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Towards the 90th birthday of Benedict XVI
By Luca Caruso
Translated from
VATICAN CITY, April 7, 2017 – A lengthy applause in honor of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI started off the first events for his coming 90th birthday anniversary, promoted by the Fondazione Vaticana Joseph Ratzinger-Benedetto XVI , and which took place in Rome on Friday afternoon, April 6, at the Aula Magna of the Istituto Patristico Augustinianum.
Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ, currently president of the Foundation, asked Mons. Georg Gaenswein, Benedict’s private secretary, to convey ‘ideally’ the applause for him and the affection of all those who were present on the occasion.
Opening addresses were given by Fr. Giuseppe Caruso and Fr. Giuseppe Costa, director of the Vaticna publishing house LEV.
Fr. Caruso analyzed the spiritual and intellectual bonds between St. Augustine and Joseph Ratzinger, who has called the saint “a good traveling companion in the journey of my life and in my ministry”.
“Can an author build up a publishing house?” asked Fr. Costa, who answered, “Certainly! After 10 years of directing LEV, I can say that it owes to the author Joseph Ratzinger a great part of its growth and the international reputation it has today”.
In his intervention, Fr. Lombardi reviewed the various Foundation activities with the collaboration of various entities and academic institutions around the world, such as annual conventions and international symposia, meetings with students pursuing graduate studies in Rome on the theology of Jospeh Ratzinger, scholarships for deserving theology students and the annual Ratzinger Prizes for theology.
And it is all the Ratzinger Prize winners since 2011 – 13 theologians from 11 different countries – are the protagonists of the comememorative book
Cooperatores Veritatis. Scritti in onore del Papa emerito Benedetto XVI per il 90° compleanno [Co-workers for the truth: Writings in honor of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI for his 90th birthday), edited by Fr. Lombardi and Pierluca Azzaro for LEV.
Three of the Prize winners were present at the event: Fr. Christian Schaller fo Germany, editor of the 16-volume Complete Writings of Joseph Ratzinger (presented originally in German); Lebanese scholar Nabil El-Khoury, who is translating the Opera Omnia in Arabic; amd the Polish theologian Mons, Waldemar Chrstowski.
Fr. Lombardi presented the book, speaking about the essays contined in it, and underscoring the continuing great interest in the person and thought of Benedict XVI, noting that books continue to be written about him, as well as various new anthologies of his writings. These include three new biographies:
“Il Papa del coraggio” (Ancora) by Mimmo Muolo, Vaticanista dofAvvenire;
“Benedetto XVI. Fede e profezia del primo Papa emerito nella storia” (Edizioni Paoline) by Giovan Battista Brunori, a journalist for TG2, the daily newscast of Italian state TV’s second channel; and
“Joseph Ratzinger-Benedetto XVI. Immagini di una vita” (San Paolo), by journalists Maria Giuseppina Buonanno and Luca Caruso.
Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and a member of the Scientific Committee of the Ratzignger Foundation, delivered a tribute entitled “Una sinfonia di amore e verità nella libertà. Joseph Ratzinger/Benedetto XVI testimone grato della fede pasquale” (A symphony of love and truth in freedom: Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI, grateful witness of Paschal faith).
He pointed out that Joseph Ratzigner was born on April 16, 1927, which was Holy Saturday, and was baptized just a few hours after his birth with the newly blessed paschal water.
His life was therefore from the beginning immersed in the Paschal mystery, and thus, we clearly comprehend the two key words that mark the entire life of Joseh Ratzinger as a Christian, theologian, bishop and cardinal, pope and emeritus pope – gratitude and benediction. These represent the most evident and credible manifestations of Christian life in the Paschal mystery…
Pope Benedict XVI, born and baptized on Holy Saturday, just before Easter Sunday, stands before us as a grateful witness of Paschal faith. A faith that must be announced constantly and continually to a world in which one seldom sees little of that today, nor of the difine triumph of life over death and of love over hate.
In recalling his birth and baptism, he expressly underscored that he was baptized on Holy Saturday, not Easter, the day that most profoundlt characterizes the nature of human existence ‘which still awaits Easter, which is not yet in full light but trustful that it is headed there’…
Human existence is fulfilled in our earthly pilgrimage, in the ascent from Holy Saturday to Easter. In fact, in the history of salvation, Easter Sunday and Holy Saturday are always contemporaneous. It is this contemporaneity that is at the heart of the faith and the theological thinking of Pope Benedict which can be found in the triad of love, truth and freedom.
