{"id":14136,"date":"2016-05-09T22:11:00","date_gmt":"2016-05-09T22:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/a-masters-degree-in-the-works-of-benedict-xvi-yep-its-happening-95583\/"},"modified":"2016-05-09T22:11:00","modified_gmt":"2016-05-09T22:11:00","slug":"a-masters-degree-in-the-works-of-benedict-xvi-yep-its-happening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/05\/a-masters-degree-in-the-works-of-benedict-xvi-yep-its-happening\/","title":{"rendered":"A master’s degree in the works of Benedict XVI? Yep, it’s happening"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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Rome, Italy, May 9, 2016 \/ 04:11 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- No Catholic who wants to take an in-depth look into the faith and the reality of the Church of our time can skip the works of the \u201cTheologian Pope\u201d, Benedict XVI. To really deepen one\u2019s knowledge, or to literally become an expert in all things Joseph Ratzinger, one can begin a new master\u2019s program which began in February of this year. During two semesters at the Patristic Institute Augustinianum in Rome, the program, \u201cJoseph Ratzinger: Studies and Spirituality,\u201d teaches in eight parts the works and spirituality of the emeritus Pope. The program is offered in English and Italian, and one of its professors is Monsignor Florian Kolfhaus, who spoke with CNA about the program.<\/p>\n

\nMsgr. Kolfhaus, you teach students in the Master of Ratzinger Studies program. How did that come about?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Since I was a student in Rome, I\u2019ve known Joseph Ratzinger, and still to this day my contact with him has not broken, but has actually intensified compared to the time of his pontificate, during which I\u00a0 met with him maybe only once a year. I know the person whose theology this master\u2019s program presents. Furthermore, I have focused on Mariology for many years, which unfortunately has too few theologians devoted to it in the German-speaking world. I think that both are reasons why the Augustinianum \u2013 the institute for patristic studies in Rome \u2013 asked me to present Ratzinger\u2019s thoughts on Mary. Furthermore another topic is: the Spirit, charisms, and the Church.<\/p>\n

For whom is this program intended? Who would enjoy it, or benefit from it?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The program is pertinent to anyone interested in studying theology \u2013 regardless of which author someone especially admires. It\u2019s not a \u201cRatzinger Fan Club,\u201d but rather about joy in the \u201csacred discipline\u201d that makes an offer to the mind to better understand the faith. Just as there are many spiritualities, so too are there many theologies. Insofar as they don\u2019t contradict doctrine, they are legitimate. The theological \u201cmenu\u201d should be abundant, and Joseph Ratzinger can\u2019t be missing from it. The master\u2019s program has proven to be popular among European and American students, but unfortunately there are no German students.<\/p>\n

What do the students expect?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The expectations are as varied as the countries of origin and vocations of the students. It is an international program with priests, seminarians, sisters, and laity. They all know that one of the greatest theologians of the 20th century became Pope. They know the documents and speeches from Benedict XVI, but are now interested in what he thought, said, and wrote as a scholar in the decades prior to his papacy. Many search for a solid theology and discover with Ratzinger not only his \u201cfavorites\u201d \u2013 Augustine and Bonaventure \u2013 but also Thomas Aquinas and other great classics. Ratzinger is a brilliant starting point for them.<\/p>\n

How is the response thus far? Is the offer catching on?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The offer has been so well received that the lecture hall is filled to the last seat. There are actually two programs \u2013 one in English and another in Italian. Both are, so to say, \u201cbooked up.\u201d The students want good theology, and \u201chunger\u201d for texts that offer more than an information-rich, historical-critical analysis. So there is a true \u201cRatzinger renaissance,\u201d still in the lifetime of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Only a few years after his resignation, not only are important topics being discussed but also theological methods \u2013 like the allegorical or typological interpretation of Sacred Scripture \u2013 are being enthusiastically rediscovered. I am sure that this master\u2019s program has a future and I would hope that other universities would adopt this program\u2019s curriculum.<\/p>\n

For someone who does not want to start a master\u2019s now, but is interested in studying the most important works of Joseph Ratzinger, what works would you recommend?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

As a Mariologist, I would of course recommend Daughter Zion<\/em><\/a>. This short work is about the mother of Jesus, but at the same time it is also about the Church. In Mary, the Church can view herself \u2013 like looking in a mirror \u2013 in order to understand more deeply who she is. The Church is the important theme of Ratzinger, and he always shows that this mystery leads in turn to Christ, whose body is His people on earth. Ratzinger shows in all of his works that no mystery of the faith is isolated from another. Everything forms a harmonious unity, a nexus mysteriorum<\/em>. Whoever pulls a book with his works off the shelf finds his way from page to page deeper and deeper into the manifold mysterium<\/em> of the one faith. I also want to recommend the many lectures of Ratzinger, which are relatively short yet all the more dense, as an introduction to the reading.<\/p>\n

What meaning does Joseph Ratzinger have for the interpretation of the Second Vatican Council?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Pope Benedict XVI coined the term \u201chermeneutic of continuity,\u201d which has since been essential for the interpretation of Vatican II. He himself took part in the Council as a theological advisor and knows not only the texts but also their history of development. In his speech to the Chilean bishops in 1988, which is not yet published in the Opera Omnia, he already said that the last council is no \u201csuperdogma\u201d that placed everything preceding it in the shadows. How different is the widespread characterization of the council documents as milestones of a \u201cCopernican Revolution.\u201d For decades, an interpretation of the Council as a fraction in the Church has reigned in many places, which has allowed a new chronology beginning with the Council to come into existence. It is one of Ratzinger\u2019s great merits for this to not be followed in the mainstream. That also earned him \u2013 as we know \u2013 not only friends, but also enemies.<\/p>\n

You are a Mariologist. Is Joseph Ratzinger Marian?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mariology as such is a minor topic in Joseph Ratzinger\u2019s theology. Yet he is absolutely Marian. In his private chapel, there is a wonderful life-size statue of the Patroness of Bavaria, before whom a candle always burns. He once said to the sodality of the Regensburg congregation, \u201cBeing Catholic means being Marian.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Translated from German by R. Andrew Krema.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

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Rome, Italy, May 9, 2016 \/ 04:11 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- No Catholic who wants to take an in-depth look into the faith and the reality of the Church of our time can skip the works of the “Theologian Pope”, Benedict XVI. To really deepen one&rs…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-europe"],"yoast_head":"\nA master's degree in the works of Benedict XVI? Yep, it's happening<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rome, Italy, May 9, 2016 \/ 04:11 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- No Catholic who wants to take an in-depth look into the faith and the reality of the Church of our time can skip the works of the “Theologian Pope”, Benedict XVI. 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