During his years as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, well-known Vatican prelate Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger has given three in-depth interviews. The first two interviews have become best selling books: The Ratzinger Report and Salt of the Earth. Because of the tremendous reception those books received, the Cardinal agreed to do another interview with journalist Peter Seewald, who had done the very popular Salt of the Earth interview. This third in-depth interview addresses deep questions of faith and the living of that faith in the modern world.
The interview took place over three full days spent at the Benedictine Abbey of Monte Cassino in a setting of the silence, prayer, and hospitality of the monks. For this meeting with the highly regarded Churchman, theologian, and author, the seasoned journalist, who had fallen away from the faith but eventually returned to the Church, once again provided a very stimulating, well-prepared series of wide-ranging questions on profound issues. The Cardinal responds with candor, frankness and deep insight, giving answers that are sometimes surprising and always thought provoking.

God and the World: A Conversation With Peter Seewald

Religion & Spirituality

Seewald, Peter

Ratzinger, Cardinal Joseph

Christian Books & Bibles

Ignatius Press

Benedict XVI: A Life Volume One: Youth in Nazi Germany to the Second Vatican Council 1927–1965

By any reckoning, the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI was extraordinary, with moments of high drama. Not the least of these was his resignation from office in February 2013, the first papal resignation in 500 years. But who is Joseph Ratzinger? In this definitive biography, based on meticulous historical research and many hours of taped interviews with his subject, Peter Seewald shows the exceptional circumstances in which the exceptionally talented son of a Bavarian policeman became the first German pope for 950 years. In this first volume, covering the years 1927-1965, we witness Joseph Ratzinger's early days, living above his father's police station. Ratzinger came to adulthood through the years of National Socialism. Though hostile to the rise of Hitler, his family knew well about Dachau and Ratzinger himself was conscripted into the Hitler Youth. Joseph Ratzinger proved to be a man of exceptional intellectual gifts and by the time of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) he was already noted as one of the outstanding intellects present and was nominated a 'peritus' or theological expert. This was also the time of the start of his friendship with the Swiss theologian Hans Küng who was to become his nemesis. Of his predecessor, Pope Francis has said: 'Pope Benedict was a great Pope, great for the penetration of his intelligence, great for his important contribution to theology, great for his love of the Church and human beings, great for his virtues and faith'. Even in this first volume, we begin to understand how this came to be true.

Biographies & Memoirs

Leaders & Notable People

Bloomsbury Continuum

Benedict XVI: A Life Volume Two: Professor and Prefect to Pope and Pope Emeritus 1966–The Present

Emeritus Pope Benedict commanded both adulation and unremitting criticism. To millions, he was a beacon of light in a turbulent modern world.\nIn this second volume of Peter Seewald's authoritative biography, the story continues from the Second Vatican Council (1965–8) right up to his resignation in 2013. We see how Benedict was influenced by the Council and the ensuing political unrest all over Europe to move from a liberal perspective on the Church and the modern world to one that was profoundly conservative. Appointed in 1981 as prefect of the Congregation of Doctrine of the Faith, and quickly nicknamed 'God's Rottweiler', he proved to be intransigent on the controversial issues of abortion, contraception, gay rights and gay marriage. But elected Pope in 2005, his tenure of office was so riven with shocking revelations of controversy and scandal that it seemed that by the time of his resignation in 2013 he was incapable of handling the complexities of the Church in the modern world.

The story of the first Pope to resign in over 700 years.
Pope Benedict made history when he became the first Pope in over 700 years to resign from office, stunning the Catholic Church the world over. At last, Last Testament is a stunning and frank autobiography from the shy and private man who has since remained cloistered in a former convent in the Vatican gardens. In interviews with Peter Seewald, the Pope Emeritus breaks his silence on corruption within the Vatican, clerical sex scandals, and the challenge of reforming the Papacy.
In these interviews, Benedict discusses such wide-ranging controversies as:
- The “Vatileaks” case in which his butler leaked some of his personal letters that alleged corruption and scandal in the Vatican - The presence of a “gay lobby” within the Vatican and how he dismantled it - His alleged Nazi upbringing - His attempts at cleaning up the “dirt in the church” (clerical sexual abuse) - The mysterious private secretary “Gorgeous George” 
On a more personal level he writes with great warmth of his successor Pope Francis, who he admits has a popular touch, a star quality which Benedict himself has lacked. Much controversy still surrounds Pope Benedict's Papacy--in this book he addresses these controversies and reveals how at his late age, governing and reforming the Papacy and particularly the Vatican, was beyond him.

Last Testament: In His Own Words

XVI, Pope Benedict

Benedict XVI The Biography: Volume One

The long-awaited and authoritative biography of Pope Benedict XVI, a giant of the Catholic Church. Benedict XVI: Volume One offers insight into the young life and rise through the Church's ranks of a man who would become a hero and a lightning rod for Catholics the world over. Based on countless hours of interviews in Rome with Benedict himself, this much-anticipated two-volume biography is the definitive record of the life of Joseph Ratzinger and the legacy of Pope Benedict XVI. Volume Ifollows the early life of the future Pope, from his days growing up in Germany and his conscription into the Hitler Youth during World War II to his career as an academic theologian and eventual Archbishop of Munich.Volume II, to be published in 2021, will cover his move to Rome under Pope John Paul II, his ascension to the papacy, and his controversial retirement and news-making statements under his successor, Pope Francis I. This necessary companion to Benedict's own memoir,Last Testament, is the fullest account to date of the life of a radical Catholic leader who has continued to make news while cloistered in retirement in the Vatican gardens.

