In 9 chapters illustrated with 120 photographs, some previously unpublished, the book published on the occasion of his 90th birthday, recounts the life of Jospeh Ratzigner, from his birth in the small Bavarian town of Marktl-am-Inn in 1927, to his present life of prayer as the Emeritus Pope at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican Gardens. The book follows the principal stages in the personal and spiritual life of this ‘simple worker in the vineyard of the Lord’ – his childhood in the Germany of the 1930s, his conscription to war service as a teenager ending up as an American POW, his vocation as priest, his brilliant academic career, his participation in the Second Vaticna Council, his appointment to be Archbishop of Munich-Freising and his elevation to cardinal one month later, his long service as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under John Paul II, and the eight years of his Pontificate. It is an extraordinary legacy of images, memories and testimonials that bring us all the human, theological and pastoral richness of the person we know as Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI.
Lella and Beatrice both note that we have not seen any new photos of Benedict XVI since mid-May, but he is apparently well - one certainly hopes so - since there was a book presentation two days ago in Rome with Mons. Gaenswein in attendance, and no indication of anything untoward... I put the ff story together from a preview of the event in the Fondazione Vaticana website, and two separate accounts by SIR, the news agency of the Italian bishops' conference, about what Mons. Gaenswein and Fr. Lombardi said during the event.
Joseph Ratzinger:
Man, priest, theologian, Pope
and
“Joseph Ratzinger – Man, priest, theologian, Pope” was the theme of the assembly held Wednesday afternoon, June 14, at the Sala della Lupa of the Italian Chanber of Deputies, on the occasion of the presentation of the book
“Joseph Ratzinger Benedetto XVI – Immagini di una vita”, by Italian journalists Giuseppina Buonanno e Luca Caruso (Edizioni San Paolo, 2017).
After introductory remarks by Stefano Dambruoso, chief constable of the Chamber of Deputies, and by Mons. Georg Gaenswein, the book was presented in speeches by Fr. Federico Lombardi, president of the Fondazione Vaticana Joseph Ratzinger-Benedetto XVI; by Parliament members Antonio Palmieri and Raffaello Vignali, and by the book’s authors.
In his introduction, Mons. Gaenswein said:
[He (Benedict XVI) wants to be there for the Church - to pray, to help and to give thanks, even as he prepares himself for what he has so often written and preached all his life…
Everyday, we have a little walk, which brings us to the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens, while we say the rosary. It used to be a long walk, but it is much shorter now [because of the Emeritus’s problem with walking], even as his strength of heart has grown…
The presence of the Emeritus Pope is very silent, and something that so many persons are grateful for, but he is active above all in prayer. By not speaking, he speaks – silently, but, I believe, in this way he does good for many persons, he does great good for the Church and for the People of God…
The Pope read this book with great pleasure, great attention and great admiration… On his 90th birthday, it seemed like the whole world, not just Catholics, wished to make a great gift to him with all the books published to mark the occasion as expressions of affection, support, encouragement and gratitude.
The greetings and wishes that have come to him through these books have pleased him very much. This book, in particular, because it can be read with the eyes and with the mind, thanks also to many photos previously unpublished which help the reader to better appreciate the life of Joseph Ratzinger.
In his remarks, Fr. Lombardi said that
the priority in the Pontificate of Benedict XVI had been “to bring men to God, at a time when God has been disappearing from man’s horizon”.
He said the book was
“a very readable biography, simple but complete, which truly covers the life of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI in a balanced and proportionate way. A completely reliable account that is illustrated with photographs, some of them rare, in addition to famous ones, in which we see the face of Joseph Ratzinger – especially his gaze, with the limpid and clear eyes of one who seeks the truth, the look he has had since he was a child and which he still has today.
The book invites us to reflect on the life of an extraordinary man and to grasp the unifying thread, the development, the meaning of his life. His development has both height and depth. He is a person who thinks and lives vividly in the depth of his thinking, from differing pertspectives.
As Pope, he governed through his ministry, seeking to lead the Church onward on the basis of an understanding of the faith that can be grasped by the contemporary mind…
He also has historical merit for confronting the crisis brought on by sexual abuses perpetrated by some ministers of the Church – from acknowledgment of Church responsibility for such offenses, to his personal encounters with some abuse victims, his commitment to obtaining justice to punish the guilty without forgetting how to forgive, and his efforts to establish a culture of care and attention to the victims…
[In his theological work], one must point out his profound study of Jesus, starting with his most famous work, Introduction to Christianity, to his JESUS OF NAZARETH trilogy that ‘accompanied’ his entire Pontificate.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 18/06/2017 04:22]