Recent Books in Brief

The Best of Benedict; An Irish Perspective

edited by Dualta Roughneen (One by One Press/Alive Newspaper, available from Knock Shrine Bookshop and Mayo Books, €12.99 plus postage)

This is not, as the title might at first suggest, an anthology of the writings of the Pope emeritus. These now span many decades of theological investigation and social comment, which record the changing perspective of his mind since the 1950s.

Dualta Roughneen’s book is in fact an anthology of writings about aspects of Benedict’s thought by Irish writers, which gives it a special local interest, which many will respond to.

These pieces were put together by the editor (an engineer working in overeas development) over the course of two years.

Many admirers of Benedict will be delighted to have these in one convenient format. The editor hopes, too, that they will enable the press, which he sees as largely hostile to the pontiff emeritus, to gain a better and more balance perspective on the man and the scholar.

The contributors are a very varied group. The most eminent is Fr Vincent Twomey SVD, who studied with Prof. Ratzinger. His is certainly a piece that will be read with deep interest.

But other pieces, such as that by John Waters, may need to approached with more caution.

Highlights

The book highlights the fact that Benedict has passed through the hands of biographers, with the usual confusing results; but what is needed by readers worldwide is a account of his thought which, as I say has changed over the years, by a qualified theologian. This, however, would be such a formidable task that those most qualified to write it may be reluctant to take up the challenge.

The book highlights the fact that Benedict has passed through the hands of biographers, with the usual confusing results”

Dualta Roughneen himself has gone some way in attempting a sketch of such a book from a positive and admiring viewpoint in The Pope and the World: The thoughts of Pope Benedict (Cambridge Scholars, €88.59), which is due to be released in the coming months. This upcoming book should perhaps be seen as a continuation of the current anthology, but in a more formal and effective way, more focused on what Benedict thinks than what his admirers think he thinks, or what they think themselves.

This book, meanwhile, provides a broad perspective on the impact Benedict made and the challenges he posed to the thought of the present day.