Product Description 
The second volume of Peter Seewald's magisterial life of Pope Benedict covers the period from the Second Vatican Council (1965-8) to the present day.Emeritus Pope Benedict commands both adulation and unremitting criticism. In this second volume of Peter Seewald's authoritative biography, the story runs from the Second Vatican Council (1965–8) that shaped Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's conservative ideas about the role of the Catholic Church, through his short, scandal-ridden papacy and unprecedented resignation. Volume II introduces readers to the contemplative Pope Emeritus living in the Vatican Gardens, contemplating the future of the Church and his controversial legacy within it.We see how Benedict was influenced by the Vatican Council and the ensuing political unrest all over Europe in the 1960s to move from a liberal perspective on the Church and the modern world to one that was profoundly conservative. Appointed in 1981 as Prefect of the Congregation of Doctrine of the Faith, and quickly nicknamed 'God's Rottweiler', he proved to be intransigent on the controversial issues of abortion, contraception, gay rights and gay marriage. But elected Pope in 2005, his tenure of office was so riven with shocking revelations of controversy and scandal that it seemed that by the time of his resignation in 2013 he was incapable of handling the complexities of the Church in the modern world.Vatileaks, sexual abuse by priests, the Regensburg speech which became the spark of an eruption of anger and rage in the Muslim world – all these hit the world's media headlines.Peter Seewald is the only person who is close enough to Benedict to assess the man himself and to uncover the truth about so many of the controversial issues surrounding this most controversial papacy. Seewald has already published two books of interviews with Benedict and this book is based not just on meticulous research but on many hours of recorded interviews with Benedict himself. 
 Review 
" 
Seewald's passionate biography makes one sympathise with the bookish Bavarian." - 
Daniel Rey, Literary Review 
 About the Author 
Peter Seewald has worked as a journalist for 
Stern, 
Spiegel and the 
Süddeutsche Zeitung and is one of the most admired authors on religion in Germany today. Throughout his career he has remained one of the writers closest to Pope Benedict and has interviewed him for countless hours. His book of conversations with Pope Benedict, 
Last Testament, was published by Bloomsbury Continuum in 2016, and the first volume of his biography of the Pope Emeritus 
Benedict XVI was published by the same imprint in late 2020.

Do you know the real Pope Benedict? Journalist Peter Seewald does. After writing an unfair attack on Cardinal Ratzinger, he was urged by Catholic readers to meet with the man he was maligning. He did so—and the result was two book-length interviews, Salt of the Earth and God and the World. Seewald also returned to his Catholic faith, saying that Ratzinger was the one who "taught me what it meant to swim against the stream." This book, written mainly by Seewald, describes the paths of Joseph Ratzinger’s life from his birthplace in Bavaria all the way to being the first German Pope in 482 years. It is illuminated with a stunning collection of some of the most personal, and most surprising, photographs. These show the Pope as he really is: "a humble servant in the vineyard of the Lord". LAVISHLY ILLUSTRATED WITH OVER 150 PHOTOS

Pope Benedict XVI: Servant of the Truth

In the person of Benedict XVI, the Church has a Pope who is one of the most significant of Europe's intellectuals. The journalist Peter Seewald, who has known Ratzinger since 1992, conducted the "longest interviews in Church history" with him, for two books which were best-sellers world-wide, Salt of the Earth, and God and the World.
Now, for the first time, Seewald describes these intensive encounters in detail, and draws a portrait of this brilliant theologian who has put his life entirely at the service of the Catholic Church. This book is also the story of a long dialogue that changed Seewald's life.
Many people are trying to understand who Benedict XVI really is. On one point they all agree: in the person of Joseph Ratzinger, the chair of Peter is occupied by one of the most brilliant minds in the world. Peter Seewald's portrait of Benedict recounts details about the personality and life of Benedict that were hitherto completely unknown.

Benedict XVI: An Intimate Portrait

Never has a Pope, in a book-length interview, dealt so directly with such wide-ranging and controversial issues as Pope Benedict XVI does in Light of the World. Taken from a recent week-long series of interviews with veteran journalist Peter Seewald, this book tackles head-on some of the greatest issues facing the world of our time. Twice before these two men held wide-ranging discussions, which became the best-selling books Salt of the Earth and God and the World. Then, Seewald's discussion partner was Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Vatican's chief doctrinal office. Now, Joseph Ratzinger is Pope Benedict XVI, the spiritual leader of the world's over one billion Catholics. Though Seewald now interviews the Pope himself, the journalist pulls no punches, posing some of the thorniest questions any Pope has had to address. Believers and unbelievers will be fascinated to hear Benedict's thoughtful, straightforward and thought-provoking replies. This is no stern preachment or ponderous theological tract, but a lively, fast-paced, challenging, even entertaining exchange.

Light of the World: The Pope, The Church and the Signs Of The Times

Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Seewald, Peter. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Seewald, Peter

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Seewald, Peter. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

God and the World: A Conversation With Peter Seewald

Benedict XVI: A Life Volume One: Youth in Nazi Germany to the Second Vatican Council 1927–1965

Benedict XVI: A Life Volume Two: Professor and Prefect to Pope and Pope Emeritus 1966–The Present

Last Testament: In His Own Words

Benedict XVI The Biography: Volume One

Benedict XVI: A Life Volume One: Youth in Nazi Germany to the Second Vatican Council 1927–1965

Benedict XVI: A Life Volume Two: Professor and Prefect to Pope and Pope Emeritus 1966–The Present

Pope Benedict XVI: Servant of the Truth

Benedict XVI: An Intimate Portrait

Light of the World: The Pope, The Church and the Signs Of The Times