Happy 94th Birthday Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI!

Happy 94th birthday to Pope Emritus -- there are many things one might say in appreciation of Benedict XVI; in addition to his steadfast faith, spiritual wisdom and theological vision, I've long appreciated him as a fellow lover (and adoptee of) many a cat in his life.

Benedict XVI: His Life and Thought, by Elio Guerriero

Benedict XVI: His Life and Thought
by Elio Guerriero.
Ignatius Pr (November 6, 2018). 715 pgs.

In these pages Benedict XVI shares his story for the first time since his retirement from the papacy. Joseph Ratzinger is widely recognized as one of the most brilliant theologians and spiritual leaders of our time. Born in Germany in 1929, he lived through Nazism, war, and Communism, like John Paul II, who after his surprising election in 1978, insisted on having Ratzinger at his side for his whole twenty-seven-year pontificate.

When Ratzinger was elected Pope in 2005, he took the name Benedict XVI. He opened a path of purification for the Roman Catholic Church at a time when it was shaken by financial and sexual scandals. He has repeatedly said that Europe must return to its Christian roots and build a new humanism for the twenty-first century.

Benedict XVI was misunderstood by many, and in 2013, he astonished the world by resigning from the papacy. Many saw this gesture as a sign of the decline of Catholicism, but it was the opposite: it was a seed sown in the hope of bringing the Church a younger, more vigorous leadership in the face of so many daunting challenges.

Elio Guerriero, who for many years has had an ongoing relationship with the Pope Emeritus, presents a thorough, well-rounded portrait of the brilliant intellectual and humble man of the Church whom many more have come to love and respect since his resignation. This book includes a Foreword by Pope Francis, and contains the first interview of Benedict XVI since the end of his pontificate.

Elio Guerriero, theologian, philosopher, and historian, is the longtime director of Communio, and editorial manager at Jaca Book and Edizioni San Paolo. He edited the Italian edition of the History of the Church directed by A. Jedin. His other books include Hans Urs von Balthasar, The Drama of God, and Saint Giana Molla: Wife, Mother, and Doctor.

Pope Benedict XVI's "Last Testament"

Pope Benedict's Last Testament: In His Own Words is a fascinating retrospective and summation of the life of Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI, a welcome ending to Peter Seewald's prior book-length interviews, Salt of The Earth (1997), God and The World (2002) and Light of The World (2010).

Of particular interest to me was the Pope Emeritus' recollections of his intellectual interactions with fellow academics in philosophy and theology, his experience as a peritus at Vatican II, and his appraisals of political figures he encountered in the course of his pontificate.

Throughout the interview his character shines through as a man of genuine faith, conviction and humility -- who regardless of his impressive theological stature and academic legacy is nonetheless capable of receiving criticism and correction from colleagues ("he reproached me many times, which is possible and proper among friends"), appreciative of those instances in life in where one is "made small" as opportunities for Christlike self-mortification ("That does someone good: to recognize once again one's utter poverty").

Likewise as Pope, cognizant of very clear ethical disagreements with political leaders (Obama, Castro, Putin), was able to see their humanity as well:

"I got to know these people, and not only from their political and tactical sides. What was generally impressive about these encounters was discerning that -- although these people indeed think very differently to us on many issues -- they certainly try to see what is right."

And so with respect to agnostics, professed atheists and left-wingers, "if they think and speak honestly. Of course there are fanatics, who are only functionaries and just dispense their working slogans. But if they are human beings, one can see that they are somehow restless inside..."

Above all, and as with prior interviews, he comes across as one whose life -- and pontificate -- "put God and faith at the center [and] Holy Scripture in the foreground"; sought "to discover God again, to discover Christ again, and so find the centrality of faith again" -- and for whom "the important thing is that the faith endures today. I see this as the central task. All the rest is just administrative issues..."

Here and There

• Artur Rosman () has a two-part interview with Thomas Pfau, Alice Mary Baldwin Professor of English and professor of German at Duke University and author of Minding the Modern: Human Agency, Intellectual Traditions, and Responsible Knowledge: Part I: Threatening Naturalism’s Universal Authority (08/13/15) | No Theology, No Phenomenology of the Person? (08/14/15).

• Letter to a Friend on Ressourcement and the New Theology The Paraphasic 12/01/14:

  A friend of mine, a student in a very prominent graduate program in theology at a major Catholic university in the US, wrote to me recently. In his letter he expressed confusion and dismay at the hostility to Western theology and liturgy since the Middle Ages which he has encountered among his professors, and asked me for some thoughts on the matter. ...

• Bishop-elect Fr. Robert Barron (via Alisdair MacIntyre): "We've lost the capacity even to have a coherent moral conversation..."

• Would Alasdair MacIntyre Live in a “Benedict Option” Community?, by Dr. Adam J. De Ville. "For all the intriguing ideas that seem to huddle under the capacious canopy of the “Benedict option,” and for all my sympathy towards it, there are three lingering doubts about it."

• A Quick Guide for Doctrinally Classifying Contemporary Catholics Paraphasic Catholic. 05/04/15.

• The Conversion of Paul Ryan, by Timothy Kirchoff. Ethika Politika 05/21/15. On Ryan's involvement with community activist Bob Woodson in Comeback, a documentary series sharing "the inspiring, true stories of real-life Americans overcoming adversity in our nation’s cities and communities."

  Over the course of the 2012 presidential campaign, Ryan eagerly employed the language of Catholic social thought, invoking subsidiarity alongside solidarity and arguing that the preferential option for the poor does not imply a preferential option for big government. It may once have been possible to read his use of such terms as a cynical attempt to twist the Church’s teaching to support Republican economic policies, but Ryan seems to have taken these principles to heart and sought out the opportunity to see them lived out.

• The new Pope Benedict Roundup and Pope Francis Roundup of news and commentary are live on their respective blogs.

Pre-emptive Critics of Francis' Encyclical - Look to his Predecessor

Apparently there are some who are venturing into vehement criticism of Pope Francis' upcoming encyclical on ecology ... an encyclical we might add that has yet to even be released.

Perhaps it may be of benefit to point out that Pope Francis, in writing this encyclical, might even be taking SOME queues in this regard from his predecessor, who didn't earn the nickname "The Green Pope" for nothing. As National Geographic reminds us, among the actions of his pontificate:

... He approved a plan to cover the Vatican's Paul VI hall with solar panels, enough to power the lighting, heating, and cooling of a portion of the entire country (which covers, of course, a mere one-fifth of a square mile). He authorized the Vatican's bank to purchase carbon credits by funding a Hungarian forest that would make the Catholic city-state the only country fully carbon neutral. And several years later, he unveiled a new hybrid Popemobile that would be partially electric. (How Green Was the 'Green Pope'? National Geographic (02/28/13).

