Pilgrim Fellowship Of Faith: The Church As Communion

Pilgrim Fellowship of Faith: The Church as Communion Ignatius Press (December 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 Excerpts "What, in fact, is theology?" (Ignatius Insight)

God's Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Catholic Church

Gods Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Catholic Church by George Weigel. Harper Collins (November 2005). George Weigel's bestselling biography of Pope John Paul II, Witness to Hope, set the standard by which all portraits of the modern papacy are now measured. With God's Choice, he gives us an extraordinary chronicle of the rise of Pope Benedict XVI as well as an unflinching view of the Catholic Church at the dawn of a new era. 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. Review: God's Choice, by Stephen Riddle. Flos Carmeli [blog]. Nov. 29, 2005.

Mary: The Church at the Source

Mary: The Church at the Source(Co-authored with Hans Urs von Balthasar). Ignatius Press (October 2005) 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.

The Way of the Cross

Way of the Cross Pauline Books & Media (September 2005) 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.

Thought of Pope Benedict XVI: An Introduction to the Theology of Joseph Ratzinger

The Thought of Pope Benedict XVI: An Introduction to the Theology of Joseph Ratzingerby Fr. Aidan Nichols. Continuum International Publishing Group (May 2005) Aidan Nichols' timely book is the first full-scale investigation of Joseph Ratzinger's theology in its development from the 1950s to the present day. It presents a chronological account of the development of Ratzinger's writing which reflects a wide range of historical and theoretical interests such as: Augustine's ecclesiology; early Franciscanism and the idea of salvation history; Christian brotherhood; the unfolding of the Second Vatican Council; commenting on the Apostles' Creed; explorations of the concept of the Church; preaching, liturgy and Church music; eschatology; the foundations of dogmatic and moral theology; the Church and politics; ecumenism, and the problem of pluralism. This book is a comprehensive introduction to a figure who is in his own right, quite apart from his significance in the politics of the Church, a major German Catholic theologian of the twentieth century. This new edition provides an amplification of the existing chapters by reference to books and articles produced by Joseph Ratzinger between 1986/1987 and his election as Pope in 2005. This is especially important in the area of the Liturgy, where his 1999 study 'The Spirit of the Liturgy' takes further his critique of contemporary Western Catholic worship and his call for a new liturgical movement which would aim to 'reform the Reform'. Nichols also includes two wholly new chapters devoted to (a) Ratzinger's writings on Judaism, Islam and other religions, as well as (b) secularization and the future of Europe.