Pope Benedict XVI was a renowned theologian, a “recognized authority,” who left “a rich legacy of studies and research on the fundamental truths of the faith,” said the official summary of his life and papacy.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will allow retail pharmacies to offer abortion pills in the United States for the first time, prompting criticism from Catholic and pro-life groups.

“Benedict XVI did theology on his knees,” the pope wrote in the book’s introduction. “His explanation of the faith was carried out with the devotion of a man who has surrendered all of himself to God.”

Archbishop Georg Gaenswein’s “Nothing but the Truth: My Life Beside Pope Benedict XVI” is being published this month by the Piemme imprint of Italian publishing giant Mondadori.

Zen was elevated to cardinal by Benedict in 2006, which he said signaled the pope’s focus on China.

Though he is criticized for the sexual abuse crisis in the church during his papacy, Benedict XVI did more than anyone before him to turn the Vatican around on clergy sexual abuse.