And on the topic of climate change, we might recall that Benedict himself specifically weighed in on the subject, :

Pope Benedict XVI appealed for the success of a UN climate change conference [...] in Durban, South Africa. Speaking to the faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square for the Sunday Angelus prayer, Pope Benedict expressed the hope that “all members of the international community might reach agreement on a responsible, credible response,” to the phenomenon of climate change, which he described as “complex” and “disturbing”. [Vatican Radio 11/27/11].

In fact, if he had not resigned in 2013, we could reasonably suggest that Pope Benedict might have at some point devoted greater length to this particular topic in some formal manner.

Perhaps the best position present critics of Pope Francis can adopt (and this author is by no means wholly enthusiastic about the present pontiff) is to cultivate the virtue of patience and mindful silence -- and refrain from what is largely speculative criticism until the content of the encyclical is actually released, and we've all had opportunity to read it.

* * *

Further reading on the Pope Emeritus' thinking on the environment.

	Environmental Justice and Climate Change: Assessing Pope Benedict XVI's Ecological Vision for the Catholic Church in the United States Lexington Books (November 21, 2013). 322 pgs. Environmental Justice and Climate Change: Assessing Pope Benedict XVI's Ecological Vision for the Catholic Church in the United States explores four key areas in connection with Benedict XVI’s teachings: human and natural ecology/human life and dignity; solidarity, justice, poverty and the common good; sacramentality of creation; and our Catholic faith in action. The product of mutual collaboration by bishops, scholars and staff, this anthology provides the most thorough treatment of Benedict XVI’s contributions to ecological teaching and offers fruitful directions for advancing concern among Catholics in the United States about ongoing threats to the integrity of Earth.
	Ten Commandments for the Environment: Pope Benedict XVI Speaks Out for Creation and Justice Ave Maria Press (June 1, 2009) 162 pgs. Woodeene Koenig-Bricker skillfully weaves together Pope Benedicts key statements on environmental justice into one volume. Additionally, she offers commentary that helps to unpack the "Ten Commandments for the Environment," which were recently released by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Koenig-Bricker helps us understand an environmentally responsible lifestyle as a moral responsibility to protect the poor, who suffer most when climate change creates a shortage of resources. With practical, everyday ideas for reducing ones ecological footprint, this book is a must-read for those seeking the inspiration that the Holy Father radiates to a new generation of Catholics.
	The Garden of God: Toward a Human Ecology The Catholic University of America Press (March 18, 2014) 232pgs. This book gathers together the audiences, addresses, letters, and homilies of Benedict on a wide-ranging set of topics that deal with the world about us. The major themes and connections he explores are creation and the natural world; the environment, science, and technology; and hunger, poverty, and the earth's resources. See also: The “Green Pope” and a Human Ecology William L. Patenaude. Catholic World Report 04/22/14.

Joseph Ratzinger - Collected Works: Theology of the Liturgy

Joseph Ratzinger-Collected Works: Theology of the Liturgy
Publisher: Ignatius Press (May 5, 2014). 700 pgs.

This major volume is a collection of the writings of Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) on the theology of the Liturgy of the Church, a subject of preeminence to him as a theologian, professor and spiritual writer. It brings together all his writings on the subject, short and long, giving his views on liturgical matters and questions over many years and from various perspectives.

He chose to have his writings on the Liturgy for the first volume published of his collected works (though listed as vol. 11) because, as he says in the Introduction: "The liturgy of the Church has been for me since my childhood the central reality of my life, and it became the center of my theological efforts. I chose fundamental theology as my field because I wanted first and foremost to examine thoroughly the question: Why do we believe? But also included from the beginning in this question was the other question of the right response to God and, thus, the question of the liturgy."

By starting with the theme of liturgy in this volume, Ratzinger wants to highlight God's primacy, the absolute precedence of the theme of God. Beginning with a focus on the liturgy, he said, tells us that "God is first". He quotes from the Rule of St. Benedict, "Nothing is to be preferred to the liturgy", as a way of ordering priorities for the life of the Church and of every individual. He says that the fundamental question of the man who begins to understand himself correctly is: How must I encounter God? Thus learning the right way of worshipping is the gift par excellence that is given to us by the faith.

The essential purpose of his writings on the liturgy is to place the liturgy in its larger context, which he presents in three concentric circles. First, the intrinsic interrelationship of Old and New Testament; without the connection to the Old Testament heritage, the Christian liturgy is incomprehensible. The second circle is the relationship to the religions of the world. The third circle is the cosmic character of the liturgy, which is more than the coming together of a circle of people: the liturgy is celebrated in the expanse of the cosmos, encompassing creation and history at the same time.

(As if there aren't already enough books on my "to read" list).

Pope Benedict's Journty to Mexico and Cuba

From the Pope Benedict XVI Fan Club, a special blog dedicated to exclusive roundups of news and commentary on Pope Benedict's Apostolic Journey to Mexico and Cuba March 23-29, 2012.

Assisi III

Pope Benedict and Assisi III - a (admittedly belated) roundup of coverage and commentary, at The Benedict Blog.

Pope Benedict XVI - "On Death and Life"

Dear friends, the Solemnity of All Saints and the Commemoration of the faithful departed tell us that only he who is able to recognize a great hope in death is able also to live a life that springs from hope. If we reduce man exclusively to his horizontal dimension, to what can be perceived empirically, life itself loses its profound meaning. Man needs eternity -- and every other hope, for him, is all too brief, is all too limited. Man is explainable only if there is a Love that overcomes all isolation -- even that of death -- in a totality that transcends even space and time. Man is explainable -- he finds his deepest meaning -- only if God is. And we know that God has gone forth from the distance and has made Himself close; He has entered into our lives and He tells us: "I am the Resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die" (John 11:25-26).

Image lifted from Wheat and Weeds

Let us think for a moment of the scene at Calvary and let us listen once again to the words that Jesus addressed on the Cross to the robber crucified at his right: "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43). Let us think of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, when -- after having travelled a stretch of road with the Risen Jesus -- they recognize Him and quickly set out toward Jerusalem to announce the Lord's resurrection (cf. Luke 24:13-35). The Master's words come to mind with renewed clarity: "Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?" (John 14:1-2).

God has truly appeared; He has become accessible; He has so loved the world "that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16), and in the supreme act of love -- in the Cross -- plunging into the abyss of death, He conquered it, He rose and He opened the doors of eternity also to us. Christ sustains us through the night of death, which He himself traversed: He is the Good Shepherd, in whose guidance we can trust without any fear, since He knows well the road, even in obscurity.

Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, November 2, 2011.

SSPX in Rome

On September 14, 2011, at the office of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a meeting was held between His Eminence, Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of this Congregation and President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, His Excellency, Archbishop Luis Ladaria, S.J., Secretary of this Congregation, and Monsignor Guido Pozzo, Secretary of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, and His Excellency, Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, and Fathers Niklaus Pfluger et Alain-Marc Nély, General Assistants of the Fraternity

Following the petition addressed on December 15, 2008, by the Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X to His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, the Holy Father had taken the decision of lifting the excommunication of the four bishops consecrated by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and to open at the same time doctrinal conversations with the Fraternity, aiming to overcome the difficulties and the problems of a doctrinal nature, and to achieve a healing of the existing fracture.

