Salt of the Earth: The Church at the End of the Millennium: An Interview With Peter Seewald (Paperback)

by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Author), Adrian Walker (Translator) "an ultimate light of happiness in one's life is in fact a part of all this. But where is God, where does one find him?..." (more)
Key Phrases: Catholic Church, Old Testament, Holy Spirit (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"An absolutely fascinating book, like a personal visit with the Cardinal." -- Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR

"One of the most arresting, enjoyable books I've read in years." -- -Archbishop Charles Chaput

"This is Cardinal Ratzinger at his free-wheeling best... His candor is breathtaking." -- -Cardinal John O'Connor

Product Description
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, well-known Vatican prelate and head of the Congregation on the Doctrine of the Faith, gives a full-length interview to a secular journalist on a host of controversial and difficult issues facing Catholicism and Christianity at the end of the millennium. Similar to his best-selling book interview in 1985, The Ratzinger Report, he responds with candor and insight, giving answers that are often surprising and always thought-provoking on a series of wide-ranging topics regarding the present and future state of Christianity.

Ratzinger begins by discussing his own life, including his family life, being a theology professor and writer, becoming a Bishop, Cardinal and the Pope's top authority on doctrine. He then discusses the problems of the Catholic Church today and talks about the challenges and hopes of the future of Church and the world at the beginning of the Third Millennium.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 283 pages
• Publisher: Ignatius Press (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898706408
• ISBN-13: 978-0898706406
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #36,605 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

79 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insights into the new pope's direction, April 20, 2005

By	FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

For those who want a keen insight into the life and formation of the new pope, Benedict XVI, most recently known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, this book is a must read. Most of the text is done as an interview with Peter Seewald, a German journalist, who does a question-and-answer format, but not in a choppy form. The answers are extended reflections, giving ample space to discussion of real, substantive issues of the church and the world.

The first section of the book concentrates on Ratzinger himself; the interview is nearly ten years old now, but the insights are still apropos to the man who is now the pope. Ratzinger did not look at the questions beforehand, and his responses, while not quite off-the-cuff, still have a spontaneity to them that is perhaps at odds with the more conservative image Ratzinger has come to bear. He is a conservative, to be sure, but in these pages along with other books, one may find a bit more compassion and humour than one might expect.

Ratzinger reflects upon his strict upbringing as a child, his time as a child of a 'simple commissioner', and his growth in a devout Catholic family who tended to go to Mass twice on Sundays.

Ratzinger became a theology professor, teaching at the universities at Tubingen and Regensburg. Heidegger is a big influence on Ratzinger's philosophical development, as are notions of Personalism (a philosophy of profound influence on Martin Luther King Jr. among others). Like his predecessor, Ratzinger has a great interest in Phenomenology and other modern philosophical schools. This led him to be a theological advisor to the Second Vatican Council, at which time Ratzinger was classified as a progressive, perhaps even a liberal.

Ratzinger discusses the role of his office, the Sacred Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (once called The Inquisition), in the development of the 800+ page catechism for the Catholic church. This is a pope who knows the catechism backwards and forwards, for he has been part of the development at every stage.

Most intriguing are his ideas for the future of the church and the state of the world. He doesn't expect some sort of dramatic resurgence of the church, but does see a role and relevance for the church in the world. Perhaps this comes from the power of the church to provoke and be a prophetic witness. Given that his chosen name as pope is Benedict, his comparison in this text with St. Benedict (of monastic fame) is very intriguing. He likens the current and future situation to that of late antiquity, a time in which the majority of the non-ecclesial society wasn't really taking note of what the church was doing - Benedict was a bit of a dropout, who created 'an ark in which the West survived', largely going unnoticed.

For those who see Ratzinger as a knee-jerk traditionalist, perhaps no other statement is more enigmatic than his comment, "Perhaps the time has come to say farewell to the idea of traditionally Catholic cultures."

An intriguing and fascinating read.

65 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Striking Insights from a Modern Catholic Prophet, December 17, 2003

By	Oswald Sobrino "CatholicAnalysis.blogspot.com" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Cardinal Ratzinger is cut from a different cloth than those mediocre prelates who are always eager to accommodate the mistakes of modern Western societies. This book is well worth reading because Ratzinger obviously places proclaiming the truth above his personal popularity. In my opinion, his most striking words have to do with the proper role of the bishop: to keep challenging Christians and others, to, as Augustine said, keep them from falling asleep. Ratzinger finds repulsive the mentality of "don't rock the boat" that seems to permeate too many dioceses. When church historians look back to the latter part of the 20th century, they will rightly note the pivotal role of Ratzinger in preserving the deposit of faith when so many high-ranking clerics and prominent theologians were so eager to compromise that same deposit of faith.

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Answers beyond standard answers, December 25, 2001

By	"[e-mail]" (SINGAPORE Singapore) - See all my reviews

The background of Peter Seewald sets the tone for the book. He does not shy from his questions and this brings out more of Cardinal Ratzinger. I was not dissappointed as C. Ratzinger provides more than standard answers. His answer on women as priests was excellent.One thing that strike me most was when he was asked a particular question, he asked to be excused. The author assumes that he leaves for a prayer and comes back to answer his question. C. Ratzinger answers his question based on the search of truth in the Catholic faith.