Without Roots: The West, Relativism, Christianity, Islam »

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under the late Pope John Paul II, and has long been regarded as one of the most profound Catholic theological and spiritual writers of our times. His numerous books include God and the World, Introduction to Christianity, Salt of the Earth, and The Spirit of Liturgy. Marcello Pera, a professor of the philosophy of science at the University of Pisa, is also President of the Italian Senate. He lives in Italy.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger-now Pope Benedict XVI-joins Marcello Pera, President of the Italian Senate, to offer a provocative critique of the spiritual, cultural, and political crisis afflicting the West

Library Journal

Two timely essays, one by Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, and the other by Marcello Pera (philosophy of science, emeritus, Univ. of Pisa, Italy), the president of the Italian senate, appear in this slim book, which also includes two letters that the authors exchanged. Originally presented as lectures in May 2004-Pera spoke at the Pontifical Lateran College of the Papal University, while Ratzinger addressed the Italian senate at Pera's invitation-the essays represent an unexpected convergence of neoconservative thinking on Europe's rejection of its spiritual foundations. Both authors oppose relativism as undermining Europe's identity, leaving Islam to fill a void. Pera, a secularist nonbeliever, offers reasons for adopting a Christian-based civil religion. Ratzinger reviews the sweep of Europe's history to demonstrate its present condition while advocating Christianity as a "creative minority" (a concept borrowed from British historian Arnold Toynbee). Americans will find that Ratzinger's analysis of church-state relations in the United States versus those in Europe shows a clear understanding of world historical movements. An unlikely duo, the authors should be read in academic circles as the European Union considers its own identity and new constitution. Recommended.-Anna M. Donnelly, St. John's Univ. Lib., New York Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.