Obedient to the will of the Holy Father, a mixed study commission, composed of experts of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X and of experts of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, assembled eight times for meetings that took place in Rome between the month of October 2009 and the month of April 2011. These conversations, whose objective was that of presenting and examining the major doctrinal difficulties on controversial themes, achieved their goal, which was that of clarifying the respective positions and their motivations.

Given the concerns and requests presented by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X regarding the integrity of the Catholic faith considering the hermeneutic of rupture of the Second Vatican Council in respect of Tradition - hermeneutic mentioned by Pope Benedict XVI in his Address to the Roman Curia of December 22, 2005 -, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith takes as a fundamental basis for a full reconciliation with the Apostolic See the acceptance of the Doctrinal Preamble which was delivered in the course of the meeting of September 14, 2011. This preamble enunciates some of the doctrinal principles and criteria of interpretation of Catholic doctrine necessary for ensuring fidelity to the Magisterium of the Church and to the sentire cum Ecclesia, while leaving open to legitimate discussion the study and theological explanation of particular expressions and formulations present in the texts of the Second Vatican Council and of the Magisterium that followed it.

In the course of the same meeting, some elements were proposed regarding a canonical solution for the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, which would follow the eventual and hoped-for reconciliation.

• Official interview with Bishop Bernard Fellay on the September 14 meeting with Cardinal Levada Interview following the meeting that Bishop Bernard Fellay and his two general Assistants had, in the Vatican, with Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on September 14, 2011, at 10 AM.
• POLL: Will the SSPX leadership sign/accept the CDF’s “Preamble”? Fr. John Zuhisdorf.

Meanwhile, La Porte Latine, the website of the French District of the Society of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX), has also released, with the approval of Bishop Bernard Fellay, a communiqué by its Superior, Fr. R. de Cacqueray, on the inter-religious meeting to be hosted in Assisi on October 27, 2011, 25th anniversary of a similar meeting held in the same city under the auspices of Pope John Paul II.

The reaction of the Society to the upcoming event is entirely predictable -- a "dreadful blasphemy", an "odious humiliation", an "occasion of scandal for all the earth" -- in which the Holy Father is deemed complicit.

Critical Responses to Tracey Rowland's "Culture and the Thomist Tradition: After Vatican II"

I had the opportunity recently to read Tracey Rowland's Culture and the Thomist Tradition: After Vatican II

Readers wholly unfamiliar with Rowland are encouraged to read her two-part interview with Zenit:

• Part I: Benedict XVI, Vatican II and Modernity: Tracey Rowland on the Pope's Interpretation of the Council (July 24, 2005).
• Part II: Benedict XVI, Thomism and Liberal Culture: Tracey Rowland on the Church's Response to Modernity (July 25, 2005).

and a compact but substantial summary of the key themes and arguments of her book is provided in a review by Jason Paul Bourgeois.

I freely admit that my outlook as a new Catholic convert was largely shaped by Richard Neuhaus, Michael Novak and George Weigel -- appreciators of John Courtney Murray, SJ -- and as such, participants in an ongoing debate with Dr. Rowland, David Schindler, Alisdair MacIntyre that has been characterized by Dr. Rowland herself a conflict between "Whig Thomists and Augustinian Thomists."

According to Rowland, the Whig Thomists maintain that the Thomist tradition can be reconciled with the culture of modernity and that "liberalism is the logical outgrowth of the classical-theistic synthesis", while Augustinian Thomists contend that "the liberal tradition represents its mutation and heretical reconstruction, and they tend to agree with Samuel Johnson that the devil -- not Thomas Aquinas -- was the first Whig." (For a more substantial examination of the precise sense in which Thomas was heralded as the harbinger of "Catholic Whiggery", see: Aquinas:"First Whig?" Religion and Liberty September 21, 2005).

So, as you can see, possessing this bias I was not predisposed to like Rowland. Nonetheless, I did find it to be stimulating reading and a text I'll return to time and again in future explorations of this debate.

Unlike other more "scholarly" bloggers, I cannot boast a particular command of the subject -- nor can I fall back on a resources and training of a graduate school education. My 'continuing education' is done piecemeal, largely on my own time, reading while commuting to/from work and in between fatherly duties.

And so, for my own personal benefit but perhaps for the edification of a few interested readers, I'd like to compile some criticisms of Rowland's Culture and the Thomist Tradition culled from various reviews around the web -- with which I found myself in agreement, and which I also would hope that Dr. Rowland might actually address in the future.

Pope Benedict and the Great Condom Conumdrum of 2010

[An abridged version of this post was published at The American Catholic]

Light of the World: The Pope, The Church and The Signs Of The Times The Great Catholic Condom Condumrum of 2010 was sparked by an excerpt of no more than 2 out of a nearly 200 page book-length interview God and the World, the book-length interview with Peter Seewald, excerpts of which were printed in L’Osservatore Romano before its official release on November 24, 2010.

The complete words of the Pope in context

Here is the actual text of the Pope's remarks:

[Peter Seewald] On the occasion of your trip to Africa in March 2009, the Vatican’s policy on AIDs once again became the target of media criticism.Twenty-five percent of all AIDs victims around the world today are treated in Catholic facilities. In some countries, such as Lesotho, for example, the statistic is 40 percent. In Africa you stated that the Church’s traditional teaching has proven to be the only sure way to stop the spread of HIV. Critics, including critics from the Church’s own ranks, object that it is madness to forbid a high-risk population to use condoms.

The media coverage completely ignored the rest of the trip to Africa on account of a single statement. Someone had asked me why the Catholic Church adopts an unrealistic and ineffective position on AIDs. At that point, I really felt that I was being provoked, because the Church does more than anyone else. And I stand by that claim. Because she is the only institution that assists people up close and concretely, with prevention, education, help, counsel, and accompaniment. And because she is second to none in treating so many AIDs victims, especially children with AIDs.

I had the chance to visit one of these wards and to speak with the patients. That was the real answer: The Church does more than anyone else, because she does not speak from the tribunal of the newspapers, but helps her brothers and sisters where they are actually suffering. In my remarks I was not making a general statement about the condom issue, but merely said, and this is what caused such great offense, that we cannot solve the problem by distributing condoms. Much more needs to be done. We must stand close to the people, we must guide and help them; and we must do this both before and after they contract the disease.

As a matter of fact, you know, people can get condoms when they want them anyway. But this just goes to show that condoms alone do not resolve the question itself. More needs to happen. Meanwhile, the secular realm itself has developed the so-called ABC Theory: Abstinence-Be Faithful-Condom, where the condom is understood only as a last resort, when the other two points fail to work. This means that the sheer fixation on the condom implies a banalization of sexuality, which, after all, is precisely the dangerous source of the attitude of no longer seeing sexuality as the expression of love, but only a sort of drug that people administer to themselves. This is why the fight against the banalization of sexuality is also a part of the struggle to ensure that sexuality is treated as a positive value and to enable it to have a positive effect on the whole of man’s being.

