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Many refer to Pope Benedict XVI as "the Mozart of Theology." Who are the thinkers who have informed his theology? What events, and which religious devotions, have shaped his personality? This study attempts to shed light on the unifying melody of the policies and positions of a pontificate charged with spiritual and theological depth.

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Introduction: The Christocentric Shift PART I: ESTABLISHING THE CHRISTOCENTRIC VISION Highlights of a Lifelong Ministry Personality and Temperament Formative Early Encounters as a Seminarian: Personal Existentialism Grounded in Jesus Christ Graduate Studies in Munich His Language and Style Academic Teacher: Truth as Person Pastor to ´Radical Christians´: The Catholic Integrated Community PART II: JESUS CHRIST: GOD´S SELF-DISCLOSURE The Beginnings of His Theology The Inaugural Lecture in 1959 Jesus Christ, the Sovereign, Unsurpassable Revealer of Revelation The Question of Faith in the World The Unity of the Old and New Testaments The Biblical Basis of Christology A Twentieth-Century Classic: Introduction to Christianity Christ and the Pursuit of Happiness: Safeguarding the Non-Disponibility of Christ PART III: THE CHURCH: THE CHRIST-FILLED REALM Communio: Christian Brotherhood and the Church as One Reality Christ and the Church Christ and Ecumenical Dialogue An Ecclesiological Dispute at the Turn of the Millennium Jesus Christ as the Unifying Ecclesial Reality Being Christ to Others Christ and Freedom: Evangelization Christian Brotherhood: Entering into Jesus Christ´s Earthly Ineffability The Liturgy: Christ-Filled Worship The Transparency of Christ and Christians: The Liturgy Regensburg: Provocation or Jesus Christ as the Basis for Civilized Discourse?: Jesus Christ as the Reconciler of Faith and Reason Jesus Christ, the Definer and Personification of the Eschaton Mary: In Christ, the First Free Human Being Epilogue: Jesus Christ Offering the World Identity and Meaning

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"Pope Benedict XVI´s theological work and his pastoral and spiritual writings are here placed in the perspective of the mystery of Christ. Father Emery de Gaál has beautifully and exhaustively clarified the fundamental interpretative key to the Ratzinger texts and to the life of Pope Benedict XVI." - Francis Cardinal George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago

"He was already one of the most important theologians of the past century before his election to the papacy as Benedict XVI in this century. But now Joseph Ratzinger must count as perhaps the most important postconciliar theologian, bar none. de Gaál gives us the most comprehensive study of the pope´s theology now available. But even more, he places the pope´s thought in the context of the revolution in Catholic theology that started well before Vatican II and has continued on to this day: the revolution that abandoned neoscholasticism and shifted its focus to Christology. That story is indeed a dramatic one, and here it is dramatically and comprehensively told. This book is a ´must purchase´ for every theological library - and for all admirers of that perhaps greatest of great theologians, Joseph Ratzinger." - Fr. Edward T. Oakes, S. J., Chester & Margaret Paluch Professor of Theology, University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary

"Father de Gaál´s work is indispensable for anyone who wishes to understand the Christocentric shift in the papacies of John Paul II and Benedict XVI and in contemporary theological anthropology generally. It is the deepest analysis of the topic currently available." - Tracey Rowland, Professor and Dean, John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family, Melbourne, Australia

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