Online texts & ebooks by & about Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger / Pope Benedict XVI

See these online texts and ebooks (I) by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger / Pope Benedict XVI and (II) about him and his thought, previously indexed on the Project.

I. Texts and ebooks by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger / Pope Benedict XVI:

Online text: “Pro-Choice ‘Personhood’: An Abortive Concept”, by Dr. Andrew J. Peach

See this online text:

• “Pro-Choice ‘Personhood’: An Abortive Concept”, by Andrew J. Peach, J.D., Ph.D., Life and Learning XIII: Proceedings of the Thirteenth University Faculty for Life Conference at Georgetown University, 2003, edited by Professor Fr. Joseph W. Koterski, S.J., Ph.D. (Washington, D.C.: University Faculty for Life, 2003): pp. 187-210. Available in pdf format on this page through the Table of Contents page of Life and Learning XIII (2003) at University Faculty for Life.

See also the texts listed on the page Humanity and Human Life, and

Online ebook: “Report of the Commission on Unalienable Rights”, by Professor Mary Ann Glendon et al.

See this online text:

• Report of the Commission on Unalienable Rights, released 26 August 2020. Available in pdf format in English, with translations into Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, German, Indonesian, Russian, and Spanish, through this archived page of the US Department of State.
• According to the website, the Members of the Department of State Commission on Unalienable Rights were:
  • Professor Kenneth Anderson [of American University];
  • Dr. Russell A Berman of Stanford University;
  • Dr. Peter Berkowitz of Stanford University, who served as Executive Secretary;
  • Professor Paolo Carozza of the University of Notre Dame;
  • Ambassador and Professor Mary Ann Glendon of Harvard Law School, who served as Chair;
  • Professor Hamza Yusuf Hanson of Zaytuna College;
  • Dr. Jacqueline Rivers of Harvard University;
  • Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik of Yeshiva University and Congregation Shearith Israel;
  • Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett of the Tom Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice;
  • Dr. Christopher Tollefsen of the University of South Carolina; and
  • Dr. David Tse-Chien Pan of the University of California, Irvine; with
  • Mr. F. Cartwright Weiland of the Department of State, who served as Rapporteur.

See also the texts listed on the post “Online text: “Conceptual Foundations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, by Dr. Thomas Finegan“, as well as

Online text: “1492-1992: 500th Anniversary of the Discovery of the Americas”

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• International Review of the Red Cross, No. 290 (September-October 1992). Special: 1492-1992: 500^th Anniversary of the Discovery of the Americas. Contains the following articles:
  • “The Spanish School of the New Law of Nations”, by Sergio Moratiel Villa;
  • “Diálogos militares by Diego García de Palacio: The first American work on the law of nations” by Alejandro Valencia Villa;
  • “The defence of human dignity in the New World, by  Fernando Murillo Rubiera;
  • “Milestones in the defence of dignity and basic human rights in America”; and
  • “Charter of rights of the Indians according to the School of Salamanca” by Luciano Pereña Vicente.

See also the ebooks and texts listed on the pages “Online text: “The Law of War in Francisco Suárez”, by Dr. Paulo Borges de Macedo“, “Online text: “The Thomism of Bartolomé de Las Casas and the Indians of the New World”, by Dr. Thomas Francis Xavier Varacalli“, and

Online text: “The Sino-Vatican Faith Diplomacy”, by Professor Juyan Zhang

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• “The Sino-Vatican Faith Diplomacy: Mapping the Factors Affecting Bilateral Relations”, by Professor Juyan Zhang, Ph.D., April 2017 (Los Angeles: Figueroa Press, 2017). Available at ResearchGate.net.

See also the texts listed on the page “Selected commentaries on the China-Vatican Agreement“, as well as these other texts on the confidential agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic:

• “Sino-­Vatican Relations: A Conflict Transformation Perspective”, by Kaitlin Austermiller. Master’s Thesis, China and International Relations, Aalborg University and University of International Relations, 20 May 2013. Available in pdf format at Aalborg Universitet Project Library.
• “True Catholic and Authentic Chinese: The Theologico-Political Polemic in China”, by Wing Kwan Anselm Lam, International Journal of China Studies, Vol. 11, No. 2 (December 2020): pp. 257-276. Available in pdf format at the Institute China Studies University of Malaysia.
• ‘The Vatican Accord with China: Riding the Dragon’: Testimony Before the Congressional-Executive Committee on China, November 28, 2018, by Thomas F. Farr, Available in pdf format at the  Congressional-Executive Committee on China.