There may be a basis in the case of some individuals, as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility, on the way toward recovering an awareness that not everything is allowed and that one cannot do whatever one wants. But it is not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection. That can really lie only in a humanization of sexuality.

Are you saying, then, that the Catholic Church is actually not opposed in principle to the use of condoms?

She of course does not regard it as a real or moral solution, but, in this or that case, there can be nonetheless, in the intention of reducing the risk of infection, a first step in a movement toward a different way, a more human way, of living sexuality.

Media Hyperventilation

Predictably, many within the secular media took the Pope's words out of context and ran with it, portraying it as a sea-change in Church teaching on condom use, anouncing that the Pope's words reflected his "personal approval" of condom use and even a "shift in Vatican policy" (New York Times). The UK's Daily Mirror trumpeted: Pope Benedict XVI gives OK to condoms for Aids prevention (11/24/10):

Just days after the historic change of attitude to sex, he declared the contraception can be used by anyone if it prevents HIV.

It was initially thought last week that he said condoms could be worn only in exceptional cases by male prostitutes.

But in the Italian translation of his German book, it has now been revealed he believes they can be used by women sex workers too to combat Aids.

Phil Lawler (CatholicCulture.org) aptly summarized the situation as it now stands, asserting that the Pope's mesage had been effectively turned "upside down":

Today, what the world thinks Pope Benedict said is almost exactly the opposite of what he clearly intended.

In Chapter 11 of his new book, Light of the World, Pope Benedict mounts a strong defense of his argument that condom use is not the appropriate means of fighting the AIDS epidemic.

This week, millions of people received the impression that the Pope made precisely the opposite argument-- that he recommended condoms as a defense against AIDS—due to the most spectacular public-relations bungling of this pontificate.

L'Osservatore Romano: "journalistically sound" or incompetent?

A subplot involves the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, which published (and highlighted) the Pope's remarks on condoms prior to the official release of the book. Dr. Ed Peters (In The Light of the Law) weighed in on the continuing mess at L'Osservatore Romano:

I want to ask a few questions about the occasion of this public relations fiasco, namely, the decision by L’Osservatore Romano to publish prematurely, out of context, and without commentary, the single most controversial paragraph of the pope’s book?

I frankly wonder whether, even now, L’Osservatore Romano yet realizes what a serious disservice it has committed by arrogating to itself the role of introducing the pope’s book, Light of the World, and by its making that introduction in such a palpably incompetent manner?

And Phil Lawler (Catholic Culture) demanded, as a necessary first step to address the continuous public-relations bungling at the Vatican, the resignation of L’Osservatore Romano's editor Giovanni Maria Vian.

But John Allen Jr. (National Catholic Reporter) wrote in staunch defense of the Vatican newspaper:

... as a purely factual matter, the Vatican paper did not “violate” an embargo. It simply got a better deal from the publisher, in this case the Vatican Publishing House.

Several media outlets around the world were given permission to publish extracts from the book on Sunday, but had to restrict themselves to chapters one, six and seventeen, which don’t contain any major news flashes. L’Osservatore, because of its special status, was allowed to comb through the entire manuscript, and obviously made some journalistically sound judgments about which sections would be of widest public interest, including the lines on condoms (which come from chapter two). The paper waited until Sunday to run the extracts, though because L’Osservatore is always released the evening before its publication date, it actually came out Saturday night.

In other words, L’Osservatore played by the rules it was given. (If you want to be mad at somebody over the timing, try the Vatican Publishing House.) Frankly, some of the grumbling about a “violation” of an embargo may be no more than raw journalistic envy at getting beat to the punch.

Did the Pope approve, or didn't he?

Bracketing the predictable response of the press, the myriad reactions among Catholic circles, seems largely (perhaps loosely) divided among two particiular camps. Those who interpret the Pope's words as affirming the use of condoms in "exceptional" circumstances -- and those who say he meant nothing of the sort. But this is not simply a division between "progressives" and "conservatives". Even those who would consider themselves orthodox, faithful adherents to Church teaching and admirers of Pope Benedict are divided.

Position #1: In exceptional cases, where the sole intent is to prevent the transmission of disease (rather than to prevent pregnancy), the use of condoms might be regarded as commendable as "the first assumption of responsibility." The Pope's remarks have brought public attention to an "open question" (largely suppressed until now), about which the Church has yet to take a decisive stand.

The Pope's words have inspired a renewed look at a controversial article by the Swiss theologian Fr. Martin Rhonheimer (priest of the Opus Dei Prelature who teaches at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome): "The truth about condoms" (The Tablet July 10, 2004):

The teaching of the Church is not about condoms or similar physical or chemical devices, but about marital love and the essentially marital meaning of human sexuality. It affirms that, if married people have a serious reason not to have children, they should modify their sexual behaviour by at least periodic abstinence from sexual acts. To avoid destroying both the unitive and the procreative meaning of sexual acts and therefore the fullness of mutual self-giving, they must not prevent the sexual act from being fertile while carrying on having sex.But what of promiscuous people, sexually active homosexuals, and prostitutes? What the Catholic Church teaches them is simply that they should not be promiscuous, but faithful to one single sexual partner; that prostitution is a behaviour which gravely violates human dignity, mainly the dignity of the woman, and therefore should not be engaged in; and that homosexuals, as all other people, are children of God and loved by him as everybody else is, but that they should live in continence like any other unmarried person.

But if they ignore this teaching, and are at risk from HIV, should they use condoms to prevent infection? The moral norm condemning contraception as intrinsically evil does not apply to these cases. Nor can there be church teaching about this; it would be simply nonsensical to establish moral norms for intrinsically immoral types of behaviour. Should the Church teach that a rapist must never use a condom because otherwise he would additionally to the sin of rape fail to respect mutual and complete personal self-giving and thus violate the Sixth Commandment? Of course not.

See also "The Pope and Martin Rhonheimer" (America "In All Things"), in which Dr. Ivereigh solicits Fr. Rhonheimer's opinions on the present controversy and whether then-Cardinal Ratzinger was aware of his article in the Tablet.

In an earlier article, Dr. Ivereigh provides the background on the Pope and condoms (America "In All Things" November 21, 2010):

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger told Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor shortly before becoming Pope that "we can't have cardinals disagreeing about this" and set up a commission of moral theologians to look into the question.

And there the issue lay, and no more was heard.

In 2008, while at a conference in Rome, I happened to meet a senior CDF official (I won't give his name) and asked him what had happened to the commission. "Everyone knows that theologically there is a strong case for clarifying that teaching," he told me, "but there's just no way of doing it publicly without it being misunderstood." Do you mean, I pressed him, that the Vatican feared the headlines that would result? "Exactly," he said. ...

In February this year, it came to light that the commission had been stood down, and that the report had "never got off the ground" in the word's of the Health Council's deputy, Bishop Redrado.

