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Rating: 
Summary: A good read overall.
Review: Given the scathing reviews Allen's book has recieved by vehement critics, one would get the impression that he has nothing at all positive to say about Ratzinger. On the contrary, Allen believes Ratzinger "is not the vengeful, power-obsessed old man who lurks like a bogyman in the imaginations of the Catholic left". With regard to Ratzinger's thought, Allen finds that his "arguments are more than ex post facto rationalizations for exercises of authority" and speaks of "a deep, logical consistency to [his] vision". Indeed, Allen is so impressed with Ratzinger that he exclaims "in the unlikely event I ever had access to Ratzinger as a personal confesser, I would not hesitate to open my heart to him, so convinced I am of the clarity of his insight, his integrity, and his commitment to the priesthood" -- sentiments which might be denounced as treasonous or dismissed as insane by some on the Catholic left. (Picture a conservative saying the same claim about Hans Kung).Allen's prevalently liberal audience will be reassured by the fact that his praises for Ratzinger as a person fail to carry over to Ratzinger's role as doctrinal prefect. One doesn't have to read far to note that on every issue from contraception to women's ordination to liberation theology he comes down squarely opposed, and remains just as steadfast in his convictions as the cardinal is in his. There are many aspects about John Allen's book with which I disagree. Granted, we could expect something of a much different tone had this been written by one of Ratzinger's ardent supporters (Father Joseph Fessio or Cardinal Schonborn). Nevertheless, I believe we should respect Allen's account for what it is: an honest (and so far as I have noticed, unparalleled) attempt by a liberal Catholic to appreciate the person and thought of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. (No doubt others will disagree with my impression -- I say read the book and judge for yourself). Finally, two poignant observations by John, L. Allen himself: "Reaction to Ratzinger is often uncritical, driven more by emotion and instinct than sober reflection. Progressives do not read his books, they disregard his public statements, and they assume every position he takes is based on power politics. Conservatives revere most of what he says as holy writ, often spouting mindlessly without penetrating to the principle or value he seeks at stake. Neither response takes Ratzinger seriously. * * * The problem with political arguments in contemporary Catholicism is that too often the disagreeing parties talk past one another, having very little intellectual common ground upon which to base the discussion. . . . Neither is willing to spend the intellectual effort to understand the concerns that drive their thoughts, the arguments that have led them to the conclusions they hold, the alternatives they have considered and rejected." This is certainly advice which any Catholic, regardless of his personal and ideological convictions, can take to heart and follow.
Rating: 
Summary: Wish We Still Had the Index...
Review: I gave my wrong email address before: it is jhughes93@hotmail.com. This book should be on the Index in Rome; no good can come of it.
Rating: 
Summary: A Somewhat Wandering Account
Review: I purchased this book in the hope that I would obtain a clearer understanding of Cardinal Ratzinger in terms of his role and significance during the last twenty years. However I have to say that while there is lots of information in this book along with stories and anecdotes, it fails to deliver in terms of a substantive analysis of the church since vatican II and where the church will be as we move further into this the 21st century. At the conclusion of the book Allen hinges his critical description of the Cardinal in terms of the next conclave including a list of reasons why Ratzinger will not be Pope. If that is not enough he then goes further to sujest that in the event that he is wrong and Ratzinger does become Pope all of the difficulties he would envisage with such a papacy. The issues which he attampts to examine are far to complex in nature to be benchmarked of nothing other than his own futuristic and prophetic beliefs. Sorry to be so negetive.
Rating:
Summary: A Bad Joke
Review: John Allen is a journalist who apparently has neither the inclination nor aptitude for scholarly analysis on any topic - and lacks even even the supposedly central virtue of his calling: objectivity. Are we really supposed to believe that he can offer an evenhanded account of a man whom he has spent the better part of fifteen years bitterly criticizing in the periodical he works for? If James Carville claimed to have written an objective, balanced biography of George W. Bush would you believe him? Allen lacks the critical distance necessary for a reasonable account. Cardinal Ratzinger's job is to defend the integrity and continuity of Catholic doctrine in a turbulent age. He rightly conceives his role in the context of 20 centuries of belief and practice, and is loath to throw caution to the winds to salve the political conscience of Mr. Allen and his associates. The Cardinal has a responsibility to the world's one billion Catholics now, as well as an obligation to the billions of Catholics yet to be born, not to make hasty or ill-considered decisions. He understands the gravity of his position and the need for circumspection and deliberation - Mr. Allen is oblivious to these concerns. Allen fails to provide historical context, fails to explain the motivation of his subject in his subject's own terms and fails to understand what his subject is trying to accomplish. This intellectual shallowness, coupled with his evident ignorance of theology, scriptural criticism, ecclesiastical history and philosophical discourse as well as his deep-seated personal animus against the Cardinal and all orthodox Catholics make Mr. Allen signally inadequate for the task he sets himself. No wonder he fails miserably. I agree with the previous reviewer - one would be better advised to read the written works of the Cardinal, rather than this sad little hatchet job, if one wants insight into the man and his thought.
