Questions and Answers
Our Sunday Visitor - Our Sunday Visitor
Release date: 2008-02-04
Hardcover
Author: Pope Benedict XVI
Religion & Beliefs, Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholic Church, Religion, Religion - Catholicism, Christian Life - Inspirational - Catholic, Christian Theology - Catholic, Christianity - Theology - Catholic, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity - Catholic, 1927-, Benedict, Christian life, Interviews, Miscellanea, Pope,, XVI,, Religion: Comparative, General & Reference
average reviews
0 vote
0 vote
React and review
Questions and Answers
Date undefinedThe questions posed, as well as the answers, are long, involved and at times difficult to understand. This is NOT a book for grade school children - probably not even early high schoolers. If you are and adult who is looking for the Pope's theological responses to questions about the church, the sacraments and morals this could have answers for you.
Questions and Answers
Date undefinedQuestions and Answers offers a surprisingly enjoyable compilation of the one-on-one sessions between Pope Benedict XVI and various groups with whom he has met over the first years of his pontificate. The idea for the sessions was introduced not long after his election in 2005 and has become something of a regular feature of his audiences.
Two especially intriguing aspects of the book jump out immediately at the reader. First, there are the pope's answers to the wide-ranging questions posed to him by such groups as children preparing for First Communion, Italian youth, and especially the priests of the diocese of Rome and Albano. It comes as little surprise that Benedict is able to answer all of the questions posed to him in exacting and equally sweeping fashion (he was, after all, one of the foremost theologians of the 20th century at the time of his election). But the capacity of the pontiff to reply in direct, clear, and pastoral terms demonstrates both his decades of labor as a professor but also his surprising ability as pope to be strikingly pastoral. The light pastoral touch has been apparent since his election (and his memorable homily at his installation), and his replies to the questions here are even more so. He speaks to the children in terms that are readily understood by a young mind even as they are obviously grounded in abiding faith. His replies to the priests are also straightforward in his real-world advice even as he notes the essential unity that must exist between the spiritual life and the pastoral ministry of a priest.
If the pope's answers are revealing so too are the questions. The issues posed to the pope by the children are ones that Catholic youth readily ask their parents (such as the one from a girl named Andrea who asks, "In preparing me for my First Communion day, my catechist told me that Jesus is present in the Eucharist. But how? I can't see him!"). The questions from the priests also point to the stresses and challenges faced by the priests in parish service and the sometimes heart-breaking situations they must try to solve and heal. In that sense, Questions and Answers shows the struggles of faith, hope, and love that all Christians must confront. And in his answers, Pope Benedict XVI proves why we would all do well to listen to him.
This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in glimpsing the pope at his most articulate and also his most extemporaneous.
Questions and Answers
Date undefinedLike the best-selling book-length interviews Salt of the Earth and God and the World, Questions and Answers features Pope Benedict answering a range of questions about the Catholic faith. Unlike those earlier books, in which the questions took the form of a lengthy interview conducted by a prominent German journalist, the questions here come from a variety of inquirers: children, students, seminarians, and priests. Because of that, the questions are often less theological and more practical. This book will not tell you everything you need to know about Catholicism, nor does it pretend to be a catechism. But it will give you additional insights into the Catholic faith and reveal the pastoral sensibilities of the current pontiff.
