With God You Are Never Alone: The Great Papal Addresses

by Pope Benedict XVI

Overview

From his first homily as pope to the last public hearing, these are the 10 great speeches of Benedict XVI's pontificate.

Since his death in 2022, Benedict XVI has been celebrated as a leader of profound wisdom and dismissed as an unrepentant traditionalist. With God You Are Never Alone presents Benedict XVI as he was—a man of faith, in his own words. These speeches—his deepest thoughts and beliefs—are the truth of his legacy.

Collected here are ten speeches, including his speech on visiting Auschwitz, his address to the House of Commons and House of Lords, his address to the German Bundestag in Berlin, his address to the United Nations, his notorious Regensburg speech and the speech in which he announced his historic resignation. His thoughtful speeches present an inspiring thinker who still has much to teach about not just religion, but the common good. These are the speeches that reveal the depth of his theological reflection in simple language that has nourished the faith of millions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781399413725
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	09/26/2023
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	405,372
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

On April 19, 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI and became the 264th successor to Peter as the 'Vicar of Jesus Christ'. He may well be the most accomplished theologian to be elected Pope in modern times. From 1981 he spent over twenty years as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a role often depicted as the 'defender of the faith'. Cardinal Ratzinger was also President of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and of the Preparatory Commission that codified the new Catechism of the Catholic Church, published in 1994.

In an unprecedented move he resigned as Pope on 28 February 2013.

At the age of 95, Pope Benedict XVI died on 31 December 2022 at the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery.

Editorial Reviews

11/13/2023

These contemplative speeches by Pope Benedict XVI, who died in 2022, center “the inviolable dignity of man, made in God’s image” in matters both earthly and eternal. Spanning Benedict’s 2005 to 2013 tenure as pope, the 10 addresses fall into two categories: those concerned with the “life of the Church”—including reflections on the legacy of his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, and commentary on the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s—and those that engage politics, history, and ethics more broadly, including the collection’s most affecting entry, a 2006 speech delivered at the gates of Auschwitz-Birkenau, in which the German pontiff sought “forgiveness and reconciliation” and offered “a plea to the living God never to let this happen again.” While the lack of historical context might leave some readers lost (each speech is only introduced with the year, place, and occasion), this succeeds in painting a comprehensive portrait of an intelligent, articulate, and often compassionate leader equally willing to discuss disturbing concrete issues (such as the sexual abuse scandals that came to light during his papacy, for which he implores “forgiveness from God and from the persons involved” ) and abstract theological concerns. It’s a worthy tribute to a vital figure in the history of the Catholic church. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"“a worthy tribute to a vital figure in the history of the Catholic church.”" —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher