THE ESSENTIAL POPE BENEDICT XVI His Central Writings and Speeches edited by John F. Thornton and Susan B. Varenne introduction by D. Vincent Twomey, SVD Professor of Moral Theology, St. Patrick’s College, Ireland To Benedict XVI Ad multos annos “I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain.” —John 15:16 We have received the faith to give it to others. We are priests meant to serve others. And we must bring a fruit that will remain. All people want to leave a mark which lasts. But what remains? Money does not. Buildings do not, nor books. After a certain amount of time, whether long or short, all these things disappear. The only thing which remains forever is the human soul, the human person created by God for eternity. The fruit which remains then is that which we have sowed in human souls: love, knowledge, a gesture capable of touching the heart, words which open the soul to joy in the Lord. Let us then go to the Lord and pray to Him, so that He may help us bear fruit which remains. Only in this way will the earth be changed from a valley of tears to a garden of God. —Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, from his homily at the Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff, April 18, 2005 The first rams of the flock, the blessed apostles, saw the Lord Jesus himself hanging on the cross; they grieved at his death, were astounded at his resur- rection, loved him in his power, and shed their own blood for what they had seen. Just think, brothers and sisters, what it meant for men to be sent throughout the wide world, to preach that a dead man had risen again and ascended into heaven; and for preaching this to suffer everything a raving, raging world could inflict: loss of goods, exile, chains, tortures, fl ames, wild beasts, crosses, painful deaths. All this for heaven knows what! I mean, really, my brothers and sisters, was Peter dying for his own glory, or proclaiming himself? One man was dying that another might be honored, one being slain that another might be worshiped. Would he have done this, if he hadn’t been on fire with love, and utterly convinced of the truth? —St.Augustine, from Sermon 311, 2, “Preaching that a dead man had risen!” Contents Epigrph iii Preface ix Introduction by D. Vincent Twomey, SVD xiii Chronology of the Life of Pope Benedict XVI xxxv 1 Introduction to Chris tian ity 1 part one SERMONS AND ADDRESSES 2 Homily at John Paul II’s Funeral Mass 17 3 Homily at the Mass for the Election of the Roman Pontiff 21 4 First Homily of His Holiness Benedict XVI at the End of the Eucharistic Concelebration with the Cardinal Electors in the Sistine Chapel 25 5 Homily of His Holiness Benedict XVI at the Mass of Inauguration of His Pontifi cate 31 6 Message on the Twenty-fi fth Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope John Paul II from the College of Cardinals 37 vi contents 7 Address of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to Pope John Paul II at a Concert Offered by the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk Orchestra on the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of His Pontifi cate 41 8 The Assisi Day of Prayer 43 9 The Feeling of Things, the Contemplation of Beauty 47 10 Guardini on Christ in Our Century 53 11 Christ the Liberator 57 part two THE CHURCH 12 At the Root of the Crisis 63 13 Eucharist, Communion, and Solidarity 69 14 The Ecclesiology of the Constitution on the Church: Lumen Gentium 85 15 The Local Church and the Universal Church 103 16 The Canon of Criticism 111 17 The Basis of Chris tian Brotherhood: Faith 133 part three THE LITURGY 18 Theology of the Liturgy 141 19 On the Theological Basis of Prayer and Liturgy 155 20 The Regensburg Tradition and the Reform of the Liturgy 167 21 Music and Liturgy 185 22 Sacred Places 193 23 The Beginning of the Council and the Transfer to Münster 201 contents vii part four THEOLOGY 24 On the Meaning of Faith 211 25 Liberation Theology 217 26 Relativism: The Central Problem for Faith Today 227 part five SCRIPTURE 27 Biblical Interpretation in Crisis 243 28 Sin and Salvation 259 29 Meditation on the Priesthood 269 30 The Place of Mariology in the Bible 283 part six THE PRIESTHOOD 31 The Nature of the Priesthood 293 32 The Ministry and Life of Priests 305 33 The Sacrament of Reconciliation 319 part seven CHRIS TIAN MORALITY 34 Europe’s Crisis of Culture 325 35 Truth and Freedom 337 36 The Church’s Teaching 355 37 Culture and Truth: Some Refl ections on the Encyclical Letter Fides et Ratio 367 viii contents 38 Crises of Law 377 39 The Problem of Threats to Human Life 381 part eight GOD IS LOVE 40 Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love) 395 Notes 427 Bibliography 447 Index 451 Acknowledgments 461 Abou t the Authors Credits Cover Copyright Ab ou t the Publisher