Ivereigh appears delighted that the Pope has opened the door to public discussion on the topic, "saluting him for his courage." Dr. Ivereigh himself is particularly emphatic about beating this drum, announcing the dawning of "a new morality" in the latest edition of The Tablet.

Fr. Federico Lombardi's "clarification" -- more harm than good?

In his clarification on remarks on AIDS and condoms Father Federico Lombardi, SJ, head of the Holy See Press Office, expressed the position that the use of a condom might be seen in a positive light:

... the pope considers an exceptional situation in which the exercise of sexuality respresents a true risk to the life of another. In that case, the pope does not morally justify the disordered exercise of sexuality, but holds that the use of a condom in order to diminish the threat of infection is “a first assumption of responsibility,” and “a first step in a movement toward a different way, a more human way, of living sexuality,” rather than not using a condom and exposing the other person to a threat to their life.

In that sense, the reasoning of the pope certainly cannot be defined as a revolutionary shift. Numerous moral theologians and authoritative ecclesiastical personalities have sustained, and still sustain, similar positions. Nevertheless, it’s true that until now they have not been heard with such clarity from the mouth of the pope, even if it’s in a colloquial rather than magisterial form.

Benedict XVI therefore courageously gives us an important contribution of clarification and deepening on a question that has long been debated. It’s an original contribution, because on the one hand it remains faithful to moral principles and demonstrates lucidity in rejecting “faith in condoms” as an illusory path; on the other hand, it shows a comprehensive and far-sighted vision, attentive to discovering the small steps – even if they’re only initial and still confused – of a humanity often spiritually and culturally impoverished, towards a more human and responsible exercise of sexuality.

As was later reported, a second statement by Fr. Lombardi to the press broadened the Pope's statement on condom use to include heterosexuals and "transsexuals":

The Rev. Federico Lombardi, told reporters Tuesday that he asked the pope whether he intended his comments to apply only to men. Benedict replied that it really didn't matter, the important thing was that the person took into consideration the life of another.

"I personally asked the pope if there was a serious, important problem in the choice of the masculine over the feminine," Lombardi said. "He told me no. The problem is this: ... It's the first step of taking responsibility, of taking into consideration the risk of the life of another with whom you have a relationship."

"This is if you're a man, a woman, or a transsexual. ... The point is it's a first step of taking responsibility, of avoiding passing a grave risk onto another," Lombardi said.

Additional proponents of the "justified use of condoms in limited circumstances, as endorsed by Pope Benedict" view include:

• Fr. James Martin, SJ assisted readers of the Huffington Post understanding the Pope's "new stance" on condoms":

  "It's the first step of taking responsibility, of taking into consideration the risk of the life of another with whom you have a relationship [or are "in relations]." This is something of a game-changer when it comes to the Church's discussion on the overall use of condoms. While it doesn't mean at all that Pope Benedict XVI -- or the Catholic church -- has approved condoms for use in terms of birth control, it is the first time that a pope has given voice to what many moral theologians and bishops have been saying for years -- and have gotten into trouble for saying.

• Italian columnist Sandro Magister (Chiesa):

  At this point, one would expect Benedict XVI to reiterate the absolute condemnation of the condom. And instead no. Taking the reader by surprise, he says that in various cases its use can be justified, for reasons other than contraception. ... If this loving understanding applies to a sinner, it could apply all the more to the classic case encountered in Africa and elsewhere by pastors and missionaries: that of two spouses, one of whom is sick with AIDS and uses a condom to avoid endangering the life of the other. Among the cardinals who so far have conjectured, more or less surreptitiously, the permissibility of these and other similar behaviors are the Italians Carlo Maria Martini and Dionigi Tettamanzi, the Mexican Javier Lozano Barragán, the Swiss Georges Cottier.

• Damien Thompson (The Telegraph) -- who announced: "The news is confirmed: Pope Benedict XVI is modifying the Catholic Church’s absolute ban on the use of condoms."

• Tom Heneghan (The Tablet), who says matter-of-factly:

  Pope Benedict XVI has used a book-length interview with a trusted Catholic journalist to clarify the church position on using condoms to prevent Aids, saying they could be justified in limited circumstances such as prostitution ...

And the list could go on -- because the prevailing view is that, yes, the Pope DID affirm the justified use of condoms in particular circumstances.

* * * Position #2: The Pope's remarks were confined to the epistemic -- concerned only with the nature and scope of knowledge -- and are not indicative of an actual change of position, either on the part of the Pope or the Church. Condom use even within this context remains morally unjustifiable, and simply cannot be recommended.

The Pope was engaging in speculation that a prostitute, using a condomn to ward off the transmission of disease, would in so doing take "a first step in the direction of moralization". The Pope's emphasis here is on the psychological: the alleged sign of altruistic concern for (and to curb the reckless endangerment of) the other, even in the engagement of immoral sexual activity, may be laudable as approaching moral awareness.

Dr. Janet Smith was among the first to take this position in Pope Benedict on condoms in "Light of the World" (Catholic World Report Web Exclusive):

Would it be proper to conclude that the Holy Father would support the distribution of condoms to male prostitutes? Nothing he says here indicates that he would. ...

Is Pope Benedict indicating that heterosexuals who have HIV could reduce the wrongness of their acts by using condoms? No. In his second answer he says that the Church does not find condoms to be a “real or moral solution.” That means the Church does not find condoms either to be moral or an effective way of fighting the transmission of HIV.

The president Ignatius Press (the Pope's North American publishing house), weighed in with an imaginary interview characterizing the mainstream media's obsession with condoms:

Mark: Notice that the pope says that the Church doesn’t regard condoms as a “moral solution”. How can you say, then, that the Pope says condom use may be “justified”? Justified means “morally justified”. How can something that is not a moral solution be morally justified?

Mainstream Media Ok. But he goes on to say that condoms are ok if they’re a first step toward doing the right thing.

Mark No. He says the intention of reducing the risk of infection, in this or that case, can be a first step in the right direction. It’s the intention of protecting another human being that the Pope commends, not the use of condoms.

Cardinal Raymond Burke, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the court of final appeal at the Vatican, endeavored to explain "what the Pope REALLY meant":

He’s simply making the comment that if a person who is given to prostitution at least considers using a condom to prevent giving the disease to another person — even though the effectiveness of this is very questionable — this could be a sign of someone who is having a certain moral awakening. But in no way does it mean that prostitution is morally acceptable, nor does it mean that the use of condoms is morally acceptable.

In an interview with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly, Fr. Fessio also rebutted the proposition that the Pope's words signified a "change in policy":

KELLY: Are you saying that the pope was perhaps using some sort of sliding scale here? That while not condoning contraception, not condoning homosexuality, he's signaling that they are not the worst evils, and that passing on HIV is worse?

