At a conference presenting the 13th volume of BXVI's complete works, participants highlighted his communication skills and his false reputation for harshness.
Pope Benedict XVI was a “great communicator” through his articles, books, and interviews, said Fr. Federico Lombardi at a conference held in Rome on November 21, 2024. The late pontiff recognized this as his gift, telling Fr. Lombardi that "telling the story of faith in today's world, in relation to today's culture" was what he knew how to do.
The occasion for the event was the publication of the 13th volume of the complete works (Opera Omnia) of the German pope and theologian, by the Vatican Printing House (Libreria Editrice Vaticana).
This 13th volume of Joseph Ratzinger's Opera Omnia brings together interviews given by the German theologian to various media outlets between 1969 and 2004. This includes his first known interview, given to the Kleine Zeitung four years after the end of the Second Vatican Council, under the title “Openness must be maintained.”
Many of these interviews, mainly intended for the German-language press — notably the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Die Tagespost, and the German edition of L'Osservatore Romano — had never been translated into Italian or published in book form.
Benedict XVI: A great communicator
At the presentation conference, Fr. Federico Lombardi, president of the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Foundation, acknowledged that Benedict XVI is often seen as more shy than his predecessor John Paul II, who was more at ease in “dealing with the masses.” Benedict is also presented as more reserved than his successor Francis, who lends himself to “selfies and other forms of communication.”
Nevertheless, the German pope was also, in his own way, “a great communicator,” says the Jesuit.
Cardinal Ratzinger was in fact the first prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to grant numerous interviews. He refused no question, and each time offered “deep, ordered, thoughtful content” that was accessible to everyone, not just theologians, explained Father Lombardi, who was Benedict XVI's spokesman from 2006 to 2013.
“He wrote many books and technical articles and took part in many conferences, but he also made a conscious choice to speak to the general public through these interviews,” Fr. Lombardi clarified.
He explained that the Pope Emeritus had supported the publication of this volume by selecting the texts he deemed most significant.
“I knew that if I had one strength, it was that of telling the story of faith in today's world, in relation to today's culture. That's what I knew how to do,” Benedict XVI had told Fr. Lombardi.
The former spokesman also mentioned the book-interviews given by the German pontiff, who would free himself up for entire days in order to focus on the answers he would give.
In particular, the Italian Jesuit mentioned that Benedict XVI's comments in his book Light of the World, published in 2010, represented a form of preparation for his resignation, effective three years later, in 2013.
The relationship between Küng and Ratzinger
Archbishop Georg Gänswein, former secretary to Benedict XVI, explained that German theologian Hans Küng (1928-2021) is “the source” of the reputation for harshness attributed to Joseph Ratzinger, nicknamed the “Panzerkardinal” or “God's Rottweiler.”
Various speakers recalled Joseph Ratzinger's great sensitivity towards others, contrasting with the reputation for harshness peddled by certain media currents often linked to Hans Küng.
Archbishop Gänswein, now apostolic nuncio to the Baltic States, recalled that the relationship between Hans Küng and Joseph Ratzinger had deteriorated after they became colleagues at the University of Tübingen.
Jealous of Ratzinger's writing ability and growing aura, his former colleague gradually became “very dry” with him.
“Over time, he sought to move to a different level, from theological disputes to polemics,” recounted Benedict XVI's former secretary. Even so, the German pope received his famous opponent for a long visit at Castel Gandolfo in 2005.
“Joseph Ratzinger had no enemies,” said Bishop Gänswein, explaining that his “intellectual sincerity” had nonetheless led him to firmly reject the positions of his former colleague.
Almost two years after the death of the Pope Emeritus, the Ratzinger Foundation is continuing its work on a nearly exhaustive edition of texts written by the German theologian before, during, and after his pontificate.
Another book containing previously unpublished homilies by Benedict XVI, delivered as Pope Emeritus in the privacy of the Mater Ecclesiae monastery where he retired after May 2013, is due to be published in spring 2025.
