BOOKS BY AND ON BENEDICT

Mary, accidentally I read your very lovely and cute story!
What a talented writer you are! I love the story, it is sooo nice and needs much more attention.
You should post it somewhere else, maybe on the Pope-Pourri thread or so.
Respect!

Children's book offers Pope Benedict's teachings on Jesus and 'first companions'

Rome, Italy, Jul 21, 2010 / 07:13 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A new children's book has been published under Pope Benedict XVI's name. It presents a collection of the Holy Father's descriptions of Jesus' relationship with his "first companions," taken from his catecheses at general audiences over the past five years.

The illustrated book titled "Gli Amici di Gesu" (The Friends of Jesus) was released in Spring of 2010 by the Milanese publishing house "Piccola Casa Editrice" in Italian. Painted depictions from the hand of Franco Vignazia accompany the stories of Jesus and 14 of his "friends."

The characters in the book include each of the original 12 apostles, including Judas Iscariot; Matthias, who replaced Judas after the betrayal, and the self-considered apostle, St. Paul.

The 48-page volume produced for the youngest of readers is a "route that takes the reader to the origins of the Church, through the events of the first people who found Jesus and became his friends," according to the publishing house.

Fr. Julian Carron, president of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, says in the preface of book that, through the stories, "The Pope takes us by the hand and accompanies us to discover who were the first companions of Christ, how they found him and how they were conquered by him until they decided that they would never abandon him again."

Lorenzo Murnigotti, editorial coordinator of the "Piccola Casa Editrice" publishing house, told CNA that it reproduces Pope Benedict's perspective of the most significant moments between them and the Teacher, dedicating each of them three to four pages.

The publisher, he explained, came up with the idea to compile the Pope's descriptions for a young audience after they noticed that references to the apostles during his traditional Wednesday catecheses were also directed to children.

Through an agreement with the Vatican's publishing house, "Libreria Editrice Vaticana," they were able to produce the book with the name of the author, "Benedetto XVI," on the cover.

Mr. Murnigotti hoped that English and Spanish versions would be published within the next year and added that, if given the opportunity, they will continue to print works by the Pope "very willingly."

another report about the book

THE FRIENDS OF JESUS: A NEW BOOK FOR CHILDREN BY THE POPE

VATICAN CITY, 22 JUL 2010 (VIS) - "The Friends of Jesus" is the title of a new book for children by Benedict XVI in which he recounts the story of the twelve Apostles and St. Paul.

The book, forty-eight pages long and illustrated by the Italian artist Franco Vignazia, has been published by the publishing house San Giuliano Milanese. It brings together a number of passages from the Pope's catecheses in his Wednesday general audiences, according to the "Osservatore Romano" newspaper.

The prologue is by the Spanish priest Fr. Julian Carron, president of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation.

"One upon a time there was a small group of men who, one day two thousand years ago, met a young man who walked the roads of Galilee. Each had his own job and family but, in an instant, their lives changed. They were called Andrew and John, Peter, Matthew, Thomas, etc. They were twelve and we know them today as the 'Apostles'. ... In Jerusalem at that time everyone knew that they were Jesus' 'friends'. ... Later they were joined by St. Paul ... who from being a persecutor of Christians became the greatest witness to Jesus", writes Fr. Carron.

Fr. Carron likewise explains that in this work Benedict XVI "takes us by the hand and accompanies us as we discover who Jesus' first companions were, how they met Him and were conquered by Him to the point that they never abandoned Him".

.../ VIS 20100722 (260)


[IMG]http://i26.tinypic.com/25u6yc5.jpg[/IMG]

www.katholisches.info/?p=9038

Published on November 24th, it's now available for pre-ordering on Amazon.UK and I assume on Amazon.com as well.

See benefan's post for details of the book's contents.

[YOUTUBE]http://[/YOUTUBE]

Introduction of Peter Seewald's new book on Benedict, "Light of the World". Sorry, Seewald and the others are speaking in German but the book will be published this month in about a dozen languages, including English.

PRESENTATION OF VOLUME TWO OF "JESUS OF NAZARETH"



VATICAN CITY, 2 MAR 2011 (VIS) - In the Holy See Press Office at 5 p.m. on Thursday 10 March, a press conference will be held to present the book: "Jesus of Nazareth. From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection", written by Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) and published by the Vatican Publishing House.