Father FESSIO: He's not giving a scale of evil or good here. But let me give you a pretty simple example. Let's suppose we've got a bunch of muggers who like to use steel pipes when they mug people. But some muggers say, gosh, you know, we don't need to hurt them that badly to rob them. Let's put foam pads on our pipes. Then we'll just stun them for a while, rob them and go away. So if the pope then said, well, yes, I think that using padded pipes is actually a little step in a moral direction there, that doesn't mean he's justifying using padded pipes to mug people. He's just saying, well, they did something terrible, but while they were doing that, they had a little flicker of conscience there that led them in the right direction. That may grow further, so they stop mugging people completely.

KELLY: A lot of the media coverage over the past few days has presented the pope's comments as representing a big shift in the policy of the Roman Catholic Church. It sounds like you don't see it that way.

Father FESSIO: I don't see it that way. The pope doesn't see it that way. And it's not that way. There's no shift here.

Fr. Fessio also made his point clear in an op-ed to Reuters' Faithworld blog: Did the Pope "justify" condom use in some circumstances? -- responding in the negative:

a solution which is not “moral” cannot be “justified”. That is a contradiction and would mean that something in itself morally evil could be “justified” to achieve a good end. Note: the concept of the “lesser evil” is inapplicable here. One may tolerate a lesser evil; one cannot do something which is a lesser evil.

Finally, Dr. Steven A. Long, professor of theology at Ave Maria University, published a must-read article criticizing the position (assumed to be the Pope's) "that the disordered sexual act of sodomy is morally bad, but condom use, as something incipiently responsible and moral, is nonetheless good." According to Dr. Long, this is precisely what the Pope is NOT saying:

What, then, of the papal language? Can a gravely evil act really be such that "there can be nonetheless, in the intention of reducing the risk of infection, a first step in a movement towards a different way, a more human way, of living sexuality"? Certainly in the epistemic order, a person who is morally coarse and living sinfully, may in beginning to reflect on the consequences of his action for others and beginning to take responsibility for these, move in such a way that were it to continue he would eventually enter into genuinely moral considerations. If this is what the Pope means, then it is surely defensible, although the language even so seems somewhat rhetorically over-freighted: simply doing an evil act in a way that prevents infection does not necessarily suggest anything other than that the homosexual prostitute does not wish his customer to die, which frankly could be from venal or vicious motives; and if it is from a better motive, the act is still similar to a strangler who gives all his victims the opportunity to make a good act of contrition, and whom he calms and kills in as gentle a fashion as possible: all of which hardly seems to count as "a first step in a movement towards a different way, a more human way" of living. The Church is not in the business of endorsing grave evils when they are "lesser"--because grave moral evil may never rightly be done by anyone. The rhetoric of "first step" towards "a more human" sexuality makes the epistemic motion seem more proximate to the good of a more human sexuality than in fact it is. The "first step" is, in the epistemic order, toward a moral awareness generally speaking, which must be developed and enriched far more in order to constitute any specific movement in the practical moral order toward a "more human" sexuality.

Nonetheless one must give due credit to the "can" of the Pope's formulation--something that expresses raw possibility. And it is true that those who do move from moral evil to moral good, must epistemically at some point begin to be aware of their responsibility, and such a beginning might be found in someone who before had cavalierly exposed others to infection whilst sodomizing, who then tries to minimize the occasion for giving infection. But "first step"? Normally the first step toward a purpose partakes of the genus of that purpose. If the end is genuinely moral, then the use of the condom is not a "first step" any more than the gentler strangler is taking a first step toward a moral way of living and honoring the good of life. The "first step" of the Pope's example must be understood as nakedly epistemic, not in the least moral, but with the possibility that it could lead at some point to the genuinely moral. All the efforts to speak of the instance to which the pope refers as an exceptional case or circumstance for which the Holy Father has distilled the right moral theological understanding seems thus utterly wrong, because the Pope is not saying that condom use is morally good.

The same judgement stands in the case of Federico Lombardi's announcement that the Pope's words are applicable to heterosexual activity:

Here, of course, there is a contraceptive species added to the act; and this makes all the clearer why the Pope's point is directly epistemic and only remotely moral. It also shows how dangerous it is to start speaking of these as "exceptional" situations and promulgating dubious moral judgments of them. Nonetheless, the same point obtains: epistemically, a female prostitute too might become more aware of consequences to others and responsibility, which followed all the way out lead toward moral modes of engagement. But it alters nothing of the moral evil that constitutes the acts being performed. To treat the lesser evil as a moral good, to speak of it in terms of an "exceptional situation" in which somehow because of its epistemic implications for possible moral consciousness it is therefore good, is a great mistake. This is a mistake toward which Lombardi's comments seem to verge.

* * *

Obviously, the much cited words of the Pope should be taken in the context of the Q-&-A that preceded it, on the question of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Here the Pope clearly states: "we cannot solve the problem by distributing condoms"; that "the sheer fixation on the condom implies a banalization of sexuality", and that the condom "it is not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection" and later, that even in such circumstances it can neither be regarded as a "real or moral solution."

But all of this is getting lost in the mix, buried by those with the desire to read within the Pope's remarks an affirmation of condom use.

Additional Commentary

• 11/21/10: Prostitute or male prostitute? -- Grammar experts needed for pope comment on condoms Reuters FaithWorld's Tom Heneghan on the difficulties of foreign grammar and translation in rendering the Pope's remarks in English.

• 11/21/10: Pope's remarks in book open new chapter in condom debate, by John Thavis. (Catholic News Service).

• 11/22/10: Dr. Jeff Mirus (Catholic Culture) - "The Pope, the Condom, and the Elephant":

  So let’s stare it straight in the eye. The elephant in the room is the conviction that if Pope Benedict acknowledges the possible moral good of using a condom in one situation, then he is fundamentally weakening or retreating from the Church’s teaching that contraception is intrinsically evil. This conviction is a great and gleeful hope among those who uphold contraception, but it is also an intense fear among those who have perceived the evil of contraception all along. The elephant, then, is this huge, gigantic, enormous conviction—whether welcome or unwelcome—that the Pope has put the Church’s teaching on contraception in jeopardy.

  But this elephant exists only in the minds of those, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, who do not fully understand the Church’s teaching on contraception.

• 11/22/10: DarwinCatholic @ The American Catholic: "When are points not worth making?":

  On the one hand, what the pope said is completely true. On the other, the way in which it became publicized will doubtless lead more people into error than into truth. Does this mean that such nuanced discussion of high profile moral issues should simply not happen? Or that it should not be undertaken by someone as high profile as the pope?

• 11/22/10: George Weigel, who wrote the foreward to Light of the World, deflates the New York Times condom scoop", exposing 3 false assumptions of the authors:

  1. "that the Church’s settled teaching on sexual morality is a policy or a position that can change, as tax rates can be changed";
  2. "that all papal statements of whatever sort are equal, such that an interview is an exercise of the papal teaching magisterium"
  3. "that a “historic change” in Catholic teaching of the sort that was misreported to have taken place would be announced through the medium of an interview"

  Not that it's going to deter future speculation on their part and their continued obsession with, as Weigel puts it, "Salvation by Latex."

