The Ratzinger Report: An Exclusive Interview on the State of the Church

by Pope Benedict XVI

Joseph Ratzinger (future Pope Benedict XVI), renowned theologian and Cardinal Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, gives an exclusive in-depth interview to a famous Italian journalist, Vittorio Messori, on the state of the church near the end of the of twentieth century. Cardinal Ratzinger speaks candidly and forcefully about the challenges of the Church in the Post-Vatican II era. Here is the complete text of a meeting many have called a "historical turnabout" in the Church. The roots of the crisis that has troubled Catholics in the twenty years since the Council are analyzed with forthright clarity by one of the most authoritative voices in the Vatican. This is a clear and uncompromising report on the dangers that threaten the Faith, from one who every day receives the most reliable information from every continent. Yet Ratzinger's observations are as hopeful and balanced as they are clear-sighted, forcefully re-affirming the immense and positive work of Vatican II, whose genuine fruits this book provides a guideline for achieving.

Genres: Theology, Religion, Catholic, Christian, Nonfiction, Christianity, History

197 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Originally Joseph Ratzinger , a noted conservative theologian before his election in 2005, Benedict XVI strove against the influence of secularism during his papacy to defend traditional Catholic teachings but since medieval times first resigned in 2013.

After Joseph Ratzinger served a long career as an academic and a professor at the University of Regensburg, Pope Paul VI appointed him as archbishop of Munich and Freising and cardinal in 1977. In 1981, he settled in Rome as prefect of the congregation for the doctrine of the faith, one most important office of the Roman curia. He also served as dean of the college of cardinals.

Benedict XVI reigned 265th in virtue of his office of bishop of Rome, the sovereign of the state of Vatican City and the head of the Church. A conclave named him on 19 April 2005; he celebrated his inaugural Mass on 24 April 2005 and took possession of his Lateran cathedral basilica of Saint John on 7 May 2005.

Benedict XVI succeeded Saint John Paul II, predecessor and his prolific writings on doctrine and values. Benedict XVI advocated a return to fundamental Christian values to counter the increase of many developed countries. Relativism denied objective truth and moral truths in particular; he viewed this central problem of the 21st century. With the importance of the Church, he understood redemptive love of God. He reaffirmed the "importance of prayer in the face of the activism" "of many Christians engaged in charitable work." Benedict also revived a number and elevated the Tridentine Mass to a more prominent position.

Benedict founded and patronized of the Ratzinger foundation, a charitable organization, which from the sale of books and essays makes money to fund scholarships and bursaries for students across the world.

Due to advanced age on 11 February 2013, Benedict announced in a speech in Latin and cited a "lack of strength of mind and body" before the cardinals. He effectively left on 28 February 2013.As emeritus, Benedict retained the style of His Holiness, and the title and continued to dress in the color of white. He moved into the newly renovated monastery of Mater Ecclesiae for his retirement. Pope Francis succeeded him on 13 March 2013.

(more info on Ratzinger Foundation: https://www.ewtn.com/library/Theology...)

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

For any Catholic wishing to make sense of the chaotic post-Vatican II time period in which we live... this is a must read. In this 1985 interview Ratzinger set the record straight on the TRUE reforms of Vatican II. The so-called "spirit of Vatican II" crowd still seeks to push an agenda contrary to authentic Church teaching.

As Ratzinger put it, the true Council, "already during its sessions and then increasingly in the subsequent period, was opposed by a self-styled 'spirit of the Council', which in reality is a true 'anti-spirit' of the Council."

We would be well-served to actually read the Council documents for ourselves. And they must be read with a "spirit of continuity."

Next time you hear, "oh, that changed after Vatican II"... Don't buy it.

[Taryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an easy to read book on Cardinal Ratzinger’s view of the state of the Church. Although it was published in 1985, most of not all of it remains relevant and just as
Important today as the Church still debates the best ways to faithfully implement Vatican 2.
The interview format allowed for the text to be divided into chapters by topic, making the book a perfect read for someone new to Ratzinger’s thought.

[Ramón S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ratzinger is a sage, a man with the gift of wisdom. His thoughts are so deep and clear. Really a must read book if you need a compass in the actual situation of the Church and of the world

[Sam Honeycutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book about Benedict XVI's views as Card. Ratzinger, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an exceptionally weird book, especially for those familiar with Pope Benedict's writings (which I assume is why most of us are here, reading this book).

The book has 13 chapters, covering 13 topics (that frequently overlap with each other). The later topics, especially on women, morality, and eschatology, are the best - as in, the most orthodox, and most like the Ratzinger we probably know.

