Written by the Rev. Michael Collins (Paulist Press, 2005). Collins describes the former Cardinal Ratzinger in both a human and historical context starting with the Pope’s early years in Bavaria and his youth during the Second World War.

Written by Greg Tobin (Sterling, 2005). Offers a first look at the much-anticipated new leader of the Catholic Church and examines what lies ahead for the Catholic Church and its people.

Written by Robert Blair Kaiser (Knopf, 2006). Kaiser examines some of the most important and divisive issues confronting the Church: the sex abuse scandal, a shortage of priests due to the insistence upon celibacy, the ban on contraception, the roles of women in the Church, and the increased participation of laypeople in Church affairs while giving an […]

Written by the Rev. Andrew M. Greeley (Little, Brown, 2005). This is an update from Greeley’s 1978 classic about the previous conclave.

Written by George Weigel (HarperCollins, 2005). Chronicle of the rise of Pope Benedict XVI as well as an unflinching view of the Catholic Church at the dawn of a new era.

Reissue (Continuum, 2005) of John L. Allen’s 2000 biography of Ratzinger subtitled, The Vatican’s Enforcer of Faith. Allen later said he thought that book was too harsh on Ratzinger.

Written by John L. Allen Jr. (Doubleday, 2005). Looks at the behind-the-scenes dynamics within the College of Cardinals that led to the choice of Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI, and where the new pope is likely to lead the Catholic Church.

Full text of the Vatican instruction entitled, “Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with Regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in View of Their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders.” The document’s aim is to bar gay men from the priesthood.

Pope Benedict’s first encyclical. An encyclical is considered one of the most authoritative documents from the pen of the pope, and a new pontiff’s first encyclical is considered something of a “mission statement” for the rest of the pontificate. Benedict’s first, Deus Caritas Est, or God is Love, was considered surprising by some in that […]