Overview

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.

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9780860124078

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Reviews

"""Those who want to get closer to this thinker should consult this book. [...] This, the first study of its kind in English, is a meticulously researched, lucid account of Cardinal Ratzinger's thought"" - The Economist ""[An] intelligent, well-documented and nuanced study. [...] The distinction between Professor Ratzinger and Cardinal Ratzinger, of course, is that Ratzinger himself falls to draw it, preferring, in the conduct of his office, to set the boundaries of Catholic orthodoxy disturbingly close to those of his personal theological opinions."" - Nicholas Lash, The Tablet ""Nichols's book is a highly lucid presentation of Ratzinger's theology, which reveals a complete mastery of his writings as well as the secondary literature. At the same time, the author is able to place the key issues in relief by relating Ratzinger's theology to the broader theological tradition, whether that of the British Isles or that of the Continent."" - Heythrop Journal"

Those who want to get closer to this thinker should consult this book. [...] This, the first study of its kind in English, is a meticulously researched, lucid account of Cardinal Ratzinger's thought - The Economist [An] intelligent, well-documented and nuanced study. [...] The distinction between Professor Ratzinger and Cardinal Ratzinger, of course, is that Ratzinger himself falls to draw it, preferring, in the conduct of his office, to set the boundaries of Catholic orthodoxy disturbingly close to those of his personal theological opinions. - Nicholas Lash, The Tablet Nichols's book is a highly lucid presentation of Ratzinger's theology, which reveals a complete mastery of his writings as well as the secondary literature. At the same time, the author is able to place the key issues in relief by relating Ratzinger's theology to the broader theological tradition, whether that of the British Isles or that of the Continent. - Heythrop Journal

Author Information

Aidan Nichols OP is Prior of Blackfriars Cambridge, member of the Divinity Faculty and Affiliated Lecturer at Cambridge University. A member of the Dominican order he also teaches in Rome and the US.

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