The Oxford Handbook of Joseph Ratzinger
1st Edition
Will be published approx. on 15. January 2026
Book
Hardback
432 pages
978-0-19-284440-8 (ISBN)
Description
Since his earliest contributions to Catholic theology, Joseph Ratzinger has been a subject of considerable scholarly interest. His work, spanning decades of theological inquiry, has shaped contemporary thought on faith, reason, and ecclesiology. From his beginnings as a theology professor to his role as a theological advisor during the Second Vatican Council, Ratzinger consistently demonstrated a commitment to doctrinal clarity and rigorous theological reflection, shaping his intellectual trajectory. His tenure as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under John Paul II further cemented his authority, and his writings as Benedict XVI offered a rich corpus of theological insight. Ratzinger's oeuvre is situated within that of the circle of Communio theologians, whose approach to theology is strongly Christocentric and biblical. St Augustine profoundly shaped Ratzinger's ecclesiology and his reflections on the relationship between faith and reason, a legacy further reinforced by the influence of Ratzinger's early mentors and intellectual heroes, many of whom were students of Augustine and Bonaventure.
The Oxford Handbook of Joseph Ratzinger provides a comprehensive exploration of his contributions, bringing together scholars from across the Anglosphere, Africa, and Europe. Contributors include theologians, journalists, and former colleagues from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, offering perspectives on fundamental theology, moral theology, sacramental theology, scriptural exegesis, liturgical theology, theological anthropology, and ecclesiology. With chapters spanning a range of theological disciplines, this Handbook offers a definitive reference on the theological thought of Joseph Ratzinger, illuminating his enduring influence within the Catholic tradition.
The Oxford Handbook of Joseph Ratzinger provides a comprehensive exploration of his contributions, bringing together scholars from across the Anglosphere, Africa, and Europe. Contributors include theologians, journalists, and former colleagues from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, offering perspectives on fundamental theology, moral theology, sacramental theology, scriptural exegesis, liturgical theology, theological anthropology, and ecclesiology. With chapters spanning a range of theological disciplines, this Handbook offers a definitive reference on the theological thought of Joseph Ratzinger, illuminating his enduring influence within the Catholic tradition.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 251 mm
Width: 176 mm
Thickness: 33 mm
Weight
885 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-284440-8 (9780192844408)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Professor Tracey Rowland holds a PhD from the Divinity School of Cambridge University and the STL and STD degrees from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. From 2014-2019 she was a member of the IXth International Theological Commission and she is currently a member of the Pontifical Academy of the Social Sciences. She holds the St John Paul II Chair of Theology at the University of Notre Dame (Australia). She is also the series editor of the Collected Works of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI to be published by Word On Fire (Academic) in English. In 2020 she won the Ratzinger Prize for Theology.
Francesca Murphy is Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana. She has written seven books, including Gnosis and the Theocrats from Mars (Bloomsbury 2017) and God is not a Story (OUP, 2009). She edits the Illuminating Modernity series with Bloomsbury. She has translated three monographs, most recently Olivier-Thomas Venard's A Poetic Christ. She edited two previous OUP Handbooks, on Christology and on Revelation. Her principal research interest is theological aesthetics, focusing on genre theory.
Francesca Murphy is Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana. She has written seven books, including Gnosis and the Theocrats from Mars (Bloomsbury 2017) and God is not a Story (OUP, 2009). She edits the Illuminating Modernity series with Bloomsbury. She has translated three monographs, most recently Olivier-Thomas Venard's A Poetic Christ. She edited two previous OUP Handbooks, on Christology and on Revelation. Her principal research interest is theological aesthetics, focusing on genre theory.
Content
FRANCESCA ARAN MURPHY: INTRODUCTION: The Life and Times of Joseph Ratzinger
CHAPTER 1: TRACEY ROWLAND: Early Influences: The Background and Context of Ratzinger's Thought
CHAPTER 2: PHILIPP W. ROSEMANN: The Young Ratzinger of the Dissertation and the Habilitationsschrift