The conference will be presented by Cardinal Marc Ouellet P.S.S, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, and by Claudio Magris, a writer and German scholar.



The book is being published in seven languages - German, Italian, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Polish - and has nine chapters and an epilogue.



Chapter one deals with "The Entrance into Jerusalem and the Cleansing of the Temple". Chapter two, which focuses on "Jesus' Eschatological Discourse", is subdivided into three sections: "The End of the Temple", "The Times of the Gentiles" and "Prophecy and Apocalyptic in the Eschatological Discourse". Chapter three has as its subject "The Washing of the Feet" and contains the following six subheadings: "The hour of Jesus", "You are clean", " Sacramentum and exemplum - gift and task: The 'new commandment'", "The mystery of the betrayer", "Two conversations with Peter" and "Washing of feet and confession of sin".



Chapter four has as its title "Jesus' High-Priestly Prayer" and is subdivided as follows: "The Jewish Feast of Atonement as Biblical Background to the High-Priestly Prayer", "Four Major Themes of the Prayer: ('This is eternal life...', ' Sanctify them in the truth...', ' I have made your name known to them...', ' That they may all be one...')".



Chapter five is entirely dedicated to "The Last Supper" which is analysed under the headings: "The Dating of the Last Supper", "The Institution of the Eucharist", "The Theology of the Words of Institution", and "From the Last Supper to the Sunday Morning Eucharist".



"Gethsemane", the tile of chapter six, includes sections on: "On the Way to the Mount of Olives", "The Prayer of Jesus", "Jesus' Will and the Will of the Father" and "Jesus' Prayer on the Mount of Olives in the Letter to the Hebrews".



Chapter seven, "The Trial of Jesus", includes sections on "Preliminary Discussion in the Sanhedrin", "Jesus before the Sanhedrin" and "Jesus before Pilate". Chapter eight, on the "Crucifixion and Burial of Jesus", begins with a reflection on "Word and Event in the Passion Narrative", then continues with "Jesus on the Cross: ('The first of Jesus' words from the Cross: Father, forgive them', 'Jesus is mocked', 'Jesus' cry of abandonment', 'The casting of lots for Jesus' garments', 'I thirst', 'The women at the foot of the Cross - the Mother of Jesus', 'Jesus dies on the Cross', and ' Jesus' burial')". The chapter concludes with "Jesus' Death as Reconciliation (Atonement) and Salvation".



The ninth and final chapter is entitled "Jesus' Resurrection from the Dead" and is subdivided as follows: "What Is the Resurrection of Jesus?", "The Two Different Types of Resurrection Testimony", "The Confessional Tradition: ('Jesus' death', 'The question of the empty tomb', 'The third day', 'The witnesses')", "The Narrative Tradition ('Jesus' appearances to Paul', 'The appearances of Jesus in the Gospels', 'Summary: The Nature of Jesus' Resurrection and Its Historical Significance')".



The Holy Father's book concludes with an epilogue entitled: "He Ascended into Heaven - He Is Seated at the Right Hand of the Father, and He Will Come Again in Glory".

www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/02/pope-jews-jesus-death_n_830...

Link to an article in Huffington Post, from Robert Moynihan. More about the new book.

JESUS OF NAZARETH: FROM THE ENTRANCE INTO JERUSALEM TO THE RESURRECTION

Ignatius Press is the U.S. publisher of the Pope’s latest book, “Jesus of Nazareth, From Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection.” As the web site says in a promotion for the book, this second tome asks important questions: Why was Jesus rejected by the religious leaders of his day? Who was responsible for his death? Did he establish a Church to carry on his work? How did Jesus view his suffering and death? How should we? And, most importantly, did Jesus really rise from the dead and what does his resurrection mean? The story of Jesus raises many crucial questions.

Pope Benedict, in his intensive and extensive study of both the Old and the New Testament, though especially the latter, attempts to answer these questions and many others regarding the historical, theological and pastoral nature of the passion, death and Resurrection of Jesus. His brilliant resumé as a theologian contributes in this masterful work to open hearts and eyes even wider than before to the man who is Jesus and the event that is the Passion, Death and Resurrection of this historic figure.

