Covenant and Communion

Covenant and Communion: The Biblical Theology of Pope Benedict XVI by Scott Hahn, 196 pages

In Covenant and Communion, Scott Hahn seeks to explicate key features of Joseph Ratzinger's lifetime of theological work, both before and after becoming Pope.  Hahn's essay has three primary areas of investigation - his view of theology, his approach to Scripture, and his understanding of the nature of the Church.  These three are, of course, interrelated - indeed, it is Hahn's theme that, for Benedict, the three are, or should be, entirely interdependent.  Theology must begin, and constantly refer back to, the deposit of faith.  Scripture cannot be properly appreciated or understood separate from the creeds and liturgy of the Church.  The Church is rooted in and renewed by her encounter with the Word in Scripture and sacrament, her understanding formed by the contributions of her faithful theologians.

Hahn stresses that Benedict's work does not represent a retreat from modernity.  To the contrary, Benedict's work flows out of the Second Vatican Council.  Far from being an obscurantist flight from the world, it is Benedict's claim that his emphasis on continuity rather than rupture, faith instead of suspicion, communion rather than private interpretation, possesses greater explanatory power than the alternatives.