Closing Argument
What Is Christianity? The Last Writings of Benedict XVI
edited by Elio Guerriero & Georg Gänswein translated by Michael J. Miller
At his abdication from the papal throne in March 2013, Joseph Ratzinger’s writing career seemed to have closed with the publication of the final volume of his Jesus of Nazareth trilogy in the previous year. Ingrained professorial habits die hard, though, with the result that, after recovering somewhat from the exhaustion accumulated during almost five decades of high ecclesiastical office as archbishop, cardinal prefect, and pope, the old scholar was back among his books, engaging in theological discussion, and once more literally picking up his pen: as an example to us all, the late pope never became computer-savvy.
The collection of occasional pieces gathered in What Is Christianity? was ready for printing almost two years before Ratzinger’s death, at which time he wrote to Elio Guerriero insisting on its posthumous issuance:
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John R. Stephenson taught at Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary, St Catharines, Ontario, for 34 years, until his retirement at the end of 2022.
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