The Pope said, "The New Testament message is not simply an idea. Essential to it is the fact that these events actually occurred in the history of this world: biblical faith does not recount stories as symbols of meta-historical truths; rather, it bases itself upon history that unfolded upon this earth." He writes in this latest work: "Only in this second volume do we encounter the decisive sayings and events of Jesus' life . . . I hope that I have been granted an insight into the figure of Our Lord that can be helpful to all readers who seek to encounter Jesus and to believe in Him."

Cardinal Marc Ouellet (pronounced weh lay), prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, presented the Pope’s book last evening at a press conference in the presence of the Holy Father secretary, Msgr. Georg Ganswein and heads of some of the 22 publishing houses that were selected to publish the Pope’s book. He outlined four crucial questions faced by the Pope in his book: the question of the historical foundation of Christianity, the messianic nature of Jesus (“messianismo”), the meaning of redemption and the place that must be occupied therein by the expiation of sins, and the final “knot to be untied” regards the priesthood of Christ.

The cardinal defined “Jesus of Nazareth” at the presentation as a “moving, fascinating and liberating testimony” and “the dawn of a new era of exegesis.”

Volume two examines the final week of Jesus’ earthly life and the historical and theological questions surrounding his death. It has an opening print run of 1.2 million copies and has been published so far in seven languages.

On their web site – www.ignatius.com - Ignatius brings together five prestigious figures to offer their comments on “Jesus of Nazareth. From Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurection”:

"Working from Scripture, the Church Fathers and contemporary scholarship, Benedict XVI deftly brings together the historical and theological dimensions of the gospel portraits of Jesus. This is a splendid, penetrating study of the central figure of Christian faith; a learned and spiritual illumination not only of who Jesus was, but who he is for us today." +Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Denver

"What better guide could you find than Benedict XVI to lead you on the bracing adventure of exploring the historical Jesus and discovering, under the tutelage of this most sage successor to Peter, the inner meaning of Jesus‘ death and resurrection. Faith and reasonare the two wings Benedict XVI takes up to lead us to astonishingly fresh spiritual perspectives and dizzying heights. This book often takes ones breath away, while infusing in the reader the God-breathed Word, which is the Gospel." Tim Gray, Ph.D., President, Augustine Institute

"As is his first volume of Jesus of Nazareth, so, once again, in his second volume Pope Benedict XVI has authored a marvelous book, this time on the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. What makes this study so attractive is the depth of its biblical insight, its attention to historical issues, its keen theological acumen, and its lucid and precise expression. Moreover, as with the first volume, it is written in a serene and prayerful manner - a serenity and a prayerfulness that is conveyed to the heart and mind of the reader. This book fulfills Pope Benedict's ardent desire - that it would "be helpful to all readers who seek to encounter Jesus and to believe in him." Thomas G. Weinandy, O.F.M., Cap., Executive Director for the Secretariat for Doctrine, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

"On the Day of Pentecost, Peter sought to explain to the assembled multitude what God had done through Jesus of Nazareth, crucified and risen. Peter's successor, Benedict XVI, here undertakes the same urgent task, in fruitful dialogue with the historical-critical biblical scholarship that dominates contemporary academic study of Jesus. Charting the path of the new evangelization, Pope Benedict XVI uncovers for us the living source of Peter's evangelizing mission: Jesus, in whom God gives hope to the world." Matthew Levering, Ph.D., Co-Editor, Nova et Vetera, and Co-Director, Center for Catholic-Evangelical Dialogue

"This theological masterpiece courageously confronts head-on two centuries of historical exegesis and establishes a fresh way of reading the Gospels as both biography and theology in a coherent way. The author explains, "I set out to discover the real Jesus, on the basis of whom something like a Christology from below would then become possible. The quest for the historical Jesus, as conducted in mainstream critical exegesis in accordance with its hermeneutical presuppositions, lacks sufficient content to exert any significant historical impact. It is focused too much on the past for it to make possible a personal relationship with Jesus." Jacob Neusner, Distinguished Service Professor of the History and Theology of Judaism; Senior Fellow, Institute of Advanced Theology - Bard College

You can also click on the following link which will bring you to Jesus of Nazareth for an in-depth look at the volume where, for example, a panel of scholars reacts to the book and you can listen to their exchange on the eve of the worldwide release of Jesus of Nazareth. The tele-press conference featured a renowned interfaith group of biblical scholars and theologians discussing the Pope, the book, and its impact on the figure of Jesus.

