Table of Contents

Growing up in Hitler's shadow; an erstwhile liberal; drang nach rom; the poor you will always have with you; civil rights; wars of religion; a new reformation.

About the Author

John Allen is still the Rome bureau chief for the National Catholic Reporter and CNN's on-camera expert on the death of JP II and the elction of the new pope. He is the author of the definitive Enlish-language biography of Cardinal Ratzinger (Cardinal Ratzinger: The Vatican's Enforcer of the Faith, Continuum, 2000). Since then he has published 2 books with Doubleday: Conlave: The Politics, Personalities, and Process of the Next Papal Election (2002) and All the Pope's Men: The Inside Story of How the Vatican Really Thinks (2004). From 1993-96, he ran the journalism program at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California. During that time the student newspaper consistently ranked in the top ten in the nation and dozens of his students won national writing awards. He holds an M.A. in religious studies from the University of Kansas.

Reviews

'an interesting contribution to the debate....John Allen...has penned an informative and invaluable contribution to our understanding of the mind and opinions of the man who is now our pope.' 03/09/2006
*Catholic Times*

"Full of important information about Ratzinger's career and changes of position...his most original contribution is to argue that Ratzinger sometimes promotes views even more conservative than the Pope's." --The New York Review of Books

"Meticulously researched...Allen has provided a fairly evenhanded account of a key leader in the Catholic Church today." --St. Anthony Messenger

"Allen has thoroughly researched this biography, and [...] there is much material of interest which has not previously been published or cited in English...Without doubt it is important".- Laudetur, June MMI

"...this book is the first biography of Ratzinger in English, and probably the only one written prior to the papal election of 2005...the book is an excellent introduction to the underlying theological concerns of Ratzinger in his role as prefect of the CDF...this book is also an excellent historical survey of the division and controversies that have divided the Catholic church, especially in North America, in the post-conciliar world." -Catholic Books Review, 2005
*Catholic Books Review*

"...easy to read, engaging, and helpful. Comprehensive introduction to his life - nothing else like it available." - About.com, September 2005

"John L. Allen's work stands out because he has mobilised the skills of a good reporter...Allen is illuminating and intelligent." - FT, September 2005

"A terrific writer who is well informed in theology and church history, Allen skillfully navigates the ideological and political controversies of the last 20th-century church."-Publishers Weekly

"In this absorbing study John Allen, Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, expounds and explores Ratzinger's theology and highlights the central concerns that have so significantly shaped Catholicism during the pontificate of John Paul II...Quite apart form the intrinsic fascination (and readability) of this study of so significant a figure in contemporary Catholicism, there are real challenges here for all Christians, and not least Anglicans, who seek to affirm, to pray and to live out the historic revealed Christian faith in so challenging and pluralist a world."--New Directions

"It is not just because of the position he has occupied since 1981 as head of what used to be the Holy Office that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is a key figure in the development of the Roman Catholic Church since Vatican II...John L. Allen puts us all in his debt by tracing how this has come about...The resulting book is essential reading."--Church Times

"An honest...unparalleled...attempt by a liberal Catholic to appreciate the person and thought of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger."--TCR News on www.bigbrother.net

"One would not buy a used theology manual from [Ratzinger], or entrust him with the theological education of one's daughter."-Peter Hebblethwaite

'...journalism of the highest quality.'
*Downside Review, The*

Book mention in the Sunday Times, 24/09/2006
*Sunday Times*

'an informative and invaluable contribution to our understanding of the mind and opinons of the man who is now our pope'
*The Universe*

"'A fair and unfailingly interesting account of one of the most controversial figures in religion today' The Irish Times 'Elegantly written and throughout its eight chapters engages one's interest. It never indulges in facile stereotypes. While being critical, Allen fully respects Ratzinger's stature as a theologian and intellectual. With verve, he traces the formation of one of the most controversial prelates in recent times' The Furrow 'We needed a book which was well researched, informative and analytic, adequately critical, yet thoroughly and determinedly fair. John Allen has given us just such a book' The Tablet 'Full of important information about Ratzinger career and changes of position... his most original contribution is to argue that Ratzinger sometimes promotes views even more conservative than the Pope's.' New York Review of Books 'It is not just because of the position he has occupied since 1981 as head of what used to be the Holy Office that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is a key figure in the development of the Roman Catholic Church since Vatican II... John L. Allen puts us all in his debt by tracing how this has come about... The resulting book is essential reading.' Church Times"