Pope Benedict XVI's Legal Thought: A Dialogue on the Foundation of Law

Description

Throughout Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's pontificate he spoke to a range of political, civil, academic, and other cultural authorities. These speeches reveal a striking sensitivity to the fundamental problems of law, justice, and democracy. He often presented a call for Christians to address issues of public ethics such as life, death, and family from what they have in common with other fellow citizens: reason. This book discusses the speeches in which the Pope Emeritus reflected most explicitly on this issue, along with commentary from distinguished legal scholars. It responds to Benedict's invitation to engage in public discussion on the limits of positivist reason in the domain of law from his address to the Bundestag. Although the topics of each address vary, they are joined by a series of core ideas whereby Benedict sketches, unpacks, and develops an organic and coherent way to formulate a 'public teaching' on justice and law.

Marta Cartabia, full professor of constitutional law, is a Member of the Italian Constitutional Court since 2011, currently serving as Deputy President. She has taught in a number of Italian universities and was a visiting scholar and professor in France, Germany and the United States. Andrea Simoncini is currently a full professor of constitutional law at the University of Florence, Italy. In 2009 he was Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer at Notre Dame University where he was also a visiting professor at the Law School.