Click here to see that and more: www.ignatius.com/promotions/jesus-of-nazareth/

The Vatican Information Service had a good summary of Cardinal Ouellet's remarks:

Cardinal Ouellet explained how, apart from the natural interest in a book about Jesus, "the Pope's book is humbly presenting itself to the forum of exegetes in order to compare methodology and research results with them. ... I cannot but see in this book the dawn of a new era of exegesis, a promising age of theological interpretation", he said.

"The Pope first enters into dialogue with German exegesis, though he does not overlook other important authors from the French, English or Romance language areas", the cardinal said. The Holy Father's "is that of 'seeking the real Jesus', not the 'historical Jesus' of the dominant school in critical exegesis, but the 'Jesus of the Gospels'".

Cardinal Ouellet explained that, "although the author is not presenting an official teaching of the Church, it is easy to imagine that his scholarly authority and the profound consideration given to certain disputed questions will be of great help in confirming many people's faith. This will also serve to enliven debates that have become stagnated because of rationalist or positivist prejudices, impairing the prestige of modern and contemporary exegesis".

Going on then to comment on the contents of the new book, the cardinal first noted how "the question of the historical foundation of Christianity has interested Joseph Ratzinger since his formative years and his first experience of teaching, as is evident from his book 'Introduction to Christianity', published forty years ago".

"A second question touches on the Messianism of Jesus. A number of modern exegetes, under the influence of dominant ideologies, have made Jesus out to be a revolutionary, a master of morality, an eschatological prophet, an idealist rabbi, a madman of God, a messiah in some way in the image of His exegete".

The prefect of the Congregation for Bishops explains how "the Pope powerfully and clearly outlines the regal and priestly dimensions of this Messianism, the meaning of which is to establish the new form of worship - adoration in spirit and in Truth - which involves all of individual and community life, as an offering of love for the glorification of God in the flesh.

"A third issue", the cardinal added, "concerns the meaning of redemption and the place that it should occupy in the expiation of sins. The Pope examines the modern objections to this traditional doctrine, ... and shows how mercy and justice go hand in hand within the framework of the Covenant established by God".

"The fourth problem involves the priesthood of Christ. In terms of today's ecclesial categories, Jesus was a lay person invested with a prophetic vocation. He did not belong to the priestly aristocracy of the Temple. ... This fact has led many interpreters to consider the figure of Jesus as entirely divorced from any relationship with priesthood. ... The Pope provides an ample response to the historical and critical objections, demonstrating how Jesus' new priesthood was coherent with the new worship He came to establish upon the earth, in obedience to the will of the Father".

"The final issue", the cardinal went on, "concerns the resurrection and its historical and eschatological dimension, its relationship with corporeity and with the Church. ... The Pope speaks out against ... interpretations which declare that the announcement of Christ's Resurrection is compatible with His body remaining in the tomb. He excludes these theories observing that the empty tomb, even if it is not proof of the resurrection, which had no direct witnesses, remains as a sign, ... a trace in the history of a transcendent event. ... The paradoxical experience of the apparitions reveals that, in this new dimension of existence, ... Jesus lives fully, in a new relationship with real corporeity but free from corporeal ties as we understand them. The historical importance of the resurrection is clear from the evidence of the early communities, which instituted the tradition of Sunday [worship] as a sign identifying the fact that they belonged to the Lord".

"It is clear from this book", the cardinal concluded, "that Peter's Successor dedicates himself to his specific ministry, which is to confirm his brothers and sisters in the faith. ... This book will serve, on the one hand, to mediate between contemporary and Patristic exegesis and, on the other, to foster the necessary dialogue between exegetes, theologians and pastors", he said.

"In this work", the cardinal completed his remarks, "I see a great invitation to dialogue on the essential aspects of Christianity, in a world seeking points of reference, a world in which religious traditions struggle to transmit humanity's heritage of religious wisdom to new generations".

