The second volume of Peter Seewald's magisterial life of Pope Benedict covers the period from the Second Vatican Council (1965-68) to the present day.
Emeritus Pope Benedict commands both adulation and unremitting criticism. In this second volume of Peter Seewald's authoritative biography, the story runs from the Second Vatican Council (1965-68) that shaped Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's conservative ideas about the role of the Catholic Church, through his short, scandal-ridden papacy and unprecedented resignation. Volume Two introduces listeners to the Pope Emeritus living in the Vatican Gardens, contemplating the future of the Church and his controversial legacy within it.
We see how Benedict was influenced by the Vatican Council and the ensuing political unrest all over Europe in the 1960s. Appointed in 1981 as Prefect of the Congregation of Doctrine of the Faith, and quickly nicknamed "God's Rottweiler," he was intransigent on the controversial issues of abortion, contraception, gay rights, and gay marriage. But elected Pope in 2005, his tenure of office was riven with shocking revelations of controversy and scandal and it seemed that by his resignation in 2013, he was incapable of handling the complexities of the Church in the modern world.
Vatileaks, sexual abuse by priests, the Regensburg speech which became the spark of an eruption of rage in the Muslim world-all these hit the world's media headlines.
Peter Seewald is the only person close enough to Benedict to assess the man himself and to uncover the truth about so many of the controversial issues surrounding this papacy.
2005 wurde der deutsche Kardinal Joseph Ratzinger zum Papst gewählt. Doch wer ist der Mensch, der als Benedikt XVI. auf dem Stuhl Petri saß? Der Journalist und Buchautor Peter Seewald hat in ausführlichen Gesprächen mit ihm hinter die Kulissen geschaut und präsentiert in dieser Biografie die bisher weniger bekannten Seiten in Benedikts Lebensgeschichte, inklusive seiner Jugendzeit. Seewald ist dem Oberhaupt der katholischen Kirche dabei so nah gekommen wie nur wenige andere und liefert spannende Einblicke in die biografischen Stationen, Ansichten und Positionen Benedikts XVI. -
The long-awaited and authoritative biography of Pope Benedict XVI, a giant of the Catholic Church
Benedict XVI: A Life offers insight into the young life and rise through the Church's ranks of a man who would become a hero and a lightning rod for Catholics the world over. Based on countless hours of interviews in Rome with Benedict himself, this much-anticipated two-volume biography is the definitive record of the life of Joseph Ratzinger and the legacy of Pope Benedict XVI.
This first volume follows the early life of the future pope, from his days growing up in Germany and his conscription into the Hitler Youth during World War II to his career as an academic theologian and eventual Archbishop of Munich. The second volume, set to be published in 2021, will cover his move to Rome under Pope John Paul II, his ascension to the papacy, and his controversial retirement and news-making statements under his successor, Pope Francis I.
This necessary companion to Benedict's own memoir, Last Testament, is the fullest account to date of the life of a radical Catholic leader who has continued to make news while cloistered in retirement in the Vatican gardens.
'He intentado ser ante todo un pastor'
Por primera vez en la historia del cristianismo, un papa hace balance y habla sobre su renuncia, su pontificado y su vida. Además, en las últimas conversaciones mantenidas con Peter Seewald, interlocutor suyo desde hace años, el papa Benedicto XVI expresa ideas muy personales. En estas páginas se abordan tanto los acontecimientos decisivos de su pontificado como los recuerdos sobre su familia, la relación con importantes compañeros de camino y las preguntas acuciantes sobre el futuro de la Iglesia católica
Das erste persönliche Interview eines Papstes in der Kirchengeschichte: Diese Lesung gibt ein Gespräch des Journalisten Peter Seewald mit Benedikt XVI. aus dem Jahr 2010 wieder. Nie zuvor hat ein Papst seine persönliche Sicht der aktuellen Probleme in Kirche und Gesellschaft in dieser Form dargelegt. Offen stellt er sich Fragen zu seinem Pontifikat, dem Mißbrauchskandal, den Forderung nach Kirchenreformen, dem Stand der Ökumene und vielen weiteren Themenfeldern.
