Issues the Next Pope Will Face

Rev. Thomas J. Reese, S.J. is a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University and author of Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church (Harvard University Press, 1996). He was editor in chief of America from 1998-2005.

What issues will the next pope face?

These have not radically changed since the election of Benedict.

• See “2001 And Beyond: Preparing The Church For The Next Millennium” by Thomas J. Reese, S.J.
• Editorial: Challenges for the New Pope, America, April 25, 2005.
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2005 Post-Conclave Books

• John Allen, The Rise of Benedict XVI: The Inside Story of How the Pope Was Elected and Where He Will Take the Catholic Church, (Doubleday, 2005)
• Paul Collins, God’s New Man: The Election of Benedict XVI and the Legacy of John Paul II(Continuum, 2005)
• David Gibson, The Rule of Benedict: Pope Benedict XVI and His Battle with the Modern World(HarperOne, 2005)
• Andrew Greeley, The Making of the Pope 2005 (Little Brown, 2005)
• Robert Blair Kaiser, A Church in Search of Itself: Benedict XVI and the Battle for the Future (Knopf, 2006)
• George Weigel, God’s Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Catholic Church, (HarperCollins, 2005)
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2005 Pre-Conclave Books & Information

• Thomas J. Reese, “Chapter 4: The College of Cardinals,” Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church (Harvard University Press, 1996).
• John Allen, Jr., Conclave (Random House, 2002)
• Peter and Margaret Hebblethwaite, The Next Pope (HarperSanFrancisco, 1995; revised 2000)
• John Paul II, Universi Dominici Gregis (1996)
• James Provost, “What If the Pope Became Disabled?” America (September 30, 2000)
• CNS pre-conclave stories.
• James-Charles Noonan, Jr., The Church Visible: The Ceremonial Life and Protocol of the Roman Catholic Church (Viking, 1996)
• The Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church has lists and biographies.
• Betting Odds on Papal Candidates