What was deeply upsetting was chapter two, on the Second Vatican Council. Ratzinger was involved with the Council, and this is where I'd like to get in to my hypothesis about "Ratzinger historiography". There's a general consensus, at least among the "trads" I know, that Ratzinger moved gradually from more liberal to more conservative. His election to the papacy was marked with frothing at the mouth by liberal figures around the world, and they never ceased trying to ruin, to misinterpret, to mock everything this traditionalist menace did. Conservatives, myself included, clung to Pope Benedict's writings, especially the history-changing Summorum Pontificum that revived the Latin Mass.

With that context, his status as reviver and champion of the Latin Mass, his "Spirit of the Liturgy," his "Jesus of Nazareth," his published works that number over 100, one can imagine how appalling chapter two of this book is, with Ratzinger dogmatically affirming the good of the Council and the Novus Ordo.

This is in 1985, so roughly halfway between his sojourn at the Council, and his election to the papacy. Ratzinger says some absolutely (sorry, Holy Father) BONKERS things about the state of affairs. I was gobsmacked by how utterly out of touch with reality his statements were. His analysis is firmly in the "Reform of the reform" camp - the belief that the Council wasn't properly implemented and the Council Fathers Didn't Intend That. This cannot help but lead to the question, Well, why didn't they say so? By 1985, parishes around the world had gutted their churches, explicitly announcing they were following the wishes of the Council. One feels like someone could have said, "No, stop, turn back". Anyway, his rhetoric is infuriating - the "well the left is bad, but the right is mean too!!," the mutual enrichment, etc. A low moment was when he name dropped Ottaviani in a way that implied Ottaviani supported whatever Ratzinger was talking about.

Ratzinger calls the Council "prophetic," that we owe all good things to the Council, that there was NO RUPTURE after the Council, that returning to the past is not even desirable, he calls America a "stronghold of tradition and loyalty to Rome" (?!?!?), and he doubles down on all of this in one of the last chapters, on liturgy "old and new". He contradicts himself about vocations (they are both rising and falling), and spends several wrought paragraphs clearly in deep denial that the Council had any negative effect on religious life.

I could continue, but I hope I paint a sufficiently vivid picture. Back to my Ratzinger Historiography hypothesis: the only way I can reconcile this book with what I know of Benedict is that Ratzinger was and is far, far more of a modernist than we all realized. He did much to support the Latin Mass, but he could have done far more, and his work is already under attack and being disassembled. He clearly loves the liturgy, beauty, tradition, right worship due toward God; that is evident in anything he writes. However, I think I, and many of us, read late/later works of Ratzinger, and then retroactively applied that fortifying orthodoxy to his entire career, and ignored any warning signs.

One last but equally important note: the credibility of the interviewer was shot to hell on page 122. I was suspicious when Messori (the interviewer) used the phrase "the sulphurous smell of heresy" re: Lefebvre on page 119 - a phrase too charged for an interviewer to use, especially one who exhausted himself in the introduction to assure us of his neutrality. The zinger on p. 122 is: "[P]ersonally we find it a rather strange attitude on the part of those who mourn like "widows" and "orphans" for a past that has gone forever. We feel no nostalgia for a Latin liturgy which we only knew in its last and exhausted phase". Then the mask - and the gloves - come off. Messori weighs in throughout the book, but he attempts to be subtle until this point. He'll now go out of his way to say active participation is a "very good thing," and he sneers at "vestigial piece[s] of folklore...unacceptable to mature faith."

I happen to disagree with Messori's position on every point, and always will, and would gladly duel him anytime, anywhere. Even if I didn't, it is reprehensible for him 1) to insert his own opinion so aggressively throughout the book/interview, and 2) to treat "mourning Catholics" with such deep loathing. May he have the intellectual honestly to realize that we "widows" who love traditionalism and the Latin Mass- who have very much been orphaned by our bishops and hierarchy - will outlast him and his ideology.

I recommend this book only to those interested in reading all of Ratzinger's published works. Otherwise, you'll just end up yelling about aggiornamento on a Thursday afternoon, and you'll need your husband to tell you to please calm down for once, dear.

[Marie Brousseau]

Back in 1985, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (future Pope Benedict XVI), was the Prefect for the Congragation of the Doctrine of the Faith, a position he held for over twenty-six years. He had first-hand knowledge of the state of the Church throughout the world. This book is the amazing and exclusive interview he granted to Italian journalist Vittorio Messori. It is an honest assessment of the state of the Church, at the time of the interview. A must read for anyone who wants to learn more about both the Catholic Church and its place in the world, as well as the heart and mind of a theological holy genius.

[Roger Buck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Penetrating analysis of the tragedy of the post Vatican II Church. Well-worth reading even if the author were not H.H. Benedict XVI. I have a review here with some powerful quotes from the book.

http://corjesusacratissimum.org/2009/...

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because theology.

