The Rule of Benedict

There was no neutral response to the announcement that the “enforcer,” a.k.a. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, had been elected Benedict XVI, the next pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Conservatives saw it as the final triumph of their agenda. Liberals were aghast. Everyone else wondered what to expect.

In The Rule of Benedict, award-winning religion journalist David Gibson argues that by tackling the modern world head-on Benedict XVI is gambling that he can make traditional, orthodox Catholicism the savior of contemporary society. But if the elderly Benedict fails in his battle with modernity, what will happen to one of the world’s largest religions? Gibson shows how the key decisions of this surprising papacy will profoundly impact the future of Catholicism.

David Gibson is an award-winning religion writer and a committed lay Catholic. He writes frequently about Catholicism for various newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, Boston Magazine, New York Observer, Commonweal, and America, and was the religion writer at the Newark Star-Ledger. Gibson worked in Rome and traveled with the Pope for Vatican Radio in the late 1980’s, and has recently co-written and co-produced two television documentaries on the Catholic Church for CNN. He lives in New York City.

“Gibson’s ability to provide in-depth background about church history, theology and hierarchy is of great value to lay readers. An important reference for anyone with an interest in the modern papacy.”

– Kirkus Reviews