THESE two books are not the official teaching of papal encyclicals, but they do give us a real insight into both Pope Francis’s passionate convictions and the theological ( philosophical) certainties of his predecessor. The addresses of Benedict are selected by Fr Frederico Lombardi, sometime spokesperson for the pope. They cover, among other things, his inauguration as Bishop of Rome, the significance of the Second Vatican Council, and especially the place of human reason.

His Regensburg lecture of 2006 is “Reason: A Guard Against Pure Subjectivism”. It is famous (or infamous) because, in it, Benedict alluded to a statement of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II to the effect that the Prophet Muhammad brought only the sword. This immediately sparked the sharpest criticism from the Islamic world. Benedict, as a theologian, could not resist what in effect was an academic footnote, and he misjudged how it would be received.

The main drift of the lecture was against the German philosopher Emmanuel Kant and a robust intellectual defence of the Greco-Hellenistic contribution to Christian doctrine. It raises the important question whether this theological/philosophical tradition is an essential part of Christian faith. Benedict thought so. But what of other non-European cultural and philosophical traditions? Benedict’s Westminster Hall address during his visit in 2010 argues that religion not only has a place in the political process, but also that moral principles require more than subjective reason for their grounding.

His interpretation of the Second Vatican Council is very significant. In 2005, he argued for a conciliar hermeneutic (interpretation theory) of “reform” rather than “discontinuity”, fearing a split between the pre-conciliar and post-conciliar Church. Current debate in the United States between “conservative” and “reform” RCs, epitomised by either anti- or pro-Pope Francis “synodality”, is indicative of this continuing neuralgic debate. The recently published and weighty Oxford Handbook of Vatican II devotes considerable space to the hermeneutic of Vatican II, especially the tendency of the English-speaking world to minimise its impact or even dismiss it altogether.

Benedict’s final (and short) address as Pope, in February 2013, was just after he announced that he was to retire. He speaks of his declining energies and of seeking to make the right decision for the Church. He does not specifically speak here of his much earlier teaching on the episcopate, of which the papacy is part, but it is clearly behind his theological conviction that even a pope can retire. In an appendix, we are given his pastoral letter to Ireland on abuse.

Pope Francis’s Ten Prayers for the Future of Hope is edited by Hernán Reyes Alcaide, and consists of ten “prayers” composed between Francis and the editor. They frequently quote his encyclicals and other documents, and so give us a summary form of his “official teaching”. An introduction from Francis quotes Bertrand Russell and the poet Rilke, and the “prayers” contain a range of other quotations demonstrating Francis’s wide reading of global literature. They cover abuse, ecology, the media and hate speech, the common good, war, migrants and refugees, women in society, growth and poverty, and health services.

While these texts have been more edited than those of Benedict, they do feel authentically like those of Pope Francis. With some degree of oversimplification, they also indicate a difference between the two popes. Benedict’s addresses are largely, though not exclusively, concerned with the Church, or with the Church in relation to society. Francis’s addresses indicate a more outward approach to the world and, despite contemporary international darkness, Francis still speaks in terms of Vatican II’s hope for the contemporary world (Gaudium et Spes), a hope that Benedict’s more gloomy Augustinianism came to doubt.

The Rt Revd Christopher Hill is a former Bishop of Guildford.

I Am Asking in the Name of God: Ten prayers for a future of hope
Pope Francis
SPCK £16.99
(978-0-281-08997-0)
Church Times Bookshop £15.29

With God You Are Never Alone: The great papal addresses
Benedict XVI
Bloomsbury £14.99
(978-1-3994-1372-5)
Church Times Bookshop £13.49