On April 24, 2005, Cardinal Joseph Alois Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI, the spiritual leader of more than one billion Roman Catholics. Heralded by conservatives and held in suspicion by liberals, who is this complex man whose office grants him sole charge of the world's largest religion?
The Essential Pope Benedict XVI answers these questions through carefully chosen selections from his homilies, interviews, theological essays, and other writings. 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, and current challenges to the priesthood.
The Essential Pope Benedict XVI is a part of the Essential series, beautifully packaged works edited by leading authorities that feature the core texts of major religious traditions in definitive translations.
John F. Thornton is a literary agent, former publishing executive, and the coeditor, with Katharine Washburn, of Dumbing Down (1996) and Tongues of Angels, Tongues of Men: A Book of Sermons (1999). He lives in New York City. He has been a contributing editor to Vintage's renowned series of spiritual classics.
Susan B. Varenne is a New York City teacher with a strong avocational interest in and wide experience of spiritual literature. She holds an M.A. from the University of Chicago Divinity School and a Ph.D. from Columbia University.
"An outstanding collection of texts which takes us straight to the heart of Benedict XVI's thought."
- Alister McGrath, Professor of Historical Theology, Oxford University
