Customer Reviews

Holy Father: Pope Benedict XVI: Pontiff for a New Era

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There is at the present time a mad rush to publish new material about the new Holy Father, and the rush is bound to lead to mistakes and sloppy research and editing. That is unfortunately the case with this book by Greg Tobin. There are several historical mistakes to be found in this book along with some typographical errors and even one questionable doctrinal statement. It would have helped this book a great deal if the publisher had taken a little more time with it and had allowed the editors to do a better job.

This is not to say that this is a truly bad book however. There are several good things about this book, not the least of which is it's readability and length which allows the casual reader to gain at least some knowledge concerning our current Holy Father. I say some knowledge because while this book appears at first glance to be a biography, only about half of the text deals with the life of Benedict XVI. The first fifty or so pages deal with the history of the Papacy and do so in a very abbreviated manner. Still, it is a pretty good history that will give the reader a general overview of the Church's past. The next section of about seventy pages deals with the life of the Pontiff up until his election and does so in a credible although brief manner. Included is a very frank look at the activities of the Ratzinger family during WWII. The final section of the book deals with the problems that the Church and it's new leader will have to face over the next few years.

Although short, this book does touch on some important points and gives a clear analysis of what to expect from Benedict XVI. Tobin, much to his credit, points out that while the media in America has focused on the negative reaction of liberal American Catholics to this Pope's election, there are a sizable number of Catholics in the United Sates who are quite pleased with the new Pope. The author also makes some good observations concerning Cardinal Ratzinger's remarks just before the Conclave and the remarks of Pope Benedict just after his election.

I am quite sure that there will be better biographies of the Holy Father on the market in the near future, but I am also pretty sure there will also be some that are worse. If you are looking for a basic and short overview of Pope Benedict's life so far, this book would not be a bad choice. If, on the other hand you are looking for an in depth and error free biography, my advice is for you to wait just a little while longer. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day and neither is a good biography written in a month.

As everyone is well aware, there is a great amount of material coming out on the new pope, Benedict XVI. Greg Tobin's Holy Father cannot be taken as one of the better sources of information on Benedcit and the papacy because a number of historical inaccuracies hurt the author's crediblity.
Just as an example, on page 30, Tobin identifies Cardinal Merry del Val as the Secretary of State of Pope Pius XI. He was, in fact, the Secretary of State of Pope St. Pius X. Further, on page 25, A certain Cardinal Lambruschini is identified as the runner-up in the conclave of 1847. There was no conclave in 1847. Blessed Pius IX was elected in the conclave of 1846 and then reigned for more than thirty years.
Still further, on page 39, while talking about John Paul II, Tobin says, "He was the first non-Italian Pope in 455 years, since the Englishman Hadrian VI ( 1522-1523 )..." Here, again, a mistake. Hadrian VI was Dutch, I believe. The author must have been thinking of the only English Pope, Hadrian IV, who reigned some 360 years earlier.
To make matters worse,the chronology of popes in the back of the book contains the correct information about Pius IX, Hadrian IV and Hadrian VI. Wasn't anyone doing the fact checking while they were proof-reading the book?

In HOLY FATHER, author Greg Tobin offers a concise examination of the new Pope Benedict XVI.

The brief (140+ page) book provides a cursory history of the papacy, then shifts to a review of Benedict's life in a generally well-structured, readable prose.

The book was rushed into print fairly quickly after Cardinal Ratzinger's elevation to the papacy and suffers from several errors that could have been avoided by more judicious editing. One in particular is with respect to papal infallibility. There was no Ascension of the Blessed Mother, for example. Rather, the proper term is the "Assumption" of the Blessed Mother.

Despite this, the book will provide a decent introduction to the new Pope, a gifted theologian who will guide the church most likely for a few years at least.

As one of the raft of quickie biographies of Pope Benedict XVI starting to float ashore, Greg Tobin's book is decidedly middling. It's more journalistic and well-informed on Vatican inside-baseball than Stephen Mansfield's "Pope Benedict XVI: His Life and Mission," but still well below the standard set by John L. Allen's "The Rise of Benedict XVI."

This book, like Gaul, is divided into three parts. The first is a capsule history of the papacy that Tobin may well have written in advance, intending to insert into his book on the new pope whoever he turned out to be. The last section is a list of all previous popes, with a quick description of them and the events of their reign. This leaves only about 70 pages for Joseph Ratzinger -- and really even less than that. That's because the final chapter, "Urbi et Orbi: The State of the Church in the World" is a recitation of the challenges facing the Roman Catholic Church as Tobin sees them, and how he expects the new pope to deal with them. In this chapter too, it felt a little like Tobin left a space reading "[fill in new pope's name here]" so he could polish it off as soon after the election as possible.