And if theology isn't your thing, then this isn't the review you're looking for. *waves Jedi hand*

But if it is, then really you can never go wrong with a German theologian. Who ran the modern, kinder Inquisition. Who became Pope.

[Kevin de Ataíde]

Card. Ratzinger presents, in an interview, an excellent overview of the state of the Church in the modern age. As relevant today as it was in the eighties, it deals with, among other things, misunderstandings of the texts of the second Vatican Council that have followed it, reading and responding to the signs of the times, modern spirituality, the revised liturgy and the required response to it and the relationship of the Church to the Christian sects of the Reformation and later.



The sections I have found most helpful are the directions to read the documents themselves of the Council, the discourse on permissivism and its attitude to the Magisterium of the Church, the discourse on the trivialisation of womanhood and the identification of the Last Things.



The book displays clearly the systematic thought of one of the princes of the Church, intimately involved at the time in the defence of the Faith and close now to completing five years as bishop of Rome.

[Ramon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ratzinger Report is a historical piece that might has well have been written today. I wish that I couldn't relate to it as much as I did, especially while reading the part on liberation theology. I was having flashbacks the entire time.

The style of the book is simple. Vittorio Messori provides us simple quesions answer format with some expounding on ideas, concerns, and overall context. His insight was helpful to dilute what Ratzinger was saying.

Ratzinger offers us insights into the major issues the Church was facing at the time. While I think some other topic would need to be added for the book if it were written today, overall, it is completely timely, despite its specific historicity. Overall, he does a fantastic job of illuminating the audience with his description of Catholic theology. I highly recommend this book to anybody who wants to know more about how Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) views specific issues.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great insight into what then Cardinal Ratzinger thought of the state of the Church just twenty years after Vatican II. He describes the changes that had been made so far; and what he thought was to come and still needed to be accomplished.

[John Mellody · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most important books to understand the errors of this century. Goes through in detail showing six heresies of our time.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

fascinating interview with a holy man.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real eye-opener!

[Germán · Rating 5 out of 5]

As prescient as a book can be

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Escrito hace tanto y tremendamente actual. Imprescindible.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

simply the best.

[Peter Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I believed I would see some of Cardinal Ratzinger's supposed theological progressive leanings that had been weaning away following the Second Vatican Council, prior to the orthodoxy in his later writings and his time as Pope.

I was glad (and mildly disappointed) that such did not happen, I found a Ratzinger that was thoroughly consistent with his orthdodox teachings and theology as Pope Benedict XVI, strongly in favor of ideas that would later fully manifest, such as the hermeneutic of continuity when reading the documents of Vatican II, the "reform of the reform" when it comes to the liturgy, and a defense of ressourcement and nouvelle théologie when those theologians are faithful to the Tradition of the Church and the Fathers.

I disagree with Ratzinger on the topic of Limbo, as I believe its existence is described in Ecumenical Councils (such as Lyons II and Florence), while not discounting that Catholics can disagree on whether some unbaptized can be removed of original sin in an extraordinary manner prior to dying. I also wish that Ratzinger, while Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, did more to stomp out heterodox thinkers promoting ideas related to the "Spirit of the Council," as well as more boldly defending the traditional liturgy.

But all in all, if you want to know the thinking and theology of the man that would become Pope Benedict XVI, I think this is an insightful read. But if you're well read on the German theologian, then I don't think you'll gain much new from this book.

[Fr. Daniel Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, written in the 80's when Cardinal Ratzinger was "no more than" the Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, gives an excellent glimpse into the major theological issues at that time. Many of these issues remain today, such as questions about marriage and celibacy, but others have seemed to fade into the past, such as liberation theology.

Without going into too much depth, it's always fascinating to listen to a great mind of the Church and a great theologian. There were many excellent insights into the various theological topics. It has less of the depth and rigor of the typical book written by Ratzinger, which makes it more straight-forward and accessible but ultimately less fulfilling. There is not much mention of Scripture, the Fathers, etc. as regards particular issues - we simply get a taste of the thoughts of the man, Ratzinger, as he has considered the issues at hand.

The text feels somewhat dated because of the interview style, but ultimately I found it both insightful and interesting.

[Peternelson333 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Notes for self:
-Ratzinger is clearly a bit of a genius
-really good self contained chapters, great as a future reference text
-fascinating and still-relevant discussion of the post-conciliar state of affairs
-ecclesiology still the real barrier to ecumenism-
-discussions of colonialism and euro-centrism aged well over the past 40 years

[Annie H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was like asking your dad questions about the current state of the world and Church and receiving his clearsighted, loving answers. A still-relevant on forces shaping modern life today and the pressing questions that arise from them.

[Fr. Nicholas Blackwell, O. Carm. · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a needed read to see the current moment in the Catholic church with clarity.

[allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t care for this man’s takes

[Garrett Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book, but it's the weakest of the Ratzinger interview books.