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The Rise of Benedict XVI: The Inside Story of How the Pope was Elected and Where He Will Take the Catholic Church

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There's this thing called the "historian's fallacy," wherein anything that happens can be seen, retrospectively, as having been inevitable. And on one reading of John L. Allen's "The Rise of Benedict XVI," you'd be able to make a case that the election of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger to the papacy was pretty much inevitable. But it's to Allen's credit as a journalist that he doesn't succumb to the "historian's fallacy." In fact, I think he makes a good case that Ratzinger's election was not only not inevitable, but in some ways even more revolutionary than the election of Karol Wojtyla in 1978.

Prior to the 2005 conclave, conventional wisdom made Ratzinger's election look pretty unlikely. One "what's going to happen at the next conclave" book by a well-known writer on Catholic topics even said flat out, "Although Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger ... is a highly regarded theologian and intellectual, he is one of the least likely to be elected pope."

What made Ratzinger's election happen -- and the discussion of which makes this such an interesting book -- is what Allen calls "the funeral effect." Although leaders of the Roman Catholic Church knew Pope John Paul II was popular, it wasn't until they saw first-hand the world's response to his death that they realized the transforming effect he had on the Church's position in the world. Conventional wisdom said that the College of Cardinals would probably select a quiet, pastoral type with solid administrative skills to allow the Church some "breathing room" to process and assess the legacy of John Paul. But "the funeral effect" made it clear that the Church -- and the pope in particular -- now had a spot on the world stage that could not be filled by a largely unknown "smiling pope" like John Paul I. Only one man seemed to have the stature, the intellect, and the personality to fill, not only the shoes of the fisherman, but also the shoes of John Paul the Great: Joseph Ratzinger.

All this is fascinating enough. But Allen's journalistic narrative-cum-biography does something very important -- something that I think makes this book itself very important. Joseph Ratzinger's reputation prior to his elevation wasn't the most positive in the American church. Nicknames like "God's rottweiler" were common. And although he barely mentions it in this book, Allen himself may bear some of the responsibility for this because of his scathing 1999 biography "Cardinal Ratzinger: The Vatican's Enforcer of the Faith" (a book from which Allen himself has since backed away).

Allen here does an important service in showing that Benedict XVI is not in the least like his "enforcer" reputation -- a fact recognized by his brother cardinals when they elected him. According to cardinals Allen interviewed both before and after the conclave, Ratzinger is in fact a kind, thoughtful, even playful man who has a reputation for listening closely to those with whom he disagrees and conceding their arguments when he finds them to have merit. He is unwavering in his commitment to the truth, and believes there is no kindness or love in trimming or moderating the truth for those who may not want to hear it. But the image of him as a Vatican mafioso out to crack kneecaps just doesn't stand up to the testimony of those who know him.

This is not a perfect book. For one thing, I hate hate hate that it doesn't have an index, nor any footnotes or other citations to differentiate his own interviews from information from other sources. And while Allen's portrait of the pope does include some of his warts, the tone of this book is so different from that of the author's earlier look at the man, I wish he would have included more discussion about why his opinion changed. I'm afraid Ratzinger's persistent critics will find it too easy to accuse Allen of "sucking up" to power. (I would find that accusation nonsense, myself, but I can imagine it being made.)

On the whole, Allen paints a positive portrait of the new pontiff, and gives people inclined to like the man and willing to give him a chance many hopes for a great and important pontificate. Indeed, as Allen writes on pp. 179-180, "The great contribution of John Paul II, some confidants of Benedict XVI believe, was that he created such enormous interest in the papacy that the world will now be paying attention when Pope Benedict speaks. As one Belgian monsignor recently put the point, 'John Paul invited everyone to the feast, and now it's up to Benedict to cook the meal.'"

