By John L. Allen Jr. The Rise of Benedict XVI: The Inside Story of How the Pope was Elected and Where He Will Take the Ca (1st First Edition) [Hardcover]

by John L. Allen Jr.

On April 18, 2005, the College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church gathered to elect a successor to Pope John Paul II. Faced with several potential candidates, the cardinals made a bold choice, entrusting the Keys of the Kingdom to 78-year-old Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, a man whose views on the challenges facing the Church and the broader culture could not be more unambiguous, or controversial. Questions arose as the world watched while Ratzinger was installed as Pope Benedict XVI. No one can tell the story of exactly what took place during the closed doors meeting, known as the conclave, when Cardinals from around the world cast their votes for the next pope, better than John L. Allen, Jr. As a correspondent for National Catholic Reporter and a Vatican analyst for CNN and National Public Radio, Allen has spent years covering Vatican politics and personalities, and his unique access to Roman halls of power has enabled him to write the ultimate behind-the-scenes account of the election of Pope Benedict XVI.

Genres: Religion, Biography, Nonfiction, History, Catholic

Unknown Binding

First published June 1, 2005

About the author

John L. Allen, Jr. (born 1965) is an American journalist serving as associate editor of the website Crux: Covering all things Catholic, specializing in news about the Catholic Church in partnership with the Catholic fraternal organization the Knights of Columbus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L.....

Reviews

[Conor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought a cheap copy of this book after seeing it on a friend's shelf. I have great respect for John Allen as a journalist. He is one of a handful of journalists (Stuart Taylor is another who comes to mind) who really work hard to get the story right. The book is divided into three parts. First, is a section dealing with the decline and death -- the last days -- of Pope John Paul II. The second deals with the lead up to and the actual conclave. The third gives a short biography of Benedict and predictions for the future. The first two sections are by far the strongest. The third has some weaknesses, partly because this papacy is five years old.

The background on the run up to the conclave and the actual internal deliberations is very interesting. It is fascinating to see how Cardinal Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI, something he didn't expect and most certainly did not want. The central themes behind his election are these: 1) Cardinal Ratzinger was a very known commodity and a well-liked one. The Cardinal-electors had met with him over dozens of years on their visits to Rome and despite the many negative portrayals of Ratzinger in the press, he was always someone who listened and had done his homework; 2) Ratzinger was a man among boys in the College of Cardinals. That is not to say there aren't other smart or good men among the Cardinals, but Ratzinger's intellect towered above the rest of the group; 3) Ratzinger handled the pre-conclave period with incredible grace; he was available and listened to his brother cardinals, he showed incredible understanding and interest in the problems faced by others, especially those in the global south; 4) Ratzinger's age was actually a help, rather than a hindrance; the cardinals didn't want a long 20+ year pontificate to follow JPII's lengthy reign; 5)Ratzinger has considerable skills and gifts to face what many of the cardinals think is the greatest challenge to the Church now, namely the secularism of the West.

As for the third part, it is surprising how many of Allen's predictions seem to be occurring, though the hoped for reform of the Curia is taking a different tack and pace from which Allen and others would have anticipated.

My one complaint about the book is that Allen, while having gotten better at this, still employs too easily political categories to describe realities in the Church. Partly, this is because he knows his readers use these categories to think these things through, but I think it also reflects some of the old-John Allen tendencies (see here). Nevertheless, I highly recommend this book though it might be better to check it out at the library or buy it used because it is dated.

[Anavie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since the beginning of this year, I have been interested in the life and works of the late Pope Benedict XVI. I came upon this book while searching for books to read. I enjoyed this book thoroughly. It even made me feel emotional at times, especially in the latter parts of the book, where the author quoted some of his lectures and discussions from his time as Cardinal Ratzinger. The author connects them to Joseph Ratzinger's stance on particular church doctrines that give the reader a clear portrait of who Joseph Ratzinger, future Pope Benedict XVI is as a person and as a theologian.

The insights were interesting. In my opinion, it is a believable study on the hows and whys that gave us Pope Benedict XVI. This is a good read.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

John L Allen, Jr. is a correspondent for the National Catholic Report and Vatican analyst for CNN and National Public Radio. He draws on his interviews and experience in reporting on the Catholic Church to tell the story of how Joe Ratzinger was elected to the papacy in April 2005 and became Pope Benedict XVI.

I chose to read this book because of my desire to try to learn more about our current pope. I was disappointed. The book is not a chronological telling of Pope Benedict XVI’s life and the first third of the book is devoted to a summary of Pope John Paul II’s papacy and his final days, funeral and the papal election.

There seemed to be a lot of the author interjecting himself into the story – “I was reporting on this” and “I was there to report on this” and “I was there to report on that”, etc.

I felt he brought forth good reasons as to why the College of Cardinals would choose him, but I didn’t feel I’d learned more about the Pope himself. At one point, he says something to the effect that he could into the details about some event or writing, but says he won’t because that information is “common knowledge.” I had no idea what he was talking about – perhaps it was something he’d written about earlier.

If you are looking to learn more about Pope Benedict XVI – I don’t’ think this is the book you want to read. If you are looking for an apologist for Pope Benedict XVI – this is your book.

[Roger Buck · Rating 5 out of 5]

God bless John L Allen! Real insight not only into BXVI but also theVatican and conclave politics.

Longer review from me here: http://corjesusacratissimum.org/2009/...

[Cassie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a relatively good description of conclave politics (particularly interesting is the part about the decision rules and the immediate connection the reader makes with game theory) and gives a nice brief overview of the preferences and ideologies of the head of the universal church.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

With the death of Pope John Paul II, a new pope was needed. Cardinal Ratzinger was elected and choose the name of Benedict XVI. Written before his resignation a few years later, the book attempts to predict the direction the Catholic Church will take.

[Joy Patton]

want this book

[Cinny Kennard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am loving htis because I just saw the Pope in Rome and I am struck by his brilliance

[Thomas Boyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interseting study of how the Pope got where he is.

[Gabi Avila · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Allen is a very good writer and this book is very important for those who want to know a little about Joseph Ratzinger.

[Anne Roat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy John Allen