This one isn't by Papa or specifically about him, but I'm sure it's approved by him. Anyway, I think it's worth noting. I'm going to buy it, but I have to pre-order it from Amazon.UK

See the thread on Georg Ratzinger and Bavaria. There's a new book entitled "My Brother The Pope" by Monsignor Georg Ratzinger. I think I was sitting next to the author in Saint Peter's on June 29th. Certainly I got a good photo of this lovely Bavarian man, so I'll post it as soon as I can.

[IMG]http:// Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/IMG]
Book cover. I fear the book is only available in German.

[IMG]http:// Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/IMG]

I gotta order that book.....

I also want to have it!!!

Imagine, your brother becomes pope one day.....



BTW I am still reading the first part of Jesus of Nazareth, now in the chapter about the sabbath and the family in a dialogue with a Jewish Rabbi. I have to say it opens a way to Jesus that I was longing for so many years, thank you Papa!

Here's an article that came out today about the book.


Teddy bears and tabernacles: the pope's childhood, told by his brother

By Catholic News Service
Feb. 27, 2012

ROME (CNS) -- Recounting their rural Bavarian childhood and subsequent lifelong friendship, the elder brother of Pope Benedict XVI offers a privileged look at the personal side of the spiritual leader of 1.3 billion Catholics.

"My Brother the Pope," scheduled for publication March 1 by Ignatius Press, is based on interviews with Msgr. Georg Ratzinger by German writer Michael Hesemann and was originally published in German last year.

Joseph, the future Pope Benedict, was "very slight and delicate" at birth, Msgr. Ratzinger says, and was "often sick" as an infant, with diphtheria among other ailments. Later on, Joseph's favorite toys were stuffed animals, and he was particularly attached to a pair of teddy bears.

Msgr. Ratzinger describes family life with their parents and older sister Maria as free of any overt conflict, "since each one settled that himself and with God in personal prayer. We did not talk about such things. ... Such problems became a part of our prayer."

Glimpses of the boys' destinies came early on.

When a cardinal visited their small town in 1931, arriving in a black limousine, 4-year-old Joseph exclaimed, "I'll be a cardinal someday!" Nevertheless, Msgr. Ratzinger says, his brother was never ambitious, and external honors have been "always unwelcome" to him.

"My brother was somewhat better behaved than I," Msgr. Ratzinger says, yet he recounts a boyhood prank in which the two tricked a local farmer into losing track of his oxcart.

Recreation of a more edifying sort came when the boys played at being priests, using a toy altar made for them by an uncle.

"It was a really beautiful high altar, which he even equipped with a rotating tabernacle," Msgr. Ratzinger recalls. "Naturally we used water instead of wine for the make-believe consecration."

The future Pope Benedict, now a proficient amateur pianist and lover of Mozart, "did not take to music quite as spontaneously as I did," says Msgr. Ratzinger, who went on to become the choirmaster of the Regensburg, Germany, cathedral. His brother "was a little more restrained, although he is a very musical person," Msgr. Ratzinger says.

Recounting Hitler's rise to power in 1930s Germany, Msgr. Ratzinger says that their father regarded the dictator as the "Antichrist" and refused to join the Nazi party.

"But so as not to put our family completely at risk, he advised Mother to join the women's organization," Msgr. Ratzinger says, noting that the women "did not talk about Hitler but instead exchanged recipes, chatted about their gardens, and sometimes even prayed the rosary together."

It was only reluctantly that the two boys obeyed requirements to join the Hitler Youth and later served in the German military during World War II, Msgr. Ratzinger says. The pope's brother was present at the Allied bombardment of the monastery on Monte Cassino, Italy, in 1944.

Msgr. Ratzinger recounts anecdotes about their time together as adults: watching a German television series about a police dog named "Inspector Rex" and dividing tasks in the kitchen -- the monsignor washing dishes while his brother, by then a cardinal, drying.

In 2005, after the death of Blessed John Paul II, Msgr. Ratzinger was sure that his brother was too old to be elected pope. When he heard the new pontiff's name pronounced on live television, he admits that he was "disheartened."

"It was a great challenge, an enormous task for him, I thought, and I was seriously worried," Msgr. Ratzinger says.

The pope later confided that his election had "struck him like a bolt of lightning," Msgr. Ratzinger says.

Readers get a glimpse inside the papal household as Msgr. Ratzinger describes his brother's daily routine. On Tuesdays, for example, Pope Benedict listens to tape recordings and practices his pronunciation of the remarks in foreign languages that he will make at the next day's general audience.

