Light of the World: The Pope, The Church, and the Signs of the Times

Product Description

Never has a Pope, in a book-length interview, dealt so directly with such wide-ranging and controversial issues as Pope Benedict XVI does in “Light of the World.” Taken from a week-long series of interviews with veteran journalist Peter Seewald, this open and engaging conversation tackles head-on some of the greatest issues facing the world in our time. Benedict XVI is candid about the problems and the solutions to such forthright questions as:

What caused the clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church?
Was there a “cover up”?
Have you considered resigning?
Is the idea of progress fundamentally flawed?
Does affirming the goodness of the human body mean a plea for “better sex”?
Can there be a genuine dialogue with Islam?
Should the Church rethink Catholic teaching on priestly celibacy, women priests, contraception, and same-sex relationships?
What about Holy Communion for divorced-and-remarried Catholics?
Is there a schism in the Catholic Church?
Should there be a Third Vatican Council?
Is there any hope for Christian unity?
Is Christianity the only truth?
Can the Pope really speak for Jesus Christ?
Is there a “dictatorship of relativism” today?

Twice before these two men held wide-ranging discussions, which became the best-selling books “Salt of the Earth” and “God and the World.” Then, Seewald’s discussion partner was Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Vatican’s chief doctrinal office. Now Joseph Ratzinger is Pope Benedict XVI, the spiritual leader of the world’s over one billion Catholics. Though Seewald now interviews the Pope himself, the journalist “pulls no punches”, posing some of the thorniest questions any Pope has had to address. Believers and unbelievers will be fascinated to hear Benedict’s thoughtful, straightforward and thought-provoking replies. This is no stern preachment or ponderous theological tract, but a lively, fast-paced, challenging, even entertaining exchange.