CHAPTER 3: NICHOLAS J. HEALY: Ratzinger's Early Works, From Christian Brotherhood to Eschatology
CHAPTER 4: CYRIL O'REGAN: Building Blocks: Ratzinger's Principles of Fundamental Theology
CHAPTER 5: GREGORY YURI GLAZOV: Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger-Benedict XVI on the Symphonic Relationship of the Old and New Testaments
CHAPTER 6: DAMIANO MARZOTTO: The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Ratzinger's Understanding and Practice
CHAPTER 7: EMERY DE GAAL: Dominus Iesus
CHAPTER 8: HUGH MICHAEL O'DONNELL: God and Caesar: The Novum of Christianity in Joseph Ratzinger's Political Thought
CHAPTER 9: MARY FRANCES MCKENNA: Ratzinger on the Truly Human: Person Transcending Their Nature to Participate in Divinity Through Relationship Without Reserve With God
CHAPTER 10: CHRISTIAN IDRI: Joseph Ratzinger and his Critics
CHAPTER 11: FRANCESCA ARAN MURPHY: Ratzinger on Dei Verbum
CHAPTER 12: MARY FRANCES MCKENNA: Benedict XVI's Hermeneutic of Reform as Innovation in Continuity: The Process for the Perennial Renewal of the Church
CHAPTER 13: ISABEL TROCONIS: Gaudium et Spes and the Need for a Trinitarian Christocentrism
CHAPTER 14: JACOB PHILIPS: Lumen Gentium: The Church as Mystical Body and Communion of the Faithful
CHAPTER 15: MARIUSZ BILINIEWICZ: Liturgy: From Sacrosanctum Concilium to Sacramentum Caritas
CHAPTER 16: KATHERINE SONDEREGGER: Pope Benedict, Modernist: The Papal Encyclicals
CHAPTER 17: ANNA M. SILVAS: Ratzinger and the Fathers of the Church
CHAPTER 18: VINCENT L STRAND, SJ: 'Men of God': Pope Benedict XVI's Theology of the Priesthood
CHAPTER 19: GEORGE WEIGEL: The Papacy of Benedict XVI: Highlights and Shadows
CHAPTER 20: STEPHEN BULLIVANT: Ratzinger and Secularisation
CHAPTER 21: MAURICE AGBAW-EBAI: Ratzinger and the Johannine Concept of Logos
"Chapter22:
CHAPTER 23: MATTHEW LEVERING: Joseph Ratzinger's Jesus of Nazareth Trilogy
CHAPTER 24: AARON PIDEL: The Petrine Office and the Episcopacy
CHAPTER 25: GAVIN D'COSTA: Ratzinger: Evangelisation after Ad Gentes
CHAPTER 26: LIVIO MELINA: Conscience and Moral Truth in Joseph Ratzinger
CHAPTER 27: EMIL ANTON: Response to the Reformation Fractures
CHAPTER 28: PAUL MCPARTLAN: Ratzinger and the East-West Fracture of the Church
CHAPTER 29: JOHN CAVADINI: Ratzinger and Augustine
TRACEY ROWLAND: Epilogue
CHAPTER 1: TRACEY ROWLAND: Early Influences: The Background and Context of Ratzinger's Thought
CHAPTER 2: PHILIPP W. ROSEMANN: The Young Ratzinger of the Dissertation and the Habilitationsschrift
CHAPTER 3: NICHOLAS J. HEALY: Ratzinger's Early Works, From Christian Brotherhood to Eschatology
CHAPTER 4: CYRIL O'REGAN: Building Blocks: Ratzinger's Principles of Fundamental Theology
CHAPTER 5: GREGORY YURI GLAZOV: Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger-Benedict XVI on the Symphonic Relationship of the Old and New Testaments
CHAPTER 6: DAMIANO MARZOTTO: The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Ratzinger's Understanding and Practice
CHAPTER 7: EMERY DE GAAL: Dominus Iesus
CHAPTER 8: HUGH MICHAEL O'DONNELL: God and Caesar: The Novum of Christianity in Joseph Ratzinger's Political Thought
CHAPTER 9: MARY FRANCES MCKENNA: Ratzinger on the Truly Human: Person Transcending Their Nature to Participate in Divinity Through Relationship Without Reserve With God
CHAPTER 10: CHRISTIAN IDRI: Joseph Ratzinger and his Critics
CHAPTER 11: FRANCESCA ARAN MURPHY: Ratzinger on Dei Verbum
CHAPTER 12: MARY FRANCES MCKENNA: Benedict XVI's Hermeneutic of Reform as Innovation in Continuity: The Process for the Perennial Renewal of the Church
CHAPTER 13: ISABEL TROCONIS: Gaudium et Spes and the Need for a Trinitarian Christocentrism
CHAPTER 14: JACOB PHILIPS: Lumen Gentium: The Church as Mystical Body and Communion of the Faithful
CHAPTER 15: MARIUSZ BILINIEWICZ: Liturgy: From Sacrosanctum Concilium to Sacramentum Caritas
CHAPTER 16: KATHERINE SONDEREGGER: Pope Benedict, Modernist: The Papal Encyclicals
CHAPTER 17: ANNA M. SILVAS: Ratzinger and the Fathers of the Church
CHAPTER 18: VINCENT L STRAND, SJ: 'Men of God': Pope Benedict XVI's Theology of the Priesthood
CHAPTER 19: GEORGE WEIGEL: The Papacy of Benedict XVI: Highlights and Shadows
CHAPTER 20: STEPHEN BULLIVANT: Ratzinger and Secularisation
CHAPTER 21: MAURICE AGBAW-EBAI: Ratzinger and the Johannine Concept of Logos
"Chapter22:
CHAPTER 23: MATTHEW LEVERING: Joseph Ratzinger's Jesus of Nazareth Trilogy
CHAPTER 24: AARON PIDEL: The Petrine Office and the Episcopacy
CHAPTER 25: GAVIN D'COSTA: Ratzinger: Evangelisation after Ad Gentes
CHAPTER 26: LIVIO MELINA: Conscience and Moral Truth in Joseph Ratzinger
CHAPTER 27: EMIL ANTON: Response to the Reformation Fractures
CHAPTER 28: PAUL MCPARTLAN: Ratzinger and the East-West Fracture of the Church
CHAPTER 29: JOHN CAVADINI: Ratzinger and Augustine
TRACEY ROWLAND: Epilogue