitor commits these whoppers ...

  Read the rest.

• it was Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger's dream to leave the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to retire and become a librarian. That's the story according to Cardinal Raffaele Farina, interviewed recently by Inside The Vatican magazine. (As we know, the Holy Spirit had other plans).

• 'Attack on Ratzinger': Italian book assesses Benedict's papacy -- John Allen Jr. (National Catholic Reporter August 27, 2010):

  Friends and foes alike of Pope Benedict XVI concur that he's got an image problem. Where they place the blame for it may differ, but the fact itself seems clear: From a PR point of view, this is a pontificate defined by its train wrecks.

  Cataloguing those train wrecks is the burden of a new book by two of the best Italian vaticanisti going: Andrea Tornielli of Il Giornale and Paolo Rodari of Il Foglio, titled Attacco a Ratzinger: Accuse e scandali, profezie e complotti ("Attack on Ratzinger: Accusations and Scandals, Prophecies and Plots"), published in Italian by Piemme.

  While the sexual abuse crisis has occasioned the most serious criticism of Benedict XVI, it's hardly an isolated case. Tornielli and Rodari treat a long list of other controversies and PR debacles ...

  On the crises they do examine, Rodari and Tornielli's work has two principal merits.

  First, they strike the right balance between insider and outsider approaches. Readers who did not follow these episodes closely will find the main twists and turns ably summarized, while even devotees will learn things they didn't know. (More on those revelations in a moment.)

  Second, Rodari and Tornielli present a diverse sampling of theories to explain the negative public image of this papacy, surveying what the authors describe as the "most qualified observers" in Europe and the United States. ...

  One thing everyone seems to agree on is that the Vatican's PR strategy is often deficient. Commenting on the conventional wisdom that Joaquin Navarro-Valls, John Paul's spokesperson, brought Vatican communications into the 20th century, George Weigel quips, "Yeah … the first half of the 20th century." Today, he said, things actually seem to be moving backward.

  Read the rest of John Allen Jr.'s review.

• In a unique effort to help promote Christian unity, the pope’s shoemaker has made the same pair of shoes for both Pope Benedict XVI and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow. (Catholic News Service August 25, 2010).

• Lastly, a reminder to check our special blog Pope Benedict in the UK for weekly roundups of news, commentary and information on preparations for his September 16-19 visit to England / Scotland.