• National Catholic Reporter's John Allen Jr. also explains Why condom comments are no earthquake in Catholic teaching (11/22/10):

  In practice, that means that if someone were to ask a Catholic priest, "Is it okay to use a condom?" the answer is still supposed to be "No." Catholic teaching holds that to be fully consistent with God's plan, sexuality should occur only inside marriage and should be open to new life.

  If the question, however, is, "I'm HIV-positive and will have sex regardless of what the Church thinks, so is it better to use a condom to try to save lives?" the Pope has implied that a pastor might legitimately say "Yes," while still stressing that condoms ultimately are not, as Benedict says in his interview, a "real or moral solution."

  Allen adds, however, some additional important qualifiers -- "until some formal edict comes down the pike, Benedict's language has to be seen as interesting but non-binding" and does not hold any magisterial weight. Also, the propensity of the media to distort the nuances of Catholic teaching on this matter will likely deter the Church from issuing any formal ruling on pastoral care for HIV/AIDS:

  ... it may well be precisely those reformers most thrilled by what Benedict has said, most inclined to spin it as a "revolution," who actually make it less likely that even his limited concession sees the official light of day.

  For those who would like the Catholic Church to become more flexible on condoms, therefore, a word of caution: hype doesn't help.

• 11/23/10: The Pope’s new book should not be reduced to one remark the pontiff makes about condoms, protests Rino Fisichella, president of the newly established Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization (Catholic News Agency):

  “Reducing the entire interview to one phrase removed from its context and from the entirety of Benedict XVI's thought would be an offense to the Pope's intelligence and a gratuitous manipulation of his words."

  (And yet here we are ...)

• 11/24/10: "Condoms! Condoms! Condoms!" - Fr. Robert Barron weighs in on the media's obsession for the Chicago Tribune:

  One of the stupidest and most dispiriting expressions of the media culture that I have ever encountered is the “coverage” of Pope Benedict’s recently-published interview entitled Light of the World. I can’t really say that I was surprised.

  I had received an advance copy of the book and had prepared a piece on it when I met a woman involved in organizing the publicity for its release. "They’re going to talk about condoms,” I said.

  "But it’s such a minor theme and it’s mentioned on, like, a quarter of a page at the end of one chapter,” she said.

  "They're going to talk about condoms,” I replied.

• 11/24/10: "Did Benedict stir the water on purpose?" -- The Anchoress (blogging @ First Things) poses the question.

Pope Benedict'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

Ratzinger on Prayer, Faith.

Many people were able to pray as children, but at sometime or other they lost the ability. Do you have to learn to talk with God?

The organ of sensitivity to God can atrophy to such an extent that the words of faith become quite meaningless. And whoever no longer possesses a faculty of hearing can no longer speak, because deaf goes together with being mute. It's as if one had deliberately to learn one's own mother tongue. Slowly one learns to spell out God's letters, to speak this language and -- if still inadequately -- to understand God. Gradually, then, one will begin to be able to pray for one's self and to talk with God, at first in a very childlike way -- in a certain sense we always remain like that -- but then more and more in one's own words.

* * *

I also think one has never achieved complete faith. Faith has to be lived again and again in life and in suffering, as well as in the great joys God sends us. It is never something I can put in my pocket, like a coin.

Joseph Ratzinger [Pope Benedict XVI]
God and the World: A Conversation With Peter Seewald

Celebrating the 5th Anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI's Pontificate

April 19th marked the 5th anniversary of the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI. (It also marked the birth of my second son, which is why I'm a little late to the celebration). Following are some links commemorating the occasion:

• Acton President Rev. Robert A. Sirico and Kishore Jayabalan, the Director of Acton’s Rome office on the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI -- a dicussion with Al Kresta on Kresta in the Afternoon.
• Pope Benedict's Rookie Year as a Priest - Before he was Pope Benedict XVI, or Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, our new pope was a young Bavarian seminarian. In his autobiography, Milestones: Memoirs 1927-1977, Joseph Ratzinger recounts his ordination on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul in Freising, Germany, in 1951, and his first years as a parish priest and then completing his doctorate while teaching at the seminary.
• From Catholic News Service: After having collaborated on children’s books about Pope Benedict XVI, Msgr. Georg Ganswein — his personal secretary — is celebrating the fifth anniversary of the pope’s election with his own book, “Benedict XVI: Urbi et Orbi” looking at the pope’s public encounters with the faithful and with other visitors in Rome and around the world.

  According to the Salt + Light blog, the book is released in Italian and German only:

  As Msgr. Gänswein says in his introduction to the book, in Mark’s Gospel Jesus tells the apostles to go to every corner of the earth to preach the Gospel, and so the successor of Peter has to do the same in order to bring “the words of eternal life” to the ends of the earth.

  The photos are beautiful shots of Pope Benedict in different places, including a great photo of him walking hand-in-hand with a select group of young people at World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany. There’s even a picture of the Holy Father meeting Governor General Michaëlle Jean and her daughter Marie-Eden.

• At the five-year mark, "two key objectives of Pope Benedict XVI's pontificate have come into clear focus: creating space for religion in the public sphere and space for God in private lives", says John Thavis (Catholic News Service).
• Close to 1,200 students from Roman universities signed a letter congratulating Benedict XVI for the fifth anniversary of his election to the See of Peter. (Zenit News Service).
• Benedict has already left its mark on the Church, says Carmen Elena Villa, in a survey of highlights of his pontificate to date, not to mention significant facts (with 142 published works, he holds the papal record for having written most books before taking the Chair of Peter).
• "Reigniting the Word of God" (National Catholic Register April 21, 2010). According to biblical scholar Scott Hahn, emblematic to Benedict's pontificate is the centrality on the word of God:

  That’s where he has kept our focus — not on fads or scandals or the world’s alarms. Christ, the Word Incarnate, is the solution to every world crisis. Pope Benedict has invited us, insistently and consistently, to encounter Christ in the word inspired, the sacred Scriptures. And he has done this through some very large labors. ...

• To commemorate the fifth anniversary of this historic event for the Catholic Church, Catholic World Report asked its contributors to reflect on these first years of Pope Benedict's pontificate:

  Priest, Prophet, King
  Three ways Benedict has exemplified these three roles
  By Father Joseph Fessio, S.J.

  Reform within Continuity
  A proper understanding of Vatican II has been paramount in Benedict’s pontificate.
  By Father Matthew Lamb

  Why Do the Media Rage?
  Pope Benedict’s pontificate has caught the media and dissidents alike by surprise.
  By Philip F. Lawler

  Pope Benedict’s Patristic Perspective
  A student of the past, a prophet of the future
  By Father David Vincent Meconi, S.J.

