A new Romanian volume entitled Joseph Ratzinger și Tradiția. Pentru o hermeneutică a continuității (Joseph Ratzinger and Tradition: Toward a Hermeneutic of Continuity) has recently been published, making the work of Tracey Rowland, one of the foremost interpreters of the theology of Joseph Ratzinger and a member of the International Ratzinger Foundation’s Academic Network, available to a wider readership in Eastern Europe.
The volume brings together a selection of Rowland’s essays on the theology of Joseph Ratzinger, published together in Romanian for the first time. Across these studies, Rowland offers a coherent interpretation of Ratzinger’s theology as an expression of a hermeneutic of continuity, showing how faith, liturgy, and culture develop organically in fidelity to Scripture and Tradition.
One of the central insights highlighted in these essays is the conviction that Joseph Ratzinger / Benedict XVI understood with particular clarity how an error at the foundation of a theological system can ultimately distort the whole. In a time when many Catholics adopt intellectual and cultural frameworks that appear increasingly detached from the two millennia of Christian teaching, Rowland argues that renewed attention to fundamental principles is urgently needed. Drawing on the intellectual legacy of Benedict XVI, she identifies a number of guiding principles that can help orient theological reflection in the midst of the present crisis.
Particular emphasis is given to Ratzinger’s response to the contemporary crisis in fundamental theology, which Rowland presents as one of his most significant intellectual contributions to the life of the Church. Alongside the Christocentric orientation of his magisterial theology, she also highlights his defense—within the framework of a theology of culture—of the transcendental properties of being: truth, goodness, and beauty.
The publication of this Romanian volume represents an important step in the continued international reception of the theological legacy of Joseph Ratzinger / Benedict XVI and reflects the growing interest in his thought across different cultural and linguistic contexts.
Link to the book: https://galaxiagutenberg.ro/JosephRatzingerandTradition.