Overview

This important and illuminating book focuses on Ratzinger's status as one of the preeminent Catholic theologians of the 20th century. Aidan Nichols provides a full-scale investigation of his theology as it develops from the 1950s onward. The book 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, the Apostles’ Creed, explorations of the concept of the Church, preaching, liturgy and Church music, eschatology, the foundations of dogmatic and moral theology, and the problem of pluralism. This third edition, as well as providing a two-chapter-long biography of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, and amplifying the account already given of his later pre-papal writings, describes the new thinking that belongs to the years of Benedict's pontificate. That comprises his trilogy of books on Jesus of Nazareth, his quartet of encyclicals, and the set of major speeches he gave at global venues, chiefly on the contribution of faith to culture and civil society. An expanded Conclusion, weighing the lasting significance of his work, leads into a presentation of the themes of his posthumous essay collection - the 'curtain-call' he entitled 'What is Christianity?’

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9781350431126

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This work is the gold standard of intellectual biographies of Ratzinger/Benedict XVI. If students of theology were to read only one book summarising the mind of the great Church Doctor of the 20th century, it should be this book written with Fr Aidan’s English grace and charm and attention to the significance of history and culture upon intellectual formation. My favourite line was: Ratzinger believed that ‘the secular modernity that had parted company with the Logos ought to be psycho-analysed on a therapist’s couch, not taken into the marital bed’. For those who agree with this statement, this book is pure gold. * Tracey Rowland, University of Notre Dame, Australia * This remarkable study should help make the thought of Joseph Ratzinger -- one of the most learned men of the modern era -- accessible to a wide audience, which will be enriched by the encounter. * George Weigel, Ethics and Public Policy Centre, USA * I very much welcome the Third Edition of Aidan Nichols’s standard work in English on the life and theology of Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI. This new edition augments the two previous editions by incorporating the Pope’s major writings that were published in the meantime together with a fuller account of Ratzinger’s life. With pellucid clarity, the author provides the reader with a succinct, sympathetic (but not-uncritical) overview of what the author rightly calls “the vigour and breath of Ratzinger’s thought”. It is a pleasure to read. * D. Vincent Twomey, St Patrick’s Pontifical University, Ireland *

Author Information

Aidan Nichols is former Pope John Paul II Memorial Lecturer at the University of Oxford, UK.

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