Joseph Ratzinger is a better source on what Pope Benedict XVI believes than the media. His writings aren't hidden. The 265th pope received his doctorate in theology, taught university, and authored more than a dozen books. Though evidently not as popular as Harry Potter, Ratzinger currently occupies eight slots on Amazon.com's twenty-five top-selling books. Stay ahead of the pack and pick up one of the new pope's books listed below.
The man who called on the College of Cardinals to rebel against the "dictatorship of relativism," examines Western thought and global faiths in Truth and Tolerance: Christian Belief and World Religion. Milestones is the memoirs of his first fifty years. The four-decade old Introduction to Christianity charts highest among his books on Amazon. Called to Communion: Understanding the Church Today is a short collection of essays. Salt of the Earth is more than 200-pages of transcribed and translated interviews, and appears to be most relevant to current debates surrounding the Church. If you've read Joseph Ratzinger's work, in book form or otherwise, share your take with the readership.
As cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger was not as popular as Harry Potter, but you can still buy official Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club on-line from www.cafepress.com.
Pins... long-sleeve tees... trucker caps... beer steins... it's all there.
Why wait? Order now:
http://www.cafepress.com/ratzfanclub
Given the Übersuccess of Harry Potter books, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger sent a letter to the series' publishers presenting (from the bit that I could make out - it's in German) the Vatican's opinion about, and issues with, witchraft.
A German newspaper reported on this in 2003: http://www.zeit.de/2003/48/Lebenshilfe_2fEthikrat_48
Apologies for the typos above.
My heart sank to the bottom of my boots when i heard that it was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who had been elected pope. With that same leaden heart i said to myself well if this is the new Pope I'd better read something of what he has to say. I picked up Salt of the Earth and quickly realised that for someone (me) who used to review radio and tv for a national newspaper in Ireland The Irish Catholic and who considered himself pretty media savvey, I had swallowed the rotweiller image hook, line and stinker! Yes, stinker. In this lengthy interview with an agnostic journalist the Pope comes across as warm, human, understanding, open, engaged with the 21st century world and well clued into into it and far from black and white - some of his answers were nothing short of radical in the context of his previous one dimensional and obviously (now!) cardboard characterisation - I wonder how that happened?? I feel so angry with myself for accepting something on the strength of media reports and not checking out the man for myself Mea Culpa. At least I can heartily recommend that Salt of the Earth be read by anyone with even a vague interest in the relationships between the Church, belief, modernity, the search for truth and meaning and all these big juicy questions. And it is extremely accessible - I believe that there is even more along these lines in his other lengthy interview/book God and the World. Brendan Conroy, Dublin, Ireland