Others present at the event included Cardinals Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals; Tarcisio Bertone, former Vatican Secretary of State; Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council on Culture; emeritus Curial chiefs Manuel Monteiro de Castro, Proper Grech, Jose Saraiva Martins and Josef Tomko; Archbishops Luis Ladaria and Guido Pozzo from the CDF; various diplomats accredited to the Holy See, as well as journalists, theologians and students in Rome.
Earlier, on March 30 and April 1, the Benedict XVI College for Philosophical and Theological Studies at the University of Heiligenkreuz (Holy Cross) in the Cistercian monastery just outside Vienna held two days of celebration in advance of the Emeritus Pope’s 90th birthday.
Leading the festivities was the monastery’s Abbot Maximilian Heim, a Ratzinger Prize winner in 2012, along with Fr. Stephan Otto Horn, coordinator of the Ratzinger Schuelerkreis, and Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity.
The cardinal gave a lecture on March 31 which he later delivered at the presentation of the commemorative book
Cooperatores veritatis… in Rome. He presided at a thanksgiving Mass on Sunday, April 1, after which the students of the college named for Benedict XVI [and founded after his visit to Heiligenkreuz in September 2007] released 90 white balloons in his honor.
I am somewhat surprised that John Allen and Inez San Martin left it to an editorial assistant to cover and write this story - they obviously did not think the event worth their while, but then we get the still unjaded point of view of one of their assistants, presumably a young one, who is able to write about Benedict XVI without any preconceived notions, and therefore, more honestly than her bosses might have...
New book shows interest in
Pope Benedict XVI is here to stay
by Claire Giangravè
Editorial Assistant
April 7, 2017
ROME - Priests and theologians, bishops and ambassadors, nuns and scholars braved a spring deluge on April 6 to attend the presentation of a new book dedicated to the life’s work of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at the Institutum Patristicum Augustinianum of Rome.
Interest in the retired pope shows no sign of slowing down as his essential contributions to the Church and theology continue to be relevant today.
Three new biographies on the German pontiff have been published in Italy this week alone. Three collections of essays by the pope emeritus are also in the works. Italy’s public television, RAI, has produced two new documentaries celebrating the life of Benedict XVI.
celebrating his life.
Enthusiasm over the figure of Benedict XVI is not limited to Italy. All over the world symposiums, meetings and events take place focusing on the pope’s legacy.
At the Augustinianum, the Vatican publishing house and the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation unveiled
Cooperatores Veritatis (Co-workers of the truth), a collection of essays by all 13 winners of the Ratzinger Prize analyzing the fundamental contributions made by Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI to the life and and Magisterium of the Church.
The Ratzinger Prizes, established in 2010 by Benedict to serve as the premier international prize in theology, is given to those deemed to have done outstanding scholarly research in Sacred Scripture, patristics, and fundamental theology.
“I have witnessed while working on this project […] the vibrant interest that there is for the figure and work of Ratzinger as a theologian and as a pastor. It is not an interest that diminishes with time but rather increases with time,” said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, president of the Ratzinger foundation, while presenting the book.
Pope Benedict’s popularity holds its own considering his pontificate fell between two of the most popular popes of all time. In April 2008 a Pew Research Center study found that 83 percent of United States citizens had a favorable view of the pope following his visit. A Pew study also found that Benedict was the main newsmaker in 32 percent of all religion stories studied from July 2007 through May 2012.
The pope’s popularity continues to be felt today even as he has retired to live privately within the walls of Vatican City. On the eve of his 90th birthday, Pope Benedict XVI can still pack an auditorium, be it rain or shine.
The book sets out to show Benedict’s relevance today and offers a glimpse into the reason why he has earned a special place in the hearts of Catholics and non-Catholics alike. The Ratzinger prizewinners hail from 11 different countries and though the majority are Catholic, some profess other religions and beliefs.
“Regardless of the little time available - from December to early April - all 13 (Ratzinger prizewinners) responded with enthusiasm and attention and sent their contribution to this volume,” Lombardi said.
The essays are written in their original language to honor Benedict XVI, a well-known polyglot, though a second edition is already in the works providing translations. Each scholar wrote an essay based on their specific fields and specialization, highlighting the influence that the pope emeritus had in their work.