I found this book surprisingly satisfying for being "instant history" -- in print less than two months after the conclave selecting Pope Benedect XVI. John Allen does present an insider view in the sense of someone who covers the Vatican, knows the players and the issues. I wasn't left wanting for much, except perhaps more about Benedict's views on the decline of vocations and the corresponding rise in lay leadership as deacons and ecclesial ministers. My curiosity about his views on women sent me to the last chapter early. The only chapter a bit difficult for the nontheologian was "Battling a `Dictatorship of Relativism,'" but it is worth rereading passages to fully understand our new pope's world view. On the whole I think Allen succeeded in presenting a balanced view of recent historical events and of the new pope. I have a greater appreciation for the former Cardinal Ratzinger's gifts and his potential to grow into an entirely new role. I'm sure I will pick up this book often in months and years to come to help me understand the context of new developments in the church.

John Allen, author of Conclave, another book on Roman Catholicism's governing traditions, delivers this fine study of the recent transition from the sad last days of Pope John Paul II, to the nascent reign of one of the most intellectually-bright and morally intractable men ever to occupy the Holy See: Pope Benedict XVI.

Allen's work is partly a biography of Joseph Ratzinger's life up to his elevation to the Papacy last spring, and part study of the workings of the modern Church. Allen discusses at length the politics that put a conservative German Cardinal into religion's highest office, and also presents an educated guess at how the Pontificate of Benedict XVI might unfold. I think the most telling foreshadowing of what this man might concentrate on in his reign is detailed on page 174 of the hardcover edition in a chapter entitled, "The Gravest Problem Of Our Time". This crisis, according to Pope Benedict, is "relativism" a view common in the modern west and which has brought about unwavering criticism from Ratzinger as a priest, Cardinal and now as Pope. Basically Benedict argues that truth and morals, having being crafted by God and defined by Jesus, are neither mutable nor subject to the varying interpretations of humankind in each and every age. Benedict is deeply troubled by the popularity of the concept that each human must decide on personal morals, rather than trusting in the morality pre-defined by the Church, that steadfast custodian of Christ's teachings. Given the extent to which Ratzinger has made this much-debated question--humanism versus faith--a focus in his life, I believe we may safely expect him to make this a foremost issue in his time as head of the Church, and suspect he will soon author an encyclical that calls upon the faithful to search their consciences and find the answer to whether it is doctrine or individual conviction that should guide lifelong conduct.

The years of Benedict's Papacy should be interesting times and I found Allen's look ahead every bit as significant in this book as his many discussions of what has already passed.

One commentator called this book 'instant history', and to a certain extent, that is true - the interregnum between John Paul II (the Great?) and Benedict XVI was very brief, the Conclave short, but the road leading up to these events were well established and well documented, often by author John J. Allen, Jr. himself. Allen is the author of many books on this topic, include a book entitled 'Conclave', written several years ago in anticipation of the Conclave from earlier this year (2005). He also has written books on the College of Cardinals and other Vatican officials, Opus Dei, and numerous articles on various papal and Vatican subjects in his capacity as a correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter.

Allen brings all of this background to bear with his good insight and accessible journalistic style to describing the events from the final days of John Paul II to the papal election ('Habemus Papam!'). These are presented in an interesting section with sensitive and compassionate writing about the final days and funeral of the late pontiff.

With regard to the election process itself, Allen presents many fascinating details, including a litany of conventional wisdom facts that Ratzinger/Benedict seemed to shatter. These include:
* he who goes into the Conclave a pope comes out a cardinal
* the cardinals from outside Rome would not elect a Curia insider
* the cardinals would not elect someone closely identified with the previous pope
* the cardinals would not elect someone from Europe, where the church is increasingly in decline
* the church would not elevate someone close to 80 to begin such a major ministry.

Allen writes of the very human dimension of the election process in the Conclave, using the words of Ratzinger himself as support. When asked in 1997 if it was the Holy Spirit who directed the election of the pope, Ratzinger did not affirm the role of responsibility to the Holy Spirit exclusive of human agency, stating, 'There are too many contrary instances of popes the Holy Spirit would obviously not have picked.'

The second half of the book (in reality, part three, as the above sequence constitutes part one and two) deals with a biographical and analytical sketch of the new pope, the former cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. Allen highlights many of the chief concerns and challenges that the new pope will face, including the changing culture of the church and the new face of society in general. Benedict XVI, like his predecessor, was a product of the World War II experience, with a very traditional education and upbringing; very intelligent and highly educated, he began in his earliest speeches putting some distance between himself and earlier images of him, but reaffirming many of his traditional beliefs at the same time.

