God's Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Catholic Church

This is a wonderful overview of the Catholic Church around the world today, the legacy of Pope John Paul II, an account of how Benedict XVI became the new Pope, a brief but very fair account of his life, and a survey of how Pope Benedict may tackle the challenges for the Church ahead. The author is clearly steeped in the writings of both Pope John Paul II (of whom he was the great biographer) and Pope Benedict XVI, and it shows. His fluency enables him to write so well of matters of ideas as well as the concrete manifestations of those ideas in controversies of the past - and likely future. It helps that the author is not only well-versed in Pope Benedict's writings, but clearly sympathetic with the Pope's beliefs about the role of the Church, the meaning of Christianity. Weigel is a believer and that is helpful in gaining a grasp of what these two popes have thought, been blessed by and found confounding over their long lives. I would strongly recommend this - although the concepts are often complex, he writes so easily that every sentence is readily understandable. He has such a strong grasp of what really does influence the Church today - in contrast, most journalists' writings seem very crudely to grasp at what matters and then to convey it in a cartoon-like style. You'll like this book!

Mr. Weigel's book shed much light on the selection of the head of the Catholic Church. It has caused me to re-think much of the way I look at the whole institution. There is something very wonderful about the whole thing.

I've read a number of books about the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI, and they clearly have a common template: chronicle John Paul II's final illness; describe the state of the Church at the time of his death; review the history of conclaves and the changes introduced by John Paul; recount the events of the conclave itself; provide a capsule biography of Joseph Ratzinger; assess the future of the Church with particular emphasis on the challenges the new pontiff faces. George Weigel's book fits that template. But if the form is unremarkable, the content is worth paying attention to. I'm a fan of journalist and author John L. Allen, and so I readily admit to a tendency to compare other writers' books on the Vatican to the excellent works Allen has produced. "God's Choice" stands up to that comparison quite well. Weigel's book (and I admit to not [yet] having read any of the author's other works) is less journalistic than Allen's, with both more style in the writing and a more obvious and personal point of view. The title of this review comes from one of Weigel's subheads (on page 240), and while he applies it to the new pope, I'm happy to appropriate it to describe Weigel as well. He clearly comes from the conservative side of the American church, and is not at all hesitant about criticizing journalists like E.J. Dionne for their caricatured portraits of "God's Rottweiler" and what his election implies about the future of the Church. Where I found Weigel's book particularly interesting was in his analysis of the challenges facing the new pope. While most of the template-books struck me as fairly superficial in this area, Weigel really gave it some thought. I predict it's this section readers may find most interesting. I was especially struck by Weigel's contention that -- in the Church as in American politics -- the intellectual and spiritual energy, as well as the new ideas, are now clearly coming from the "Right." The author's discussion of this, particularly in the context of what he sees as John Paul's mission of completing and reinvigorating the true spirit of Vatican II, was more than a little thought-provoking -- and not, I expect, uncontroversial to many portions of the American Church. Because this book on the conclave was published later than Allen's and most of the others, Weigel also has the advantage of being able to employ them as resources and comment on their conclusions. Taken together, all of this makes "God's Choice" an exceptional addition to the newborn genre of books about Benedict XVI. I would still direct interested readers to John Allen's work, but am happy to add this title to my recommendations as well.

"As the news [of John Paul's death] cascaded around the world, millions felt orphaned. In a world bereft of paternity and its unique combination of strength and mercy, John Paul II had become a father to countless men and women living in an almost infinite variety of human circumstances and cultures. That radiation of fatherhood . . . was rooted in the Pope's singular capacity to preach and embody the Christian Gospel . . . " (p. 25). Millions of people will long be able to pinpoint where they were the moment, on April 2, 2005, when they learned that Pope John Paul II had returned to his Father. The masses that converged on Rome for his funeral were a "gathering of the family," as papal biographer George Weigel put it. But these were no ordinary papal obsequies; many Catholics experienced the unique and yawning personal loss felt when a father dies. "'You feel smaller when your father dies because he was strong and lifted you, carried you and taught you, and when he's gone, the room feels too big without him'" (p. 99). God's Choice details the last days of Pope John Paul II and the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI. The book is both retrospective and prospective, trying to sum up the achievements of the Pope Weigel unabashedly (and rightly) calls "the Great," while seeking to anticipate the challenges facing his successor. Weigel argues that John Paul II rejuvenated the Church, making holiness exciting and appealing, especially to the young. He recaptured the true meaning of Vatican II, taking it back from those who hijacked the Council's "spirit" in the name of various dead end agendas. Weigel does not deny that the Church has problems but, in hindsight, the Church is 2005 is far more vigorous that some might have thought back in 1978. As a title, God's Choice discloses Weigel's perspective: one cannot understand the Church apart from the primacy of God's Will and man's subsequent response. Karol Wojtyla's fiat led an actor to the priesthood and the papacy. Joseph Ratzinger's fiat led a successful priest-professor from the classroom to be Archbishop, and then from Munich to a lightening rod position in Rome, where he remained despite personal wishes to retire. Ultimately, that fiat led him to the Chair of Peter. As Weigel poignantly puts it: Forty-eight hours before the Conclave of 2005 was sealed,the possible futures of Joseph Ratzinger came into focus. By September, the 78-year old Ratzinger would be back home in Bavaria-living with his brother Georg, surrounded by his beloved books, embarked on a retirement of writing and lecturing . . . . Or he would be marking his fifth month as pope. There is not the slightest doubt which future he would have preferred. God . . . had . . . other ideas (p. 259). Weigel reveals his hand in calling Benedict's papacy "adventures in dynamic orthodoxy." The new pope will have to engage the siren songs of post-modernity, showing how they inevitably lead to shipwreck. He will h

With very little theological background, I can only comment this book from a simple roman catholic faithfull point of view. And it is with a deep feel of comfort that I finished the last page. The loss of JP The Great is seen under an old but scarcely mentioned light: the communion of saints. Introducing Benedict XVI as the Pope God chose and discovered as such by the electors Cardinals gave me enourmous pride to belong to the Catholic Church. The author led me through JP's funeral with talent and some very helpful insights, allowing me to discover new meanings to the loss of JP The Great and the election of Ratzinger as Benedict XVI. The chapters referring to the future of the Church and the tasks the new Pope must surely undertake are magnificent and sure to keep everyone thinking, and doubtless make catholics pray fervently for Benedicts XVI's intentions and health. I can not recommend it enough.