For me, and certainly for many others of us, the most significant event of this week was the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI in Rome on Thursday. Immediately after his death was announced, I described his
….I hereby forecast that in a century’s time, the early 21st-century pope whose memory will loom largest won’t be either St. Pope John Paul II or Pope Francis, both wildly charismatic figures who dominated the global stage in their day.
“Pope Benedict XVI has finally finished his humble service as a ‘worker in the Lord’s vineyard.’ It was a multifaceted service: who will underline that he was a great theologian, who will continue to call him God’s rottweiler, for me
….More than one commentator has remarked on the striking way in which music shaped the life of Joseph Ratzinger for more than nine decades. Perhaps none of those commentators is so well-equipped to appreciate the musical dimension of Ratzinger’s personality
There was a time – it encompassed most of the 1980s – that Catholic publishers weren’t very interested in what the largely unknown Father Joseph Ratzinger of Germany had to say about Christian morality, the mystery of the heart of
Upon hearing the news of Pope Benedict XVI’s death on Saturday morning, I immediately thought of a long road trip I took with my wife 10 years ago, from Alaska to Texas, and a lonely stretch of highway in central
….I deeply admired and loved John Paul, however, the personality cult that grew up around him is partly responsible for the present moment. Young priests, when asked why they were doing certain things all too often took their cue
Perhaps for the first time in the history of the Church, an entire pontificate has been dedicated to leading mankind, and the Church itself, back to the centrality of God. Benedict XVI’s was an essential pontificate, a pontificate that went
Ignatius Press, the primary English-language publisher of the works of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, has published more than 80 books either written by him or about him, including the New York Times bestseller Jesus of Nazareth and influential books that
He didn’t want to be the Pope. He didn’t even want to be the head of the Vatican’s doctrinal office. Father Joseph Ratzinger was happy to be a theologian: reading and thinking and praying and writing about the beauty of