This is a fascinating book, in which Allen makes many attempts at predictions, not so much on what Benedict XVI will do, but on what will be considered. As Allen writes, however, whenever he confidently stated something would not or could not be done, often a pope would surprise him by doing precisely that thing (John Paul II's apology in Greece over the Fourth Crusade, for example). Thus, the future is wide open, and Allen sees it as a hopeful time for Catholics and for the world, and for Benedict, too.

Mr. Allen's book, Conclave, is an insightful look into how the Catholic Church chooses its pope. The weakness of Conclave is that it was written some years before the death of Pope John Paul so that some of its predictions & conclusions are a little dated, though its descriptions of the process remain useful. Now we have The Rise of Benedict XVI, a book on the election of John Cardinal Ratzinger to the Chair of St. Peter. Coming mere months after the events it describes, timing again becomes a strength and a weakness of Mr. Allen's work.

In many ways, this book is a sequel to Conclave. It glosses over the procedures of conclave, which Mr. Allen covered in more detail in his earlier book, but he is more specific in this volume as to who actually did what as the events unfolded. He has also updated his discussion of many of the issues that face the Church; most notably in his presentation of the child abuse scandal that has rocked the Church in the past few years.

In essence, this book is a history of the Vatican in the first six months of 2005. Clearly an insider, Mr. Allen offers a detailed view of why Cardinal Ratzinger was chosen as the new pope. He gives a decent, if not terribly in depth, biography of Ratzinger and gives a fair discussion of the challenges that await Benedict XVI. Best of all, he takes a balanced view of this watchdog of Catholic theology. Many progressive Catholics are worried about where Benedict may lead the Church. Mr. Allen acknowledges this but reminds us of an important point: it is impossible to predict how anyone will ultimately react to sitting in the big chair. We need to be patient an open-minded.

We need to be the same with this book, which was obviously assembled in haste and impatience. It's a bit repetitive in spots, probably from a lack of time for serious editing. And the lack of an index is an obvious flaw. Still, as a snapshot of the moment, it is impressive. It will be interesting to look back at this book at the end of Benedict's reign and see how well Mr. Allen foresaw things.

Make no mistake about it, "Benedict XVI will not preside over a pontificate of small plans." And who better to report events as they unfold than National Catholic Reporter's Vatican correspondent John Allen? Allen offers a balanced view of people and events framed in a straightforward and engaging style. "The Rise of Benedict XVI" is a fabulous introduction to the new pope, hard to put down and worth savoring every page.
Although the former Cardinal Ratzinger is no dark horse pope, at times he has been stereotyped. Allen debunks these myths and presents a complex and very human Benedict, a man who is reticent and, at the same time, a towering defender of the Catholic faith. A musician with a keen resolve concerning truth. Gravitas with a dash of levity.

The late John Paul II energized the papacy and some feared that he had cast too long a shadow for a comparable successor to emerge. Allen affirms that Pope Benedict will not shrink from this challenge. John Paul's right-hand man and yet very different, Benedict will build on the late pope's great initiatives of evangelization and reconciliation, and also come up with a few surprises of his own. I shall look forward in the coming days to these likely events and to how John Allen tells the story.
In a nutshell, I strongly recommend this book. It should help to dispel misconceptions and at the same time lend insight into what may well take place in this fascinating pontificate of Benedict XVI. Rev. Dennis J. Mercieri

Allen did a lot of researching and veryfying for this book; he provides a lot of information not previously known, such as which other Cardinals were serious contenders, and other tidbits of the Conclave.

The editing is poor, however, in that Allen repeats the same details numerous times, and that this book is about Benedict XVI, but when you're into practically 25% of the book, it said virtually nothing about Ratzinger. The whole beginning section is dedicated to John Paul II.

Yes, John Paul was a magnificent figure, and he is loved and missed by all, and you cannot help but compare the current pope to the last one; but that much written of John Paul does not belong in a book about Benedict XVI. Granted, John Paul's papacy and death did effect the outcome of the 2005 Conclave, such as Cardinal Ratzinger's good handling of the Interregnum and funeral, which attracted many of the Cardinals to vote for him. But in a book about Benedict XVI, attention to John Paul II should be much more limited than.

