Benedict XVI: Last Testament in his own words with Peter Seewald

Do we ever live in interesting times.  We have two men walking around in the white cassock.  One refers to himself as the Pope, the other as Pope Emeritus.  Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has recently published his last book entitled: Benedict XVI: Last Testament in his own words with Peter Seewald.  The whole book is an interview with Peter Seewald.  He’s published a few of these Peter Seewald interview books in the past, but this one will be his last book of any kind.  The only thing that he will write going forward is his Sunday sermons which probably won’t be published.  He states this in the first few pages of the book.

The first portion of the book discusses his early life growing up.  Nothing much interesting is said until Chapter 8 which is titled: Vatican II: A Dream and a Trauma.  Anyone who has studied Vatican II knows that it was hijacked in the earliest days.  Seewald asks about his leading role in the ‘coup meeting’.  Pope Benedict answers: “To call it a ‘coup meeting’ is too strong.”  He goes on to elaborate that he helped steer the council in an unintended direction.

On page 136, Seewald asks an interesting question.  In a section regarding Pope Paul VI, Seewald says:

You once criticized him heavily when he was Pope and you a professor in Regensburg, because he had not only suspended the use of the old Missal, but immediately forbade it.

Pope Benedict responds:

‘Heavily’ is too strong, I think.

I find it interesting that Pope Benedict does not argue with Seewald’s statement that the old missal was forbidden by Pope Paul VI.  The only explanation is that he agrees with what Seewald said and therefore didn’t see fit to correct him.  One can only conclude that Pope Benedict viewed this suppression as canonically illegal since he states in Summorum Pontificum that the old Missal was never abrogated.

On the last page of Chapter 8, Seewald asks the big question:

Was it a mistake to convoke the Council at all?

Pope Benedict responds:

No, it was right for sure.  One can ask whether it was necessary or not, OK.  And from the outset there were people who were against it.  But in itself it was a moment in the Church when you were simply waiting on something new, on a renewal, a renewal of the whole.  This was not to be something coming only from Rome, but a new encounter with the worldwide Church.  In that respect the time was simply nigh.

It was right for sure but it can be reasonably debated if it was necessary or not?  I honestly can’t make heads or tails of this comment.  He sounds deeply conflicted.  I would be as well if I witnessed the transformation of the Church from the time he was ordained as a priest in 1951 to the present day.

Overall, there aren’t too many surprising things in this book.  Many topics are covered but few are covered in depth.  The most shocking thing about this book is that it was published in the fall of 2016 and not a word is said about Fatima.  It is not mentioned by Seewald or by Pope Benedict.  In May 2017, the Church will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Fatima apparitions.  Despite being almost 90 years old, there is a good chance that the Pope Emeritus will be alive when this is celebrated but it’s not mentioned at all.  Many esoteric topics are mentioned at least once including the prophecy of Malachy but Fatima is never covered.

There is a good chance that Pope Benedict has read the entire third secret.  He probably knows this subject better than anyone alive.  It’s impossible to believe that it’s not on his mind as I’m writing this.

Overall, this book doesn’t give us any major insights about Pope Benedict XVI.  As mentioned, it is more glaring what he doesn’t say seeing how this is his last message to the world before he passes on.