Msgr. Ratzinger says that his brother has not been indifferent to the many criticisms that he has received during his career, as prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and then as pope.

Pope Benedict is "personally very sensitive, but he also knows from which corner these attacks come and the reason for them, what is usually behind them," Msgr. Ratzinger says. "That way he overcomes it more easily, he rises above it more simply."

- - -

Contributing to this report were Carol Glatz, Francis X. Rocca and Cindy Wooden in Rome.

Here's another review of Msgr. Ratzinger's new book.


Msgr. Ratzingers new book recalls growing up with Pope Benedict XVI

Denver, Colo., Feb 29, 2012 / 09:14 am (CNA).- Pope Benedict XVI's brother, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, is due to publish a memoir reflecting on his relationship of eight decades with the current successor of St. Peter.

“My Brother the Pope,” published by the Pope's official English-language publisher Ignatius Press, will be released worldwide on March 1. It features Msgr. Ratzinger's recollections of life with his brother Joseph, recorded for posterity in a collaboration with the journalist and historian Michael Hesemann.

Msgr. Ratzinger and his younger brother were born in 1924 and 1927, respectively. The Pope has described his older brother as a formative influence, saying in August 2008 that “from the beginning of my life, my brother has always been for me not only a companion, but a trustworthy guide.”

“For me he has been a point of orientation and of reference with the clarity and determination of his decisions,” the Pope said on that occasion, while granting his brother honorary citizenship for the papal residence Castel Gandolfo. “He has always shown me the path to take, even in difficult situations.”

The two brothers were ordained as priests on the same day in 1951. Georg Ratzinger combined his priestly calling with his musical talents, and spent three decades directing the renowned “Regensburger Domspatzen” boys' choir.

Joseph Ratzinger, meanwhile, pursued a career as a professor and theologian. This path would take him to the head of the Church's highest doctrinal office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which he led as cardinal prefect prior to his 2005 election as Pope.

In an exclusive advance excerpt provided to CNA, Msgr. Ratzinger recalls how the future Pope lived during his time as a young assistant pastor.

“He actually felt very much at ease in pastoral work,” he writes in chapter 7. “Above all, religious instruction suited him; he had the gift of presenting even the most difficult subjects so that they could be understood by the simpler children and yet still interested the more demanding students.”

“It gave him great joy. Even though during his first year he already had to take on nineteen sessions a week, he always went gladly into the schools as a religion teacher.”

“Every morning he sat for an hour in the confessional, on Saturdays for four hours. Several times a week he rode his bicycle across Munich to funerals, and he celebrated baptisms and weddings. In addition, he was in charge of the youth program in the parish.”

It was difficult, Msgr. Ratzinger says, for his brother to give up this assignment and devote himself to academic work as a seminary professor in Freising.

But this academic career “did not change him at all as a person … I would have noticed it immediately if he had become different in some way.”

“Our parents thought at first that once he was a professor he would be a bit pompous and talk down to people, but he was never like that; he always remained natural,” the Pope's brother writes.

In the same excerpt, Msgr. Ratzinger offers a classic picture of Bavarian Catholic life at mid-century, reminiscing about the day in 1953 when his brother received his doctorate in theology.

“At that time I was an assistant pastor at Saint Ludwig’s in Munich … and of course I was present when the whole process was concluded with a celebration.”

“The university employees, in uniform and each holding a staff, led off, and the rector and the deans were all wearing their robes. The young doctor had to give a lecture and defend his thesis, which he had composed in Latin, and all this took place in the auditorium of the university.”

“Our parents and our sister had come, too, and were rather impressed by the festive occasion. Afterward, being a young assistant pastor, I invited them to my lodgings in the rectory, and there was bratwurst and rolls and beer, and it all tasted wonderful to us.”

An interview with the guy who interviewed Msgr. George Ratzinger for the book, My Brother, the Pope. It is very interesting and reveals a lot about both Ratzinger brothers.


The Ratzinger Family Secret

Pope Benedict XVI’s brother shares memories in My Brother, the Pope.

