Today’s reading tip brings a literary genre that is light, fast-reading and one that particularly pleases me. I refer to books that are published in the form of interviews. And when it comes to this interviewee specifically, it is a must read.
I am talking about the book The Last Testament, which features a long and detailed interview about the life and pontificate of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, published in Brazil by Planet in September 2016.
Joseph Ratzinger, the Pope’s birth name, is one of the most important theologians of the last century. He has a clear reasoning about faith and the circumstances that permeate human life which deserve to be known and meditated upon, for these thoughts are manifestly part of a life devoted to study and intimacy with God.
In the course of the interview, Peter Seewald asks questions which are organized into three major sections: the resignation of the papacy, Ratzinger’s biography and his impressions of the eight years in which he held St. Peter’s chair.
Controversial issues have not been ignored. On the contrary, Benedict XVI speaks very freely and truthfully about all the setbacks and countless problems he had to face in his papacy. The book is also regarded as an autobiography of the pope emeritus in as much as it brings forth aspects of his life in such a particular and sincere way.
At the end of the reading, admiration for Benedict XVI grows in the certainty that Divine Providence acted strongly in his election as head of the Church at such a delicate time for humanity, immersed in relativism and lost in itself.
Likewise, this same divine force masterfully used his priestly life as a powerful instrument in defense of the faith and truth expressed only by the life of Jesus Christ, whom he continued to take up the cross each day and, finally, to imitate the master. By not clinging to his authority, and realizing that he could no longer serve God and the Church as papal duties demanded, he became the first pope in 700 years to renounce his pontificate, making room for another servant of God, Cardinal Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis, to continue the hard work of leading the Church of Jesus Christ to its sanctification.
Published: 2016
Language: English
Extent: 288
Translation: Jhoanna Climacosa