On the plus side, though, details about the last few months of John Paul's life are extensively discussed in this book, going into how ill the Pope was. That's something a lot of people, including myself, have been looking for.

It is obvious that they rushed to put this book out, and the editors didn't really put much time into making sure that it was well-structured. Nevertheless, this book is rich in content, and a great deal of the information he gives cannot be found anywhere else.

Upon the death of Pope John Paul II one name you heard being discussed more than any other was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany. At 78, Ratzinger was far and away the most well known, the most respected and in some circles the most feared cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church. Ratzinger was an insider. He is a man of keen intellect and an extremely influential theologian. Aside from the fact that he really did not want the job it appeared very unlikely that the College of Cardinals would turn to Ratzinger as the successor to John Paul II. Conventional wisdom seemed to suggest that a "compromise" candidate would likely emerge from the conclave. In "The Rise of Benedict XVI: The Inside Story of How the Pope was Elected and Where He Will Take the Catholic Church" long time Vatican observer John Allen Jr., a highly respected correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, examines the reasons why Ratzinger would ultimately become the overwhelming choice of the 115 voting members of the college of Cardinals.

Allen contends that the most obvious reason was that Ratzinger was simply the best man for the job. Aside from his obvious qualifications as a prominent theologian, Ratzinger had been a top official at the Roman Curia for nearly a quarter century. Among the handful of Cardinals who would ultimately be considered, Ratzinger alone possessed the gravitas to be an important player on the world stage. Additionally, his impressive performance at the funeral of his predecessor would only serve to enhance his stature among those who were witnessing that historic event. It would take just four ballots for his colleagues to come to a decision. Joseph Ratzinger would become the next pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.

In the pages of "The Rise of Benedict XVI" John Allen discusses at length what Catholics might expect from the forthcoming papacy. As someone whose full-time beat is the Vatican, Allen is in a rather unique position to make such assessments. Clearly, one of Pope Benedict's priorities will be to stem the tide of relativism in Europe. I found it quite interesting that in his writings the new Pope has often considered the very real possibility that the Roman Catholic Church might actually have to contract for a period of time in order to remain faithful to its teachings. He appears to be a man who is quite capable of taking bold steps when such actions are called for. In addition, Pope Benedict is expected to pay close attention to the needs of the millions and millions of faithful Catholics in the southern hemisphere. It is in precisely in this portion of the world that the Catholic Church is thriving. Many observers were even calling for the election of a pope from South America or perhaps even from Africa. While that did not happen this time around expect that these regions will exert considerably more influence in Rome than they have in the past. The new pope is also expected to address any number of other important issues including curial reform as well as the sexual abuse crisis in the United States. Serious and continuing dialogue with the leaders of other religions also appears to be a top priority for the new pope.

"The Rise of Benedict XVI" is essential reading for any Catholic interested in learning more about our new Holy Father. Newspaper accounts are simply not enough. John Allen is clearly optimistic that Joseph Ratzinger will turn out to be the right man for the job. There is so much at stake here. After reading this book I am much more comfortable with his selection. See if you agree. Highly recommended!

Mr. Allen provides amazing background and uses his contacts within the Vatican to bring you this behind the scenes account of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's rise to become Benedict XVI. Regarded by some as a "hardliner" because of his previous position as Head of the Doctrine of the Faith, then Cardinal Ratzinger kept the rouge theologians in line. Interviews with other Vatican personnel provide a better insight into the real Benedict XVI. Caring, charming and warm to others who is also fluent in numerous languages. A great read that takes you behind the scenes after John Paul II's death and leads up to Benedict's election as the Successor of Peter. I highly recommend this book.

This is a quickie book of reportage on the Vatican conclave which elected Joseph Ratzinger to be the new pope. The many interviews with cardinals on deep background that are woven into the story are most enlightening.

The account of John Paul II's final weeks is good. One is stirred anew at the impression of the sheer greatness of this man on his flock. The potted biography of Ratzinger is fine, but the long section of predictions on what Benedict will do must quickly become obsolete, as he actually progresses with his reign.