Rating: 
Summary: Even Handed Study of a Controvertial Figure
Review: John Allen is to be commended for his biography of Cardinal Ratzinger. It is difficult to write objectively about living, controvertial figures and even more so in the case of powerful religious figures. Emotions can run high, even to the boiling point. Some readers might expect a "hatchet job" of the Prefect of the CDF by a writer for the "National Catholic Reporter", which is a prominently liberal newspaper, but only someone blinded by partisanship could consider this carefully researched and written book to be anything but thoughtful and even handed. Allen read all of Ratzinger's works and many collateral books and conducted dozens of interviews in preparation for this study. He is at present NCR's resident editor in Rome. Allen is also an unusually well-read and well-informed practicing Catholic who genuinely tries to understand the points of view of his subjects. He raises difficult questions, as is his proper role, and, in my opinion, sometimes gives Ratzinger the benefit of the doubt when a sterner view would be justified but he provides a tremendous amount of valuable information and references so the reader can do his or her own research. This is the mark of a serious biographer and not a polemicist. John Allen's "Cardinal Ratzinger" is an important and scholarly contribution to our understanding of this powerful figure in the present-day Catholic hierarchy. It deserves to be read.
Rating:
Summary: Even Handed Study of a Controvertial Figure
Review: John Allen is to be commended for his biography of Cardinal Ratzinger. It is difficult to write objectively about living, controvertial figures and even more so in the case of powerful religious figures. Emotions can run high, even to the boiling point. Some readers might expect a "hatchet job" of the Prefect of the CDF by a writer for the "National Catholic Reporter", which is a prominently liberal newspaper, but only someone blinded by partisanship could consider this carefully researched and written book to be anything but thoughtful and even handed. Allen read all of Ratzinger's works and many collateral books and conducted dozens of interviews in preparation for this study. He is at present NCR's resident editor in Rome. Allen is also an unusually well-read and well-informed practicing Catholic who genuinely tries to understand the points of view of his subjects. He raises difficult questions, as is his proper role, and, in my opinion, sometimes gives Ratzinger the benefit of the doubt when a sterner view would be justified but he provides a tremendous amount of valuable information and references so the reader can do his or her own research. This is the mark of a serious biographer and not a polemicist. John Allen's "Cardinal Ratzinger" is an important and scholarly contribution to our understanding of this powerful figure in the present-day Catholic hierarchy. It deserves to be read.
Rating: 
Summary: The paradoxes of the 2nd most powerful Catholic official
Review: Joseph Ratzinger, as Prefect (head) of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is essentially the Vatican's top 'heresy cop' and the most powerful Catholic official other than the Pope. Ratzinger began his career as a liberal theologian, and in 1968 abruptly became an ultraconservative, after Marxist protesters repeatedly invaded his classroom at a German university. Thus we have the paradox of the pre-1968 Ratzinger being diametrically opposed to the post-1968 Ratzinger, who has gone to great lengths to make Catholic doctrine more traditional and to eliminate dissent. This book is largely an analysis of Ratzinger's writings, which is a roundabout way of getting to know someone, and parts of it are rather dry reading. Readers may feel frustration that they are not really getting an intimate sense of what Ratzinger, the man, is like. Much of the book is devoted to tangents: We learn much about Nazi-Catholic relations, we trace the careers of Ratzinger's favorite students, and we are immersed in the teachings of theologians he has attacked. Those with an interest in the Vatican's inner workings might prefer "Conclave," by the same author, or "Inside the Vatican" by Thomas Reese, both of which are easier to digest. Despite its dry spells, this book does an excellent job of conveying the enormous gap between official Catholic doctrine versus what lay Catholics really believe. Ratzinger favors a return to the 1950s when the Mass was in Latin, divorce and birth control were unthinkable, and laypeople accepted official teaching out of blind obedience. Ratzinger believes that the Catholic church's purpose is not to see how many people it can attract, but rather to protect the integrity of its doctrine, even if this causes the pews to be empty in the short term. Many mainstream Catholic readers will be surprised at how Ratzinger has intentionally widened the gap between official Vatican doctrine and the beliefs of ordinary Catholics.
Rating:
Summary: The Ratzinger Rebuttal
Review: Mr. Allen, a journalist with the National Catholic Reporter, promises in the preface to offer a fair handed assessment of Cardinal Ratzinger's life, theology and Vatican career. As a gesture of good faith, he informs the reader at the outset that he is a post Vatican II product of American Catholicism and sympathizes with the liberal left. After putting his cards on the table, he makes an additional show of fairness by noting that several of Cardinal Ratzinger's opponents have made mention of the Cardinal's genteel personality. The next 314 pages consist of a partisan indictment masquerading as a biography of the Cardinal. Mr. Allen sides with seemingly every liberal reform movement in the Church and considers Rome's resistance to liberation theology, feminism, gayism, (and every other "-ism" associated with the leftist crusade to save Catholicism from its oppressive, patriarchal tradition) as a mindless attempt to hold on to power. Mr. Allen evidently believes that neo-Marxism could have saved Latin America, if only the Church had jumped on board. He does not appear to be bothered by the fact that three priests held cabinet positions in the Sandinista regime (Nicaragua's failed stint with Castro-style communism), or that theologians like Sobrino believe that Castro's Cuba represents the instantiation of the Kingdom of God. Cardinal Ratzinger and Pope John Paul II are continuously criticized for their failure to comprehend that salvation is a matter of socialist reform and instead persist in clinging to a vertical-spiritual soteriology. It is not surprising that liberal luminary Fr. Andrew Greeley (sociologist) describes this counterfeit biography as "cautious, objective, and fair." Implicit in Mr. Allen's political assumptions is the faddish epistemological relativism that undergirds nearly all of the assaults from the left. It is a testament to the author's self-assured moral superiority that at no point does he demonstrate even the slightest awareness of the epistemological flaws inherent in his position, their historical genesis, or their disastrous implications. If any one is interested in understanding Cardinal Ratzinger's theology, simply read what he has to say. Unlike much of the writing that poses as post-modern theological chic these days, the Cardinal's books are clear, orthodox and unobstructed by nomenclature
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