BY ROBERT RAUHUT
National Catholic Register
3/14/12 at 1:21 AM

Msgr. Georg Ratzinger’s new book, My Brother, the Pope, brings new insights into the private life of the Ratzinger family. First published in Germany, the book is a series of interviews Msgr. Ratzinger gave to German journalist Michael Hesemann.

Hesemann was born in Düsseldorf in 1964 and studied history and cultural anthropology at the University of Göttingen. Accredited at the Holy See Press Office since 1999, Hesemann wrote several bestselling books on Church history and Christian archaeology.

My Brother, the Pope has been translated into English by Michael Miller and was recently published in the United States by Ignatius Press. Hesemann spoke with Register correspondent Robert Rauhut about the project.


Msgr. Ratzinger has been reserved, regarding public interviews. What was the motivation to do a book like this?

Right after the election of Benedict XVI, I was commissioned by my publisher to write a biography of the new Pope for the young participants of the World Youth Day in Cologne. Already at that time I had the idea that it would be important to interview the Pope’s brother as the most important living eyewitness of Joseph Ratzinger’s childhood, his formative years. But my publisher needed the book in two weeks. I didn’t have enough time, and I was sure someone else would do it soon anyway. But I waited for five years, and nothing happened. Eventually, in December 2010, I was introduced to Georg Ratzinger, and I just took the opportunity to confront him with my idea. He hesitated a little bit, but, eventually, a few weeks later, he agreed. I think he felt and agreed that it was his responsibility to history to collect his memories and get them documented for future generations; and, indeed, they became a unique testimony.


Was Pope Benedict XVI somehow involved in the development of this book?

Well, I am sure he told his brother about our common project. And when he visited his brother, the Pope, in June 2011, he had a copy of the unpublished manuscript with him, which I had given him at least to show to his brother. But Msgr. Ratzinger and I had an agreement to leave the final decision about the publication to Msgr. Georg Gänswein, the personal secretary of the Holy Father. Indeed, I only signed a contract with my publisher after I received the green light from Msgr. Gänswein that the book could be published. We just wanted to avoid any mistakes; and since Msgr. Ratzinger has eye problems and can’t read well anymore, it was important that a neutral, competent person read it before it was published. I am very grateful to him that he took the time, although the corrections he did were just minor details.


By now, there are many books about Pope Benedict XVI. What’s special about My Brother, the Pope? What new aspect does the Ratzinger fan get to know from reading the book?

Without any doubt, My Brother, the Pope is the most intimate biography of the Holy Father. Who knows him better than his brother? Besides the Holy Father’s own memoirs — a rather small booklet he published when he was still a cardinal — no other book written about him is based on inside knowledge and insight like this. Keep in mind that Msgr. Georg Ratzinger is the elder brother of Pope Benedict, three years older. Both brothers were, for all their life, as we say in Germany, always “one heart and one soul,” a very harmonic pair of brothers. Georg felt his vocation three years earlier and certainly served, to a certain degree, as a role model for his brother. And, indeed, we learn a lot of new details, like the fact that a cousin was murdered by the Nazis.


Georg Ratzinger has an amazing memory, hasn’t he?

He has an excellent memory, indeed. After I interviewed him for a week, two sessions a day — one in the morning, one in the afternoon — I decided to visit all the places mentioned in the book to get a better idea and also to check if all details were indeed like Msgr. Ratzinger described them. And I found his descriptions to be of a stunning precision. Everything was just like he described it; I did not have to correct a single detail. Even local names he remembered correctly, after 70 to 80 years. It’s the same brilliant memory his brother has — who still remembers so many names of people he met a decade ago.


In the past, we have experienced various attempts to reduce Pope Benedict’s past to the Nazi era. How does this book help to address that mischaracterization of the Ratzinger family’s values and activities during that era?

Well, you could have been hardly more anti-Nazi than the Ratzinger family. The Pope’s father was a small-town policeman when he stopped Nazi rallies and ended Nazi Party meetings, so the Nazis complained about him, and he was advised to request removal to a village — which he did, although it was a step down the career ladder. He hated them; he called Hitler “the Antichrist.” He couldn’t wait for his retirement, since he did not want to serve the Nazi regime, and, of course, he never joined the Nazi Party.

