God's Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Catholic Church [Hardcover]

George Weigel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2005

From the bestselling author of Witness to Hope comes an inside account of the election of Pope Benedict XVI and an unflinching view of the Catholic Church at the dawn of a new era.

After 25 years of John Paul II′s guidance, the Catholic Church is entering a new age, with its bedrock traditions intact but pressing questions of its vitality to address in a rapidly changing world. Beginning with a portrait of John Paul′s last months, God′s Choice will then offer an account of the complex conclave process that produced Benedict XVI as the next pope. Drawing on Weigel′s unprecedented access during the post-John Paul II intrerregnum, readers will be offered an inside view of the issues and personalities that shaped the conclave′s deliberations.

Weigel will also survey the current state of the Church around the world: the remarkable vitality of Catholicism in Africa; the new center of the world′s Catholic population -- Latin America; the collapse of Catholic faith and practice in much of western Europe, contrasted with its strength in Poland and other parts of the post-communist world; the continuing struggles of Catholicism in Asia; the vibrancy of some aspects of Catholic life in the United States, even as the Church in America struggles to overcome its recent experience of scandal. God′s Choice will paint a personal portrait of the new pope and analyze the crucial issues facing world Catholicism in the first decades of the 21st century. It will be a major reference point for anyone seeking to understand the Catholic future, and the larger human future the Church will help to shape.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The biographer of Pope John Paul II (Witness to Hope) chronicles the transition between John Paul's papacy and that of his successor, Pope Benedict XVI, in this blend of history, biography, analysis and forecasting. Readers familiar with John Paul's papacy will be tempted to skip over the first three chapters summarizing the late pope's life, plunging instead into what Weigel has to say about the new pontiff and how he was elected in one of the shortest conclaves in papal history. Of particular interest is Weigel's diary of the conclave, which combines his own observations with those of journalists, Vatican officials and cardinal-electors, none of whom, he attests, violated the oath of confidentiality in talking with him. His insights into Benedict are compelling and defy the caricature of the former cardinal as "God's Rottweiler." In a look toward the future church Benedict has the potential to shape, Weigel suggests the new pope is not likely to bring about revolutionary change in the area of liturgy and theological dissent, but could introduce reforms in such areas as Vatican diplomacy, the curial structure and the selection of bishops. The author's access to sources in and around the Vatican paired with his accessible writing style make this good reading for a broad audience.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

One of the foremost biographers of Pope John Paul II (Witness to Hope, 1999) has five objectives in this exemplary book: to chronicle John Paul's last days, to assess the church as John Paul left it, to report the deliberations of the conclave that elected Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger to succeed John Paul, to sketch the new pope's career and personality, and to suggest what Benedict XVI's papacy could bring. Weigel adopts a different manner for each objective. He is a magisterial historian for John Paul's decline and death, an authoritative analyst of the state of the church, a creative journalist reporting about the conclave (literally creative: this part of the book appears in diary form), a judicious profiler in his precis on Ratzinger, and an interested counselor in his prognostications. Most impressive is the treatment of the end of John Paul's reign as a drama of reciprocal love between the pope and the church--indeed, the world--that climaxes in the cries of "Magnus" ("great") and "Santo subito" (roughly, "sainthood now") that interrupt the papal funeral. Only Weigel's advocational forecasting seems a little wanting. Curial reform, better-coordinated Vatican communications, reestablishing bishops' pastoral responsibilities, principled rapprochement with still-Communist China and conflict-laden Islam, and other good things are nice to encourage. But Weigel says nothing about one of the most important themes of John Paul's papacy, the church's teachings on social justice, prominently including the just wage (one sufficient for one worker to support a family and modestly save). Certainly John Paul's right-hand man for 24 years, Cardinal Ratzinger, won't ignore those teachings, though neoconservative fellow traveler Weigel may wish he would. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Harper (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0066213312
• ISBN-13: 978-0066213316
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #360,298 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #29 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Catholicism > Popes

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41 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFT, November 22, 2005

By 

John M. Grondelski (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: God's Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Catholic Church (Hardcover)

"As the news [of John Paul's death] cascaded around the world, millions felt orphaned. In a world bereft of paternity and its unique combination of strength and mercy, John Paul II had become a father to countless men and women living in an almost infinite variety of human circumstances and cultures. That radiation of fatherhood . . . was rooted in the Pope's singular capacity to preach and embody the Christian Gospel . . . " (p. 25).

Millions of people will long be able to pinpoint where they were the moment, on April 2, 2005, when they learned that Pope John Paul II had returned to his Father. The masses that converged on Rome for his funeral were a "gathering of the family," as papal biographer George Weigel put it. But these were no ordinary papal obsequies; many Catholics experienced the unique and yawning personal loss felt when a father dies. "'You feel smaller when your father dies because he was strong and lifted you, carried you and taught you, and when he's gone, the room feels too big without him'" (p. 99).

God's Choice details the last days of Pope John Paul II and the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI. The book is both retrospective and prospective, trying to sum up the achievements of the Pope Weigel unabashedly (and rightly) calls "the Great," while seeking to anticipate the challenges facing his successor. Weigel argues that John Paul II rejuvenated the Church, making holiness exciting and appealing, especially to the young. He recaptured the true meaning of Vatican II, taking it back from those who hijacked the Council's "spirit" in the name of various dead end agendas. Weigel does not deny that the Church has problems but, in hindsight, the Church is 2005 is far more vigorous that some might have thought back in 1978.