  Planting the Seeds of Reform
  Future generations will have much for which to thank Benedict.
  By George Neumayr

  Benedict Contra Mundum
  In Pope Benedict, “Peter is still here.”
  By Carl E. Olson

  A Pope Who Thinks in Centuries
  Benedict sees the Church as a divine institution with a historical mission.
  By Tracey Rowland

  A Fatherly Figure
  History will vindicate the paternal care Benedict has shown for the Church.
  By Robert Royal

  Pope Ratzinger
  A scholarly pope who also listens
  By Father James V. Schall, S.J.

  Retrieval and Reintegration
  Benedict’s efforts to let the past inform and guide the Church’s future
  By Father Robert Sirico

  
  

Get to know Pope Benedict XVI ...

	The Essential Pope Benedict XVI Edited by John F. Thornton & Susan B. Varenne, with introduction by D. Vincent Twomey, S.V.D. On April 24, 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI, the successor of the Apostle Peter and the spiritual leader of more than one billion Roman Catholics. This collection lays out Benedict's thinking and relates it to a variety of contemporary issues, including modern culture's abandonment of traditional religious values, social mores regarding conception and the sanctity of life, current challenges to the priesthood, and the Catholic Church's relations with other world religions.
	Benedict XVI: An Intimate Portrait In the person of Benedict XVI, the Church has a Pope who is one of the most significant of Europe's intellectuals. The journalist Peter Seewald, who has known Ratzinger since 1992, conducted the longest interviews in Church history with him for two books which were best-sellers world-wide, Salt of the Earth, and God and the World. Now, for the first time, Seewald describes these intensive encounters in detail, and draws a portrait of this brilliant theologian who has put his life entirely at the service of the Catholic Church. This book is also the story of a long dialogue that changed Seewald's life. Many people are trying to understand who Benedict XVI really is. On one point they all agree: in the person of Joseph Ratzinger, the chair of Peter is occupied by one of the most brilliant minds in the world. Peter Seewald's portrait of Benedict recounts details about the personality and life of Benedict that were hitherto completely unknown.'
	Pope Benedict XVI: The Conscience of Our Age Fr. D. Vincent Twomey, a former doctoral student of Joseph Ratzinger and long time friend of the Pope, felt the need to respond to the common question he heard often after the papal election, “What kind of person is the new Pope?” So often Twomey had read false depictions of both the man and his thought, especially the image presented by the media as a grim enforcer. Twomey offers here a unique double–presentation of the man, Pope Benedict XVI — a “theological portrait” that encompasses both an overview of the writings, teachings and thought of the brilliant theologian and spiritual writer, as well as the man himself, and his personality traits and how he communicates with others. Twomey shows that the secret to the serene dignified behavior of Benedict is that he is open to beauty as much as truth, that he lives outside himself, and is not preoccupied with his own self. He also is a man that Twomey says “has the courage to be imperfect”, showing he has a deep humility and strives for teaching the truth even when misunderstood or not presented as well as he would like.

The Pope, the Church and Clergy Abuse - Two Roundups

The press of late has been dominated by coverage of the Church and the sexual abuse crisis. Much of this reporting has been sketchy on the facts and/or downright slanderous. Moreover, there is something in the conduct of many of the critics (secular and/or religious) that indicates they wish to exploit this tragedy to advance their vendetta against the Holy Father, whom they begrudge for other decisions of his pontificate. Following are links to two ongoing roundup of news and commentary.

• Pope Benedict, the Catholic Church and the sexual abuse crisis [Roundup] (The Benedict Blog March 30, 2010).
• Cardinal Ratzinger / Pope Benedict XVI and "The Murphy Case" (The Benedict Blog March 27, 2010). Cataloguing the responses (and rebuttals) to the New York Times' smear campaign against the Pope, concerning the case of the Rev. Lawrence C. Murphy, who worked at a school for deaf children from 1950 to 1974.

"God conquers our hearts not by force, but by love"

In these last days before Christmas, the Church invites us to contemplate the mystery of Christ’s Birth and to experience the joy and hope which the newborn Saviour brings into our world. Gazing on the Christ Child lying in the manger, we contemplate the love of a God who humbly asks us to welcome him into our hearts and into our world. By coming among us as a helpless Child, God conquers our hearts not by force, but by love, and thus teaches us the way to authentic freedom, peace and fulfilment. This Christmas, may the Lord grant us simplicity of heart, so that we may recognize his presence and love in the lowly Babe of Bethlehem, and, like the shepherds, return to our homes filled with ineffable joy and gladness.

Pope Benedict XVI
General Audience, December 23, 2009.

Singing Pontiffs

Catholic News Agency reports that Pope Benedict XVI will release an album, featuring him singing chants and reciting prayers to the accompaniment of classical music:

The new album, titled, “Alma Mater, Music from the Vatican,” features eight pieces of modern sacred music with recordings of the Pope speaking and praying in Latin, Italian, Portuguese, French and German. The Pope’s voice is accompanied by the choir of the Philharmonic Academy of Rome, directed by Msgr. Pablo Colino.

The music was performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London.

During the press conference presenting the new CD, Father Lombardi said the idea to make the CD came from Giulio Neroni, who brought the proposal to the Vatican Secretary of State. St. Paul Multimedia agreed to produce the album, with the assistance of Vatican Radio for the recordings of the Pope.

More from Rachel Donaldson @ The First Post:

Sadly, it seems the Pope's debut album, Alma Mater, is likely to disappoint both his ardent admirers, hoping to hear his singing voice, and less devout fans curious to witness the transformation from rock of the Roman Catholic Church to rock star.

In a 50-minute album of Gregorian chants and original pieces of music, the Pope can be heard for a mere 10 minutes. He recites prayers to the Virgin Mary in various languages but his singing voice is not heard until 40 minutes into the record, when he leads the choir in the Regina Coeli chant.

We shall see.

The author claims that with the release of Alma Mater, Benedict "becomes the first singing pontiff to appear on Geffen, or indeed any record label." Well, perhaps as a singing pontiff -- but I still remember the well-received release of his predecessor, Pope John Paul II's Abba Pater, which as I recall even made it to MTV.

Accompanied by a resplendently rhythmic score and including an intriguing blend of classical, world, and contemporary western music, Abba Pater is Pope John Paul II's uplifting message to the faithful everywhere. Released in timely celebration of Holy Week and Easter, and in anticipation of the millennial Great Jubilee pilgrimage, this sacred inner expedition of sound explores universal themes of spirituality such as praise, forgiveness, and brotherly love. Abba Pater is the first musical CD ever to feature the most famous man in the world, whose dramatic and moving words delivered on these tracks are culled from archival recordings from the first 20 years of his papacy. In five beautifully expressed languages, the Pope sings, chants, and prays for the healing of humankind, all of which is perhaps best summed up by the words in Psalm 26: "I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." -- Paige La Grone

Update - Dr. John Meyers remarks:

Actually, the first recording of a singing pontiff was that of Pope Leo XIII (!) in 1902 or 1903, chanting the 'Ave Maria" in plainsong, and may be found on the Opal CD - 9823, "The Last Castrato" featuring Alessandro Moreschi which may still be available. I purchased it about fifteen years ago.