I would have loved to have seen Tobin's reaction to that election. That's because in his 2003 book "Selecting the Pope: Uncovering the Mysteries of Papal Elections," Tobin memorably wrote, "A curial cardinal is, almost by definition, not *papabile.* Although Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith -- which used to be the Holy Office, and before that the Inquisition -- is a highly regarded theologian and intellectual, he is one of the least likely to be elected pope." Oddly, Tobin chooses not to address his error in this new book.

If you're looking for a quick introduction to the new pope, this book isn't a bad place to start, as long as you keep in mind the errors and misstatements other reviewers have pointed out. But if you are willing to invest a bit more time in the project, I would still encourage you instead to find a copy of Allen's "Rise of Benedict XVI" (but don't confuse that book with his other one titled "Pope Benedict XVI," which is really his older Ratzinger biography reissued with a new title; Allen has quite properly backed away from some of what he wrote in that earlier book).

For those of us with so much to read / so little time, this is a wonderful book to get an overview of the new Pope Benedict XVI as well as a brief history of the Papacy.

I read Part Two first - Biography of Pope Benedict XVI. It flows well, even if, like me, you haven't read the first section on the history of the papacy. Each part stands on its own.
In under 100 pages Greg Tobin provides an overview of the entire life of Joseph Ratzinger now Pope Benedict XVI. We read of his early family life, his studies, and his previous assignment as Perfect (Head) of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Throughout these pages we meet "A humble worker in the Vineyard of the Lord." In the final segment of this section he author outlines what he sees as the major issues Pope Benedict will face in his pontificate.

I was captivated by the biography, so returned to the first section on the history of the Papacy. This reads a bit slower, and is VERY summarized. If you find yourself getting bogged down in the history, I recommend at least scanning the Popes of the last 100 years (The Universal Pastor.) The section on the recently deceased Pope John Paul II explains why he will one day be called "John Paul The Great."

The Appendix provides a "Chronology of the Popes and the Papacy" and is one of the best listings of all the popes I have come across. Each pope is listed, dates of reign, and a sentence summarizing one key point of this man. A great reference tool!

Library Journal said it well, "A well-researched history of the modern church and an excellent portrayal of a man of deep spirituality."

If you read only one book on our new pope, this should be the one!

having silenced every other possible candidate a quarter century earlier, there was none left to stand at the conclave.

Notice the white smoke at first refused to emerge. The Holy Spirit obviously wanted them to reconsider.

This book only begins an avalanche of adulatory volumes and repirnts of his oldest speeches. They are quickly disposable and of no lasting value. Already this book is going for a few quarters, which speaks more than any review about its value. More worthwhile reading would be, for beginners, Populorum Progressio and PACEM IN TERRIS by truly Catholic popes, writings which moved the earth and inspired all people to truth and justice and social action. Then try Fr. McBRien's CATHOLICISM, and anything by Sr. Joan Chittister, etc. etc. Far more interesting and of much greater and everlasting value than these self serving puff pieces.

READ ESPECIALLY the Reverend Father Charles Curran's FAithful Dissent for a truer view of the Papa Ratzi

Overall, the thrust of the work is excellent. Religious scholars
may take exception to several errors in the chronology and fact
checking with regard to some of the earlier Papacies. The work
correctly cites the election of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger to the
Papacy. He was elevated from being Dean of the College of Cardinals and the Prefect of the Congregation of the Faith. Pope Benedict the XVI has written over 100 books by the roster on Amazon.com.

The author points out that iterative change is the cornerstone of the Papacy-particularly in the early years. The volume cites Popes Leo I and Gregory I as having great spiritual power. Pope Innocent III was elected at the young age of 38.
He was a brilliant canon lawyer at the time. Pope Leo XIII
served through two centuries. Saint Malachy provided an historic vision of Popes until the time preceding the greatest tribulations and Gloria Olivae could be associated with the
elevation of Pope Benedict XVI. Previous German Papacies were
cited; namely, Clement 2, Damasus 2, St. Leo 9 and Victor 2.

Benedict XVI was born on April 16, 1927 in Marktl am Inn.
He grew up in Bavaria. Later on, he founded the Communio- a
Catholic journal. He studied St. Augustine and St. Bonaventure
avidly. In addition, he spent much time trying to divine the
interconnection between salvation history and revelation.
Pope Benedict XVI is considered one of the three most important
Catholic theologians in recent history. He was elevated to the
Papacy because of his unique knowledge as a theologian and
expert on Church teachings. As Pope, Benedict XVI will be faced
with a triparte reconciliation or amenable coexistence between Catholicism, Judaism and the tenets of Islam.

The American Theological Experience will be another important frontier for the new Pope. On matters of Church teaching, the new Pope will speak with considerable authority firmly grounded in prior Church teachings. It remains to be seen whether or not Pope Benedict XVI will be facilitative with regard to the challenges posed by the American Theological Experience in this century. The current work is a good primer on what to expect from now onward.