Joseph Ratzinger in Communio : Anthropology and Culture

Timely theological insights on culture and humanity from the pen of the Pontiff

In this second volume of Joseph Ratzinger in Communio, Pope Benedict XVI speaks to various issues relating to humanity today -- conscience, technological security, the origin of human life, the meaning of Sunday, Christian hope, and more.

As editor David L. Schindler notes, "Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) rarely writes on any churchly matter that does not manifest its implications for man and culture, and vice versa. Indeed, this indissoluble linking is one of the main distinguishing features of his theology." This is the second of three volumes; the first deals with themes relating to the Church, and the third volume is to focus on theological renewal.

Pope Benedict XVI (1927–2022), born Joseph Alois Ratzinger, served as the 265th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from April 2005 through February 2013. Before his papacy, he was Dean of the College of Cardinals, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and President of the International Theological Commission. An outstanding theologian and teacher, he was one of the founders, along with Hans Urs von Balthasar and Henri de Lubac, of the international Catholic journal Communio. He also enjoyed a distinguished teaching career at such universities as Tübingen and Regensburg in his home country of Germany.

David L. Schindler (1943–2022) was Edouard Cardinal Gagnon Professor Emeritus of Fundamental Theology at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at the Catholic University of America. He served as dean of the institute from 2000–2010. He also served as editor in chief of Communio: International Catholic Review. His publications include Ordering Love and Heart of the World, Center of the Church.

The Eschatology of Hans Urs von Balthasar: Being as Communio