Pope Benedict XVI: A Personal Portrait

by Heinz-Joachim Fischer

Vatican correspondent for over twenty years and an intimate colleague of Joseph Ratzinger writes the definitive book on the remarkable career, personality, and future of the new Pope. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0824523725
• ISBN13: 9780824523725
• Release Date: July 2005
• Publisher: Crossroad Publishing
• Length: 213 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.7" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

An Interesting perspective; Unique Commentary

Having read several biographical accounts of the life of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI (Including John Allen's account and Benedict's own "Milestones."), I found this to be a unique perspective that is a must-read book for the scholar and pedestrian-scholar of Ratzinger/Benedict. It is important to note that this book does not provide the typical biographical chronology that one would expect in such a work. Rather, Fischer reflects from a more experiential perspective, providing insight into the life from the view of an acquaintance. This is also a translation from the original German that adds another element of uniqueness. Aside from the Pope's own memoir, most of the English biographies currently available are written by native English speakers. While this is a good translation, as far as I can tell, one does not read it with the same flow as if it were originally written in English; something of a minor detail to note. Additionally, Fisher often inserts his own commentary about his life, interspersing it with narrative of the experience of Benedict XVI; something else to be aware of. All in all, this is a nice read that provides a welcomed change of perspective. This is not the book to read if you have not read one of the other more in-depth presentations of the life of Benedict XVI. Read those first. Then pick up Fisher's book to supplement and vary your experience.

A biography of Benedict XVI filled with personal insight that many other "instant" biographies lack

When Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany was elected to succeed the late Pope John Paul II, among the least surprised Vatican insiders was H.J. Fischer, a journalist who has enjoyed a personal and professional relationship with the new pope for nearly three decades. Unlike so many of the "instant" biographies of Ratzinger that appeared in the weeks following his election to the papacy, Fischer's book was in the works and was nearly completed before the death of Pope John Paul II in April of 2005. As a result, he offers a personal perspective lacking in books by authors who were forced to rely on secondhand, encyclopedic information about the new pope. Because the book is based largely on Fischer's acquaintance with Ratzinger, there is little information about his early life, which is fine for those of us who care more about his theology and less about where he attended kindergarten. Fischer picks up the story in earnest in 1976, when he first interviewed the then-local theologian who was making a name for himself in ecclesiastical circles. As Ratzinger quickly rose to the positions of bishop, archbishop, cardinal, and dean of the college of cardinals, Fischer, the Vatican correspondent for a German newspaper, kept close tabs on the prelate's career and stayed in contact with him on a regular basis. All that may lead you to suspect that an author who is also a native German Catholic would have a tough time maintaining his journalistic objectivity in writing about the first German to be elected pope since the sixteenth century (or the eleventh century, if you want to get technical, but I don't). However, Fischer paints a remarkably balanced portrait of Pope Benedict XVI, revealing such seeming paradoxes as his warm sense of humor but often cold personality. In fact, Ratzinger comes across as the embodiment of an array of paradoxes: a theological conservative who spearheads innovative efforts designed to bring the old church into a new millennium; a quiet, thoughtful, and content Bavarian theologian whose colleagues from around the world considered him to be God's choice to lead the church's 1.1 billion adherents through a time of seismic cultural change. Fischer also examines the new pope's history of conflict with proponents of "liberation theology," a movement that arose in Latin America in the 1970s through which many Catholic clerics took up the cause of the poor and the oppressed against the rich and the powerful. For Ratzinger and many other Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, the problem was not in the cause itself but in the Marxist thought and the highly politicized nature of the movement. He and other conservatives believed the church should find solutions outside the political arena; liberals believed there was no way the church could be effective in Latin America without entering the political fray. The memory of that conflict could have prevented Ratzinger from rising through the ranks as he did, were it not for his unwaveri

A first-hand account of the new Pope's astonishing life and ministry

Heinz-Joachim Fischer is the leading Vatican journalist and Rome correspondent for one of Germany's premiere daily newspapers. With Pope Benedict XVI: A Personal Portrait, Fischer provides an informed and informative first-hand account of the new Pope's astonishing life and ministry. From simple, humble believer, Joseph Ratzinger, the man who became Pope Benedict XVI evolved into a world respected theologian, a Cardinal of the Church, the unwavering Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and a primary confident of the late John Paul II. A theologically trained correspondent, Fischer proves himself to be an ideal biographer of the new Pope of the Roman Catholic Church as he presents the history of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger for three decades, culminating in his being elevated to the Papacy, facing the problems and opportunities for the Catholic Church in the 21st Century. Both professionally and personally, Fischer knows the new Pope very well, and is able to place life story of the new Pope within the intricacies of Vatican City and the Catholic Church with an insider's insights. Pope Benedict XVI is very highly recommended reading, especially for those not yet acquainted with the life story of the newest Roman Catholic Pope.