Salt of the Earth: Christianity and the Catholic Church at the End of the Millennium: An Interview with Peter Seewald

Reading this one book can put to rest the lie that the Vatican in general and Pope Benedict XVI specifically are archaic, ivory-tower theological academicians removed from the true spirit and tenor of the times. The depth and breadth of His Holiness' knowledge of history, philosophy, scripture, and psychology astounded me, partly because no one had ever given me any reason to believe it was there. After Joseph Ratzinger became Pope I watched a torrent of invective unleashed against a man the majority of the world (and the journalists who wrote of him) has never heard of. Decades of study and meditation were gutted and replaced as sound bytes that made the Moderns among us tsk tsk over each new quote. If you want to know what Pope Benedict really thinks and believes, and why he does so, then this is the book. Inside its pages you will find an intelligent, modest, God-loving man who compared being elected to the papacy as going to the guillotine. Do not let the news media tell you what to think about Joseph Ratzinger, read his own words and come to your own conclusions

This is the first book I have read by Pope Benedict XVI. In my years of Catholic reading I had always meant to get around to reading something by or about Cardinal Ratzinger, but I always seemed to find something else. Well, after this reading I'm about to rush headlong into a Ratzinger reading frenzy. I won't bother to quote from the book because every paragraph is quotable. In this book the Cardinal is answering interview questions on the fly and every answer is shocking in its clarity and depth of knowledge. I don't believe there is any topic this man's mind cannot or has not pierced. What is even more astounding is the masterful use of language. I could give this book to anyone, knowing that even the Catholic and theological priciples would be easily understood. I believe that reviews should be concise, so I'll stop while my better judgment is intact and before I let my emotions run away with me. In most books, you are happy to run across points of light. This Pope's mind is a beacon of light and truth.

For those who want a keen insight into the life and formation of the new pope, Benedict XVI, most recently known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, this book is a must read. Most of the text is done as an interview with Peter Seewald, a German journalist, who does a question-and-answer format, but not in a choppy form. The answers are extended reflections, giving ample space to discussion of real, substantive issues of the church and the world. The first section of the book concentrates on Ratzinger himself; the interview is nearly ten years old now, but the insights are still apropos to the man who is now the pope. Ratzinger did not look at the questions beforehand, and his responses, while not quite off-the-cuff, still have a spontaneity to them that is perhaps at odds with the more conservative image Ratzinger has come to bear. He is a conservative, to be sure, but in these pages along with other books, one may find a bit more compassion and humour than one might expect. Ratzinger reflects upon his strict upbringing as a child, his time as a child of a 'simple commissioner', and his growth in a devout Catholic family who tended to go to Mass twice on Sundays. Ratzinger became a theology professor, teaching at the universities at Tubingen and Regensburg. Heidegger is a big influence on Ratzinger's philosophical development, as are notions of Personalism (a philosophy of profound influence on Martin Luther King Jr. among others). Like his predecessor, Ratzinger has a great interest in Phenomenology and other modern philosophical schools. This led him to be a theological advisor to the Second Vatican Council, at which time Ratzinger was classified as a progressive, perhaps even a liberal. Ratzinger discusses the role of his office, the Sacred Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (once called The Inquisition), in the development of the 800+ page catechism for the Catholic church. This is a pope who knows the catechism backwards and forwards, for he has been part of the development at every stage. Most intriguing are his ideas for the future of the church and the state of the world. He doesn't expect some sort of dramatic resurgence of the church, but does see a role and relevance for the church in the world. Perhaps this comes from the power of the church to provoke and be a prophetic witness. Given that his chosen name as pope is Benedict, his comparison in this text with St. Benedict (of monastic fame) is very intriguing. He likens the current and future situation to that of late antiquity, a time in which the majority of the non-ecclesial society wasn't really taking note of what the church was doing - Benedict was a bit of a dropout, who created 'an ark in which the West survived', largely going unnoticed. For those who see Ratzinger as a knee-jerk traditionalist, perhaps no other statement is more enigmatic than his comment, "Perhaps the time has come to say farewell to the idea of traditionally Catholic cultures." An

Cardinal Ratzinger is cut from a different cloth than those mediocre prelates who are always eager to accommodate the mistakes of modern Western societies. This book is well worth reading because Ratzinger obviously places proclaiming the truth above his personal popularity. In my opinion, his most striking words have to do with the proper role of the bishop: to keep challenging Christians and others, to, as Augustine said, keep them from falling asleep. Ratzinger finds repulsive the mentality of "don't rock the boat" that seems to permeate too many dioceses. When church historians look back to the latter part of the 20th century, they will rightly note the pivotal role of Ratzinger in preserving the deposit of faith when so many high-ranking clerics and prominent theologians were so eager to compromise that same deposit of faith.

The background of Peter Seewald sets the tone for the book. He does not shy from his questions and this brings out more of Cardinal Ratzinger. I was not dissappointed as C. Ratzinger provides more than standard answers. His answer on women as priests was excellent.One thing that strike me most was when he was asked a particular question, he asked to be excused. The author assumes that he leaves for a prayer and comes back to answer his question. C. Ratzinger answers his question based on the search of truth in the Catholic faith.