Summary
Title: The Rise of Benedict XVI: The Inside Story of How the Pope Was Elected and Where He Will Take the Catholic Church
Author: John L. Allen Jr.
Publisher: Doubleday
ISBN: 0385513208
Pro:
• Provides reliable insights into how and why the conclave elected Ratzinger as pope
• Helps readers understand why Ratzinger was thought to be a good choice
Con:
• No index
• Too uncritical of statements by Benedict XVI
Description:
• Describes the last days of John Paul II and his impact on Catholicism
• Engaging analysis of how the conclave elected Joseph Ratzinger to the papacy
• Argues that Pope Benedict XVI will surprise many people
Book Review
The pope matters, and books about the pope are popular, especially given how controversial this particular pope was when he was just Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. There will therefore be lots of books about Pope Benedict XVI in the coming months, but one of the first comes from a familiar source: The Rise of Benedict XVI: The Inside Story of How the Pope Was Elected and Where He Will Take the Catholic Church, by John L. Allen Jr.
Allen is the Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter and a Vatican analyst for CNN and National Public Radio. He has written numerous books about Catholicism and the Vatican, including a biography of Ratzinger a few years ago. That biography was attacked by conservative Catholics as being too one-sided against Ratzinger; while it is true that Allen was very critical of Ratzinger, he also praised Ratzinger repeatedly.
Allen took the criticisms of his book seriously — too seriously, I suspect, because this new book about Ratzinger goes much too far in the other direction of being uncritical of Ratzinger. Especially unacceptable, for example, is how Allen takes at face value Ratzinger’s statements about how he only joined the Hitler Youth when it became compulsory in 1941.
In reality, compulsory membership was first defined in 1936 and reinforced in 1939, not in 1941 as he says. Ratzinger also clains that he was “still too young” at the time, but he was 14 in 1941 and not too young at all: between the ages of 10 and 14, membership in the Deutsche Jungvolk (a group for younger children) was mandatory. Yet there is no mention of Raztinger belonging.
If he had managed to avoid the required membership in the Deutsche Jungvolk, why did he suddenly join the Hitler Youth in 1941?
Allen also seems to accept at face value Ratzinger’s insistence that Nazi anti-Semitism was completely divorced from the virulent Catholic anti-Semitism that had long been a part of the culture of southern Germany and Austria. There are other examples, but these stand out to me, and I don’t know if they are a product of the hurried manner in which the book was written or a product of Allen’s desire to be more “balanced” in his presentation of Benedict XVI. Or even worse, it could be a product of a desire not to ruffle conservatives’ feathers too much.
If you’re looking for a greater understanding of Pope Benedict’s life and beliefs, you shouldn’t read this book without also reading Allen’s earlier biography of him. Fortunately, this book contains much more that is valuable. Allen explains the last days of Pope John Paul II, the world’s reaction to his deteriorating health and death, and then of course the conclave that elected Ratzinger to the papacy.
Allen spent a lot of time interviewing cardinals and others involved in the process. He doesn’t repeat any rumors that weren’t verified by at least two cardinals. He also doesn’t believe that the cardinals’ vow of silence about the exact details of what went on during the conclave was broken. I’m sure that we’ll learn more in the years to come, but for right now Allen provides us with the most detailed and comprehensive account of how the election proceeded and most importantly, why Ratzinger was chosen.
More than any other pope in recent history, John Paul II made the papacy his own, and in the minds of many, the very nature of the papacy became identified with his style and personality. The Catholic Church needs to be able to move away from that and Benedict XVI is strong enough that he has a chance to avoid simply falling under the shadow of his predecessor. Allen argues that we should anticipate some surprises from the Benedict and he makes a good case. This is definitely a book worth buying if you want to learn more about how and why Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI.
