"The Virgin Mary is a great teacher of discernment,” Pope Francis said in his Wednesday general audience on Jan. 4, 2023.

“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.”

A Reflection for a Christmas Weekday, by Molly Cahill

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.

Pope Francis’ agenda appears daunting even for a younger man, but, as he has said on more than one occasion, “one governs from the head, not from the knee.”

Pope Benedict XVI's life and writings for the church show that one can be a staunch defender of order in the church’s teaching while still respecting God’s infinite love and mercy.