| Synopsis: |
Fr Michael Collins has an intimate knowledge of Vatican affairs and has met Pope Benedict XVI on several occasions. He is writing a balanced biography of the new pope for those who would like to know him better. Part I gives a short biography of Joseph Ratzinger, the environment and historical circumstances of his childhood, his education and his career as a theologian, university teacher and Peritus at Vatican II. Part II outlines Cardinal Ratzinger's time at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and highlights some of the more dramatic and public of his interventions in that position, many of which were quite controversial. Part 3 looks at the opening days of the pontificate of Benedict XVI and, from the various statements, homilies and addresses delivered at that time, looks towards the future and assesses the likely pattern of the Papacy of Joseph Ratzinger. Few people are better qualified to write this biography than Michael Collins. For twenty-five years he has been a frequent visitor to Rome, having worked there for the past seven years. He has an intimate knowledge of the Vatican and Vatican affairs.A graduate of the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archaeology, he taught in Rome for Duquesne University. |