WATCH: ‘The Papacy of Reason — Inside the Mind of Benedict XVI’

A documentary created about Benedict XVI integrates amazing archival footage and in-depth interviews, offering keen insights and fascinating facts about his life and legacy.

Pope Benedict XVI leaves his general audience at the Vatican, 16 January 2008.
Pope Benedict XVI leaves his general audience at the Vatican, 16 January 2008. (photo: Andreas Solaro / AFP/Getty)

VATICAN CITY — Shortly before Pope Benedict XVI made his apostolic visit to the United States in 2008, EWTN commissioned German philosopher and filmmaker Raphaela Schmid and myself to film and produce The Papacy of Reason — Inside the Mind of Benedict XVI — an hour-long documentary looking into the mind and teaching of the pontiff. 

Working with the news agency Rome Reports, we sought to create an overview of Benedict's life.  We examined the principal teaching themes of his pontificate and his extraordinary ability to convey the deep mysteries of the faith in an accessible and relevant way, guiding the people of God in truth and love. 

The documentary comprises interviews with key Church leaders and Vatican experts including the late US prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal William Levada, the bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, now Archbishop of Colombo, Rome’s Chief Rabbi, Riccardo Di Segni, the Irish theologian and former student of Joseph Ratzinger, Father Vincent Twomey, the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the German Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, and the Italian politician and philosopher Rocco Buttiglione. 

 

Full version:

 

Excerpts: 

 1. The Papacy of Reason — Tradition and Catechesis 


2. The Papacy of Reason — Faith and Reason in Europe and the US 


3. The Papacy of Reason — The Meaning of Life, Papal Trials 


 

 

Palestinian Christians celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at Holy Family Church in Gaza City on March 31, amid the ongoing battles Israel and the Hamas militant group.

People Explain ‘Why I Go to Mass’

‘Why go to Mass on Sundays? It is not enough to answer that it is a precept of the Church. … We Christians need to participate in Sunday Mass because only with the grace of Jesus, with his living presence in us and among us, can we put into practice his commandment, and thus be his credible witnesses.’ —Pope Francis

Palestinian Christians celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at Holy Family Church in Gaza City on March 31, amid the ongoing battles Israel and the Hamas militant group.

People Explain ‘Why I Go to Mass’

‘Why go to Mass on Sundays? It is not enough to answer that it is a precept of the Church. … We Christians need to participate in Sunday Mass because only with the grace of Jesus, with his living presence in us and among us, can we put into practice his commandment, and thus be his credible witnesses.’ —Pope Francis