3 Stars equal 3 Reasons why you need this book!

There are three reasons why you need to read the "Ratzinger Report":

1. If you want to know the state of the Catholic Church from it's top "German Shepherd" whose voaction consisted of keeping the Catholicity of the faith: read this book!

2. If you don't want to know the state of the Catholic Church, well, that's your problem: read this book!

3. If you haven't heard before,
the whole problem of the Catholic Church,
is that we are all part of it,
and if we are all part of the whole problem,
that means we are also part of the whole solution
therefore: read this book!

Moderate Modernist

"They are blind and their leaders are blind. And when the blind lead the blind they all fall into the pit."(Gospel of Matthew)
This statement of Christ in the Gospel of Matthew can truly be the motto of many church leaders since Vatican II including Ratzinger now Pope Benedict XVI. The radical modernists, as one reviewer, has stated have done a great disservice to Cardinal Ratzinger in protraying him as a "hardliner" and as a "strict conservative", when in reality Ratzinger is a disciple of Karl Rahner( a historical fact as seen in Milestones), albeit a conservative disciple as opposed to the radical disciple Hans Kung. Ratzinger, as such, is a product of the Vatican II revolution and still has not learned the real "true spirit of Vatican II". Cardinal Giuseppe Siri knew it when he said that "If the Church was not divine, then Vatican II would have destroyed here." This is the real "true spirit of Vatican II", a state of apostasy something Benedict XVI has immediatly ignored in his promotion of the religious relativism presupposing ecumenism and interreligious dialogue. It is simply a matter of "common sense". If the church was not in a state of apostasy before Vatican II but now is(from the radical decline in priests, seminaries, and Catholic faith) then it is necessary to return to doing the things that existed before the Vatican II revolution such as actually propagating the Catholic faith to everyone without limits. But becuase the agents and supporters of Vatican II are too prideful to admit this necessity the situation will continue on as before and the Vatican II revolution will be promoted come hell or high water. It is as such, that we come back to the verse from the bible mentioned above. All the Vatican II churches will have to be empty until Vatican II is realized for the failure that it is. True Catholics will be waiting until then and they will be ready. Until then everyone should know that "Heaven and earth will pass away but my word will never pass away." That word of Christ is the Catholic faith, which from contraception to the necessity of masculinity for the sacrament of holy orders will never pass away

Powerful and timely

One of the best lines about the new Pope I have heard so far is "guess what-he's a Catholic".
The Ratzinger Report offers insight into this great man, his philosophy, his faith and his vision.
In this book Cardinal Ratzinger expresses his concerns about the modern world. Although I am in not complete agreement with all of his ideas (such as his opinions of liberation theology which although his criticisms of it are well taken I believe the churches stand could have been modified could have been modified to accommodateboth a continuation of the struggle for the poor of Latin America while at the same time condemning Marxism) he presents them well. This book show a man dedicated to preserving the main essence of Catholicism and to continue to make it a refuge and alternative to the excesses of the modern world while at the same time building bridges of understanding to other faiths. It seems as though some of the most important "bridge-buiding projects" that the church will have to undertake is not with other religions or some exotic lands but to the West which actively does its best not to understand the Catholic church and obscure its message.
The book is a both a call of alarm and a message of hope. I believe hope is the quality that shines through most in this book.
One of the great messages of this book is that Catholicism is a faith not dictated by a hierarchy but a dialogue between the clergy and the faithful. These are not sentiments that would be expressed by a "hard liner". This book show the new Pope to be not the rigid conservative many have unfairly made him out to be.
Everyone seems to have an opinion on this new Pope. I suggest that anyone with a fair mind who wishes to express an opinion about the new Pope have an informed opinion and read this book.