Let God's Light Shine Forth: The Spiritual Vision of Pope Benedict XVI

When Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope in April 2005, he had long been the second most powerful man in the Vatican, but his own writings had often been overlooked. This sampler of those writings--doubtless the first of many such collections--promises to give readers a taste of the theology and teachings of the man who is now Pope Benedict XVI. After a helpful biographical essay by Moynihan, the founder and editor of Inside the Vatican magazine, the book dashes through excerpts spanning Ratzinger's whole career, from his earliest days as a young professor to his first utterance as pope. Since these excerpts are undated and Moynihan gives them no historical context, the book is more useful as a devotional text than as a window into the evolution of Ratzinger's spiritual development. In any case, it would be useful to have an index that could help readers find the specific topics addressed here (Christmas, Islam, poverty, marriage, in vitro fertilization, pride, Easter, etc.). However, the reflections are loosely grouped in very general topical chapters and organized with helpful subheads. The readings are short, usually just a paragraph or two long, and representative of a wide variety of spiritual and social issues. Readers who are eager for a taste of the new pope's stance on topics like Protestant-Catholic relations, cloning, or the liturgy will enjoy leafing through this compilation.