Instead, he was a subscriber to the most outspoken Catholic anti-Nazi newspaper, Der Gerade Weg, whose editor in chief, Fritz Gerlich, was murdered by the Nazis just after they came to power. After Hitler’s election, Joseph Ratzinger Sr. told his family frankly and nearly prophetically: “Soon we will have a war, so let’s buy a house” — which they did. He wanted to create security. They did not want to stay in an office flat of or for policemen. He foresaw a possible devaluation of money already earned and saved. And his retirement wasn’t a long way off. To ensure his family greater security they bought a house.

Indeed, the decision of both brothers to join the seminary was also a protest against the Nazis, and you can just imagine how seminarians were mocked by the Nazi boys of their age. Although it was the law to join the Hitler Youth and the whole class was automatically enlisted, young Joseph Ratzinger avoided it. He frankly told his school teacher he did not want to go, and, eventually, the teacher allowed him to stay at home. Even their older sister, Maria Ratzinger, who was an intelligent young lady and dreamed of becoming a school teacher for all her childhood, refused to study when the Nazis came to power and became a lawyer’s secretary instead: She just did not want to teach Nazi ideology at a Nazi school.

There were a few good Catholics in Germany, even during the Nazi regime — people who suffered a lot, and the Ratzingers were among them.


Reading the book, we also get to know some aspects about Joseph Ratzinger’s relationship with Blessed John Paul II. How would you characterize it, taking into account your talks with Msgr. Ratzinger?

It was a relationship based on both friendship and respect. John Paul II was maybe the greatest missionary of all time, but he was no theoretical theologian. So he needed Cardinal Ratzinger; and he knew he was the right man to become his theological adviser after he read one of his books.

He asked him to come to Rome, although Ratzinger, who was completely unambitious for all his life, always refused. Only when he asked a third time — he had to follow the Pope, out of respect and obedience. Still, he was always looking forward to his retirement, even when John Paul II regularly asked him to stay a little more.

Eventually, after the Pope’s death, Cardinal Ratzinger hoped that he would spend more time in Bavaria, write some new books, travel together with his brother ... when the conclave destroyed all these nice human plans and replaced them by God’s plan for him.


George Ratzinger was very shocked to see his brother elected Pope, wasn’t he? How has their relationship changed?

Oh yes, he was shattered. He was so depressed for a whole day that he did not want to go to the phone, which rang constantly. And only when his housekeeper answered she realized it was the new Pope who, for quite some time, tried to reach his brother. But, in the meantime, they both learned to live with this new situation.

The Holy Father calls Georg Ratzinger every other evening, in the meantime, on a separate phone he got just for this purpose. And at least four times a year Georg Ratzinger travels for more or less 10 days to Rome or Castel Gandolfo to spend time with his brother. So they are still very close.


What has impressed you personally, spending all these hours together with the Pope’s brother? Has this book modified your perspective on the pontificate in some way?

Well, what impressed me most was what turned out to be the Ratzinger family secret. How did it happen that a rather simple family, a country policeman and a hotel cook, raised two sons who were both geniuses, each one of his kind — Georg Ratzinger, as the famous musician, composer and choir leader who toured the world, and Joseph Ratzinger, the greatest German theologian and 265th successor of St. Peter?

Eventually, I found out that their source of inspiration was the intense Catholic faith and strong piety of this family. They prayed the Rosary together every day, kneeling on the kitchen floor; they went to church regularly; they celebrated the feasts of the Church year.

The common prayer and devotion became the source for the strong love that united this family, their powerful source which helped them to overcome the temptations of these turbulent times and made them immune against the blasphemous Nazi ideology and caused their vocation.

Today we have a crisis of vocations, and I strongly believe we can overcome it when we bring back the faith, bring back the prayer into our families. And not only vocations will happen: A family that prays together stays together.

How many family problems, divorces, addictions can be avoided if families start to rediscover the blessings of common prayer, of a religious life?

Well, my idea about Pope Benedict has not changed, but it was intensified by the work on this book: It confirmed that he truly is the nearly shy, humble man I encountered before, who sees himself indeed as just a simple worker in the vineyard of the Lord. But I learned how he got there, not by personal ambition, since he never planned any career, but that he was literally pushed there, sometimes dragged to a position where he never wanted to be, by a strong, unseen hand, by divine Providence, by the hand of God.

Register correspondent Robert Rauhut writes from Berlin.