Faith and Politics

Pope Francis, in his foreword, states that one of the major themes in the thought of Joseph Ratzinger is the relationship between faith and politics: "His firsthand experience of Nazi totalitarianism led him even as a young student to reflect on the limits of obedience to the state for the sake of the liberty of obeying God."; In support of this, he quotes from one of Ratzinger's texts presented in this volume: "The state is not the whole of human existence and does not encompass all human hope."

Ratzinger explored various aspects of this subject in books, speeches, and homilies throughout his career, from his years as a theology professor to his tenure as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and most recently as Pope Benedict XVI. This is the only book that collates all of his most significant works on political themes inside one volume.

Product Details

– 265 Pages
– 2018
– Paperback
– Foreword by Pope Francis

About the Author

Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) is widely recognized as one of the most brilliant theologians and spiritual leaders of our age. As Pope he authored the best-selling Jesus of Nazareth; and prior to his pontificate, he wrote many influential books that continue to remain important for the contemporary Church, such as Introduction to Christianity and The Spirit of the Liturgy.

Praise for Faith and Politics

"Ratzinger writes with penetrating intellect and tranquil confidence in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This marvelous volume reconfirms him as one of the greatest Christian minds of the last century."
— Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Philadelphia

"This book will be of enormous value for all Catholics involved in public life as well as for students of ethics and political theory. Ratzinger's works have a classical quality whose relevance does not date."
— Tracey Rowland, Ph.D., STD, Saint John Paul II Chair of Theology, University of Notre Dame (Australia)

"Joseph Ratzinger shows how politics has been—and will be—inadequate, sometimes even dangerous, when it neglects the larger human context offered by faith. And not just any faith, but specifically a faith rightly informed by the theological and philosophical truths that have marked the Judeo-Christian tradition for millennia."
— Robert Royal, Ph.D., President, Faith & Reason Institute

"Ratzinger's works display his usual acuity and profundity. Especially the first four pieces on Christology, salvation, and history are instant classics of theological reflection. The human quest for political order is honored and yet perfectly relativized in the light of revelation."
— Russell Hittinger, Ph.D., Warren Professor of Catholic Studies, University of Tulsa

"Throughout his writings, Ratzinger shows his familiarity with the classical writers, the essence of Scripture, and the historical experience of man's relation to various types of civil powers. To weave these strands together in a coherent whole is the essence of the Catholic mind, no better displayed than in these reflections."
— James V. Schall, S.J., Emeritus Professor of Political Philosophy, Georgetown University

Jesus of Nazareth Part 1 : From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration

In this bold, momentous work, Joseph Ratzinger—in his first book written after he became Pope—seeks to salvage the person of Jesus from recent “popular” depictions and to restore Jesus’ true identity as discovered in the Gospels.

Through his brilliance as a theologian and his personal conviction as a believer, the Pope shares a rich, compelling, flesh-and-blood portrait of Jesus and invites us to encounter, face-to-face, the central figure of the Christian faith.


From Jesus of Nazareth:
“The great question that will be with us throughout this entire book: What did Jesus actually bring, if not world peace, universal prosperity, and a better world? What has he brought? The answer is very simple: God. He has brought God! He has brought the God who formerly unveiled his countenance gradually first to Abraham, then to Moses and the Prophets, and then in the Wisdom Literature—the God who revealed his face only in Israel, even though he was also honored among the pagans in various shadowy guises. It is this God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the true God, whom he has brought to the peoples of the earth.”

The Study Guide is also available!

Praise for Jesus of Nazareth

“Joseph Ratzinger was a world-class theologian long before he became the Roman Curia’s official defender of Catholic doctrine, and then the pope. In Jesus of Nazareth, Ratzinger reveals the core of his personality as he invites his readers into the classroom of a master teacher-one who has absorbed the best that modern biblical scholarship has to offer and has yet emerged from that encounter with his faith intact and enriched.”
– George Weigel, Author, Witness to Hope

Book Details

– Published 2008
– Paperback
– 415 pages

Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection

For Christians, Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, who died for the sins of the world, and who rose from the dead in triumph over sin and death. For non-Christians, he is almost anything else--a myth, a political revolutionary, a prophet whose teaching was misunderstood or distorted by his followers.

Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, and no myth, revolutionary, or misunderstood prophet, insists Benedict XVI. He thinks that the best of historical scholarship, while it can't "prove" Jesus is the Son of God, certainly doesn't disprove it. Indeed, Benedict maintains that the evidence, fairly considered, brings us face-to-face with the challenge of Jesus--a real man who taught and acted in ways that were tantamount to claims of divine authority, claims not easily dismissed as lunacy or deception.

Benedict XVI presents this challenge in this book, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection, the sequel volume to Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration.

Why was Jesus rejected by the religious leaders of his day? Who was responsible for his death? Did he establish a Church to carry on his work? How did Jesus view his suffering and death? How should we? And, most importantly, did Jesus really rise from the dead and what does his resurrection mean? The story of Jesus raises many crucial questions.

Benedict brings to his study the vast learning of a brilliant scholar, the passionate searching of a great mind, and the deep compassion of a pastor's heart. In the end, he dares readers to grapple with the meaning of Jesus' life, teaching, death, and resurrection.

The Study Guide is also available!

"Only in this second volume do we encounter the decisive sayings and events of Jesus' life . . . I hope that I have been granted an insight into the figure of Our Lord that can be helpful to all readers who seek to encounter Jesus and to believe in Him."
–Pope Benedict XVI

Praise for Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week

"Working from Scripture, the Church Fathers and contemporary scholarship, Benedict XVI deftly brings together the historical and theological dimensions of the gospel portraits of Jesus. This is a splendid, penetrating study of the central figure of Christian faith; a learned and spiritual illumination not only of who Jesus was, but who he is for us today."
– +Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Denver

"What better guide could you find than Benedict XVI to lead you on the bracing adventure of exploring the historical Jesus and discovering, under the tutelage of this most sage successor to Peter, the inner meaning of Jesus‘ death and resurrection. Faith and reasonare the two wings Benedict XVI takes up to lead us to astonishingly fresh spiritual perspectives and dizzying heights. This book often takes ones breath away, while infusing in the reader the God-breathed Word, which is the Gospel."
– Tim Gray, Ph.D., President , Augustine Institute

"As is his first volume of Jesus of Nazareth, so, once again, in his second volume Pope Benedict XVI has authored a marvelous book, this time on the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. What makes this study so attractive is the depth of its biblical insight, its attention to historical issues, its keen theological acumen, and its lucid and precise expression. Moreover, as with the first volume, it is written in a serene and prayerful manner - a serenity and a prayerfulness that is conveyed to the heart and mind of the reader. This book fulfills Pope Benedict's ardent desire - that it would "be helpful to all readers who seek to encounter Jesus and to believe in him."
– Thomas G. Weinandy, O.F.M., Cap., Executive Director for the Secretariat for Doctrine, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Book Details

– 384 Pages
– Hardcover
– Published 2011

Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives

The momentous third and final volume in the Pope's international bestselling Jesus of Nazareth series details the stories of Jesus' infancy and boyhood, and how they are relevant today in the modern world.

As the Pope wrote in volume two of this series, he attempts to "develop a way of observing and listening to the Jesus of the Gospels that can indeed lead to the personal encounter and that, through collective listening with Jesus' disciples across the ages, can indeed attain sure knowledge of the real historical figure of Jesus."

Now, the Pope focuses exclusively on the Gospel accounts of Jesus' life as a child. The root of these stories is the experience of hope found in the birth of Jesus and the affirmations of surrender and service embodied in his parents, Joseph and Mary. This is a story of longing and seeking, as demonstrated by the Magi searching for the redemption offered by the birth of a new king. Ultimately, Jesus' life and message is a story for today, one that speaks to the restlessness of the human heart searching for the sole truth which alone leads to profound joy.

"I can at last consign to the reader the long promised little book on the narratives of Jesus' childhood . . . Here I have sought to interpret, in dialogue with exegetes of the past and of the present, what Matthew and Luke recount at the beginning of their Gospels about the infancy of Jesus."
- Pope Benedict XVI

About the Author

Pope Benedict XVI is widely recognized as one of the most brilliant theologians and spiritual leaders of our age. As Pope he authored the best-selling Jesus of Nazareth; prior to his pontificate, he wrote many influential books that continue to remain important for the contemporary Church, such as Introduction to Christianity and The Spirit of the Liturgy.

Product Details

– 128 Pages
– Released 2018
– Hardcover