In this persuasive new book, Daniel Gawthrop examines how Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) systematically steered the Catholic Church to the far right, and what his shocking resignation means for the Church as it navigates a new world. By doing so, it reveals one of recent history’s most astonishing tales of institutional power, religious bullying, and systemic abuse.

'Gripping ... An exquisite conversation between two people who know each other, like each other, and have mutual respect for one another' - Catholic Times Since resigning from the papacy in 2013, the first Pope in over 700 years to do so, Pope Benedict has lived quietly in a convent in the Vatican gardens in Rome. He has devoted himself to a life of prayer and study and has vowed to remain silent, until now. So much controversy still surrounds Pope Benedict's time in office – in this book, written with bestselling German author Peter Seewald, he addresses the issues of his papacy and reveals how, at his late age, governing and reforming the Church was beyond him. Last Testament is also an autobiography, recalling Pope Benedict's childhood in Germany under Nazism, his early development as a priest, and eventually his appointment as Archbishop of Munich. After becoming Pope, his account deals with the controversies that rocked the Catholic world – how he enraged Muslims with his Regensburg speech, what he did and did not do to stamp out the clerical sexual abuse of children, the 'Vatileaks' scandal and how he broke up a gay cabal within the Vatican itself. At all times, we see a man who is shy and retiring and modest being exceptionally open and frank with the outside world. In this Last Testament, a unique book insofar as no other living Pope has had the opportunity to write an account having left office, Benedict gives in his own words an unprecedented view of the difficulties, the achievements and the consequences of his time as head of the Catholic Church worldwide.

The stories of seven popes who ruled at seven different critical periods in the 600 years leading into the Reformation.

Questions keep arising about what really happened in 2013 with the surprising "resignation" of Benedict XVI, his decision to remain on as "pope emeritus," and thus the presence of two popes living side-by-side. In this compelling work, Socci investigates the mysterious mission to which Benedict XVI has felt called in service of the Church.

Emeritus Pope Benedict commanded both adulation and unremitting criticism. To millions, he was a beacon of light in a turbulent modern world. In this second volume of Peter Seewald's authoritative biography, the story continues from the Second Vatican Council (1965–8) right up to his resignation in 2013 - the first Pope to do so in almost 600 years. We see how Benedict was influenced by the Council and the ensuing political unrest all over Europe to move from a liberal perspective on the Church and the modern world to one that was profoundly conservative. Appointed in 1981 as prefect of the Congregation of Doctrine of the Faith, and quickly nicknamed 'God's Rottweiler', he proved to be intransigent on the controversial issues of abortion, contraception, gay rights and gay marriage. But elected Pope in 2005, his tenure of office was so riven with shocking revelations of controversy and scandal that it seemed that by the time of his resignation in 2013 he was incapable of handling the complexities of the Church in the modern world. Vatileaks, sexual abuse by priests, the Regensburg speech which became the spark of an eruption of anger and rage in the Muslim world – all these hit the world's media headlines. Peter Seewald was the only person who was close enough to Benedict to assess the man himself and to uncover the truth about so many of the controversial issues surrounding this most controversial papacy. Seewald has already published two books of interviews with Benedict and this book is based not just on meticulous research but on many hours of recorded interviews with Benedict himself. It will stand for many years as the definitive biography of Benedict XVI from an author with unrivalled access to the Pope Emeritus.

By any reckoning, the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI was extraordinary, with moments of high drama. Not the least of these was his resignation from office in February 2013, the first papal resignation in 500 years. But who is Joseph Ratzinger? In this definitive biography, based on meticulous historical research and many hours of taped interviews with his subject, Peter Seewald shows the exceptional circumstances in which the exceptionally talented son of a Bavarian policeman became the first German pope for 950 years. In this first volume, covering the years 1927–1965, we witness Joseph Ratzinger's early days, living above his father's police station. Ratzinger came to adulthood through the years of National Socialism. Though hostile to the rise of Hitler, his family knew well about Dachau and Ratzinger himself was conscripted into the Hitler Youth. Joseph Ratzinger proved to be a man of exceptional intellectual gifts and by the time of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) he was already noted as one of the outstanding intellects present and was nominated a 'peritus' or theological expert. This was also the time of the start of his friendship with the Swiss theologian Hans Küng who was to become his nemesis. Of his predecessor, Pope Francis has said: 'Pope Benedict was a great Pope, great for the penetration of his intelligence, great for his important contribution to theology, great for his love of the Church and human beings, great for his virtues and faith'. Even in this first volume, we begin to understand how this came to be true.

Increasingly, the future is becoming a theme for theological reflection. In the background we can detect a growing concern among many people for the future of faith. Does faith have any future at all, and, if so, where in all the confusion of today's trends will we discover its embryo? But the problem of the future assails not only the believer. In the ever more rapidly advancing process of historical evolution, man is confronted with enormous opportunities, but also with colossal perils. For him, the future is not only hope, but sorrow a nightmare, indeed. He cannot avoid asking what part faith can play in building tomorrow's world. Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, approaches this problem of universal concern from a variety of angles, bringing his deep personal faith and theological brilliance to bear on these serious questions.

Based on Pope Benedict XVI's weekly teaching on the relationship between Christ and the Church, this book tells the drama of Jesus' first disciples - his Apostles and their associates - and how they spread Jesus' message throughout the ancient world. Far from distorting the truth about Jesus of Nazareth, insists Pope Benedict, the early disciples remained faithful to it, even at the cost of their lives. Beginning with the Twelve as the foundation of Jesus' re-establishment of the Holy People of God, Pope Benedict examines the story of the early followers of Christ. He draws on Scripture and early tradition to consider such important figures as Peter, Andrew, James and John, and even Judas Iscariot. Benedict moves beyond the original Twelve to discuss Paul of Tarsus, the persecutor of Christianity who became one of Jesus' greatest disciples. Also considered are Stephen, the first Christian martyr, Barnabas, Timothy, Titus, the wife and husband "team" of Priscilla and Aquila, and such key women figures as Mary, the Mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Phoebe. Jesus, the Apostles and the Early Church is a fascinating journey back to the origins of Christianity. It reveals how Jesus' earliest disciples faithfully conveyed the truth about the "Jesus of history" and how they laid the foundations for the Church, through whom people today can know the same Jesus.

Given in Rome, at Saint Peter's on December 25th, the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, in the year 2005, the first of my pontificate. Benedictus pp. XVI