The topics in the book vary but they all have in common the emphasis on Benedict’s unique approach. From the relationship between Jews and Catholics, to the connection between reason and faith (a stronghold of the pope’s theological contribution) to the consequences and relevance of Vatican II, all the essays are steeped in Benedict’s vision for the Catholic Church.
“At an international and global level Pope Benedict’s message will certainly continue to be of interest for many years and its richness will be distributed from editor to editor,” Don Giuseppe Costa, Director of the Vatican Publishing House, said at the event.
The emeritus pope has already left a lasting footprint, both at the theological and at the pastoral level, which is destined to have an impact on Christianity and the world in the years to come. This latest 460-page commemorative volume is one of many efforts to ensure the legacy of Benedict’s teachings.
As proven by the large number of volumes and publications on Pope Benedict XVI that are being distributed right now, publishing houses are tapping into a growing demand. Even when covering the Vatican in the media, it is known that generally articles with Benedict XVI in the title produce good traffic.
During his presentation, Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, narrowed in on the reasons Benedict XVI still inspires such devotion to this day.
First of all, he said, there is Benedict’s love-based vision of Christianity. Benedict views Christianity as “the religion of love not only due to its origin but also in its deepest nature,” Koch said. “Christianity derives from the love of God, who loves us and guides us men to love and that we gift back to God and consequentially share amongst each other.”
Secondly, Koch described the “democratic” approach to faith by Pope Benedict, viewing his role as that of an interpreter and catalyst for the faith of the ‘little man.’ The mixture of these two ingredients is the secret to the infectious popularity still held today by the retired pope.
As the hundreds of participants at the book presentation made their way out into the pouring rain and flashing lightning above St. Peter’s square, one thing was clear: The teachings by Pope Benedict XVI are here to stay.
Benedict XVI: ‘Images of a life’
Translated from
April 5, 2017
On the occasion of Benedict XVI’s 90th birthday, Edizioni San Paolo in Italy released a book today entitled
Benedetto XVI – Immagini di una vita, written by journalists Maria Giuseppina Buonanno and Luca Caruso.
Starting from the historic announcement of Benedict’s renunciation of the Papacy on February 11, 2013, the authors retrace backwards the principal stages of the human and spiritual biography of this ‘humble servant in the vineyard of the Lord’, illustrated by numerous photographs, some of them previously unpublished: From his infancy in Germany in the 1930s, the tragedy of Nazism and the Second World War at the end of which he was an American POW, his priestly vocation, his brilliant academic career, his participation in the Second Vatican Council, his appointment as Archbishop of Munich-Freising and his elevation to the cardinalate, his almost quarter-century as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the almost eight years of a Pontificate marked by light and shadows.
“Even if the circumstances and places changed and his garments changes from black to red to white, there is no doubt whatsoever that he who is with us in the pages of this book is always the same person and that the interior thread running through his life shows a unity of orientation and a continuity of extraordinary inspiration,” writes Fr. Federico Lombardi, president of the Fondazione Vaticana Joseph Ratzinger-Benedetto XVI in his Preface to the book.
The publisher’s blurb for the book reads:
Two journalists – Luca Caruso, head of the press bureau for the Fondazione Vaticana Joseph Ratzinger-Benedetto XVI, and Maria Giuseppina Buonano, who writes about Church affairs for the weekly magazine Oggi (Today) – narrate and illustrate the rich and complex personal, theological and pastoral life of Benedict XVI for those who know little about the emeritus Pope.
In nine chapters and 90 photos, the book seeks to illuminate anew the figure and person of the Emeritus Pope, in capturing images from the important stages of his life, from his childhood and youth, his education, his Episcopal and Vatican offices, his election as pope, his pontificate, his renunciation and his life in retirement.
The book was realized in cooperation with the Fondazione Vaticana JR-BXVI, with a preface by Fr. Federico Lombardi, and with a 90th birthday greeting from the pope’s older brother, Mons. Georg Ratzinger.
Herewith a translation of the letter:
Holy Father!
Dear Brother!
I greet you from the heart on your 90th birthday! For so many years we have gone through life together. I carry in my heart the bond that I have always felt.
Your days continue to be filled with tireless work in your service as priest, bishop and emeritus Pope. Many people are thankful for this and include you in their prayers. Your words of instruction and confirmation are received by many with great interest and welcome.
I wish you health and strength in the coming years, and above all, the rich blessing of God, in whose service you have placed yourself all your life.
Your brother Georg
Regensburg
January 18, 2017
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 16/04/2017 00:14]