As a title, God's Choice discloses Weigel's perspective: one cannot understand the Church apart from the primacy of God's Will and man's subsequent response. Karol Wojtyla's fiat led an actor to the priesthood and the papacy. Joseph Ratzinger's fiat led a successful priest-professor from the classroom to be Archbishop, and then from Munich to a lightening rod position in Rome, where he remained despite personal wishes to retire. Ultimately, that fiat led him to the Chair of Peter. As Weigel poignantly puts it:

Forty-eight hours before the Conclave of 2005 was sealed,the possible futures of Joseph Ratzinger came into focus. By September, the 78-year old Ratzinger would be back home in Bavaria-living with his brother Georg, surrounded by his beloved books, embarked on a retirement of writing and lecturing . . . . Or he would be marking his fifth month as pope. There is not the slightest doubt which future he would have preferred. God . . . had . . . other ideas (p. 259).

Weigel reveals his hand in calling Benedict's papacy "adventures in dynamic orthodoxy." The new pope will have to engage the siren songs of post-modernity, showing how they inevitably lead to shipwreck. He will have to challenge the reigning orthodoxies of contemporary western European thought, much like his namesake from Nursia did a millennium and a half ago. He should try to unleash the potentials of Latin America, which Weigel sees as encumbered by its zero-sum attitudes of victimization. Benedict is likely to speed up "reform of the reform" of liturgy.

The author's easy-going style makes him a joy to read. He blends a variety of styles (journalistic, daily diary reporting on the conclave, analytical) successfully, keeping the reading flowing. As with any book rushed out three months after a historic event, some things may be lacking (e.g., only in September did the Holy See publish its chronology of John Paul's last hours). And while Weigel is optimistic about Benedict XVI carrying on John Paul's legacy, he does not really consider whether Ratzinger, the introverted septuagenarian can engage with the people as effectively as did extrovert Wojtyla, who had the advantage of starting his papacy twenty years younger. All that said, the author shows himself more than able to provide us with a readable and sound interpretation of this new pontificate. Highly recommended.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adventures in dynamic orthodoxy, January 1, 2006

By 

Andrew S. Rogers (Stamford, Connecticut) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: God's Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Catholic Church (Hardcover)

I've read a number of books about the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI, and they clearly have a common template: chronicle John Paul II's final illness; describe the state of the Church at the time of his death; review the history of conclaves and the changes introduced by John Paul; recount the events of the conclave itself; provide a capsule biography of Joseph Ratzinger; assess the future of the Church with particular emphasis on the challenges the new pontiff faces. George Weigel's book fits that template. But if the form is unremarkable, the content is worth paying attention to.

I'm a fan of journalist and author John L. Allen, and so I readily admit to a tendency to compare other writers' books on the Vatican to the excellent works Allen has produced. "God's Choice" stands up to that comparison quite well. Weigel's book (and I admit to not [yet] having read any of the author's other works) is less journalistic than Allen's, with both more style in the writing and a more obvious and personal point of view. The title of this review comes from one of Weigel's subheads (on page 240), and while he applies it to the new pope, I'm happy to appropriate it to describe Weigel as well. He clearly comes from the conservative side of the American church, and is not at all hesitant about criticizing journalists like E.J. Dionne for their caricatured portraits of "God's Rottweiler" and what his election implies about the future of the Church.

Where I found Weigel's book particularly interesting was in his analysis of the challenges facing the new pope. While most of the template-books struck me as fairly superficial in this area, Weigel really gave it some thought. I predict it's this section readers may find most interesting. I was especially struck by Weigel's contention that -- in the Church as in American politics -- the intellectual and spiritual energy, as well as the new ideas, are now clearly coming from the "Right." The author's discussion of this, particularly in the context of what he sees as John Paul's mission of completing and reinvigorating the true spirit of Vatican II, was more than a little thought-provoking -- and not, I expect, uncontroversial to many portions of the American Church.

Because this book on the conclave was published later than Allen's and most of the others, Weigel also has the advantage of being able to employ them as resources and comment on their conclusions. Taken together, all of this makes "God's Choice" an exceptional addition to the newborn genre of books about Benedict XVI. I would still direct interested readers to John Allen's work, but am happy to add this title to my recommendations as well.

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A message of hope, November 21, 2005

By 

Ramon Masllorens (Bunos Aires, Argentina) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: God's Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Catholic Church (Hardcover)

With very little theological background, I can only comment this book from a simple roman catholic faithfull point of view. And it is with a deep feel of comfort that I finished the last page. The loss of JP The Great is seen under an old but scarcely mentioned light: the communion of saints. Introducing Benedict XVI as the Pope God chose and discovered as such by the electors Cardinals gave me enourmous pride to belong to the Catholic Church. The author led me through JP's funeral with talent and some very helpful insights, allowing me to discover new meanings to the loss of JP The Great and the election of Ratzinger as Benedict XVI. The chapters referring to the future of the Church and the tasks the new Pope must surely undertake are magnificent and sure to keep everyone thinking, and doubtless make catholics pray fervently for Benedicts XVI's intentions and health. I can not recommend it enough.