See the texts listed on the page “Online text: Letter to Catholics in China, by Pope Benedict XVI” and these other texts on Catholic Christians in China:

• Annual Report of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, 2020. Available in pdf format at the US Department of Justice.
• “China: the Country Has Changed, Religious Policy Has Not”, by Gianni Criveller (2012). Presented at the Conference Seed of the Church: Telling the Story of Today’s Christian Martyrs, University of Notre Dame, South Bend IN, November 4-6, 2012. Available in PDF format (on this page) at the Institute for Church Life.
• “China’s Modern Martyrs: From Mao to Now”, by Anthony E. Clark (2014). May be read online in 4 parts at the Catholic World Report: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4. Also available in pdf format at Whitworth Digital Commons under the citation History Faculty Scholarship, Paper 37 (2014): Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.
• “Homily to Chinese Catholics at a Mass Celebrated for the Catholics of China in the Church of the Queen of the Angels and Queen of Martyrs”, by Ignatius Cardinal Kung Pin-Mei, Rome, June 30, 1991. Available in pdf format on this page of the Cardinal Kung Foundation.
• Submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief (seeking the release of Bishop James Su Zhimin and Bishop Cui Tai). Available in pdf format at Christian Persecution News.

On the Memorial of the Martyr Saints of China in the Revised Roman Rite. For other texts and ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title), the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject), the List of Worth-It Catholic Books & eBooks, and the main page of the Catholic eBooks Project.

Online text: “Pastoral Orientations on Human Trafficking”

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• Pastoral Orientations on Human Trafficking (Vatican City: Migrants & Refugees Section, Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, 2019). Available in pdf format at Migrants & Refugees. [Note: This text includes quotations from relevant statements by Pope Francis, and other modern Bishops of Rome, on modern day forms of slavery.]

See also the texts listed on the post “Online texts: “Trafficking of Human Slaves”, by Barbara Krallis, 16-part series“.

On the Memorial of Saint Josephine Bakhita. For other texts and ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title), the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject), the List of Worth-It Catholic Books & eBooks, and the main page of the Catholic eBooks Project.

Online text: “On Making the Case for Life”, by Dr. Francis J. Beckwith

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• “On Making the Case for Life: St. Peter’s Counsel to Always Be Ready”, by Prof. Francis J. Beckwith, Ph.D., The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, Volume 13, Issue 4 (Winter 2013): pp. 601-609. Available in pdf format at the Baylor University for Studies of Religion.

See also these related texts specifically discussing the mortal sin and unspeakable crime of abortion:

Online text: “Human Identity and Otherness – Learning from Francisco De Vitoria”, by Dr. Claus Dierksmeier

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• “Human Identity and Otherness – Learning from Francisco De Vitoria”, by Professor Claus Dierksmeier, Ph.D. (September 29, 2011). Available in pdf format at the Humanistic Management Center and at the Social Science Research Network (SSRN). [Note: It is unclear if the author is a Catholic Christian. However his published body of work manifests at least the strong influence of ethical thought in the intellectual tradition of the one true Church.]

See also these related texts:

Online text: “Ethical Concerns with COVID-19 Triage Protocols”, by the National Catholic Bioethics Center

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• “Ethical Concerns with COVID-19 Triage Protocols”, by NCBC Ethicists, April 3, 2020 (Philadelphia, PA: National Catholic Bioethics Center, 2020). Printed in Ethics & Medics, Volume 45, Issue 5 (May 2020): pp. 5-6. Available in pdf format and may be read online on this page of the National Catholic Bioethics Center.

See also these related texts from the National Catholic Bioethics Center:

• “Making Sense of Bioethics: Column 177: Thinking Through the Rationing of Ventilators”, by Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD, March 30, 2020. May be read online on this page and available in pdf format of the National Catholic Bioethics Center.
• “Moral Choices When Not All Can Be Saved”, by NCBC Ethicists / Marie T. Hilliard, MS, MA, JCL, PhD, RN, DM (2010) (© 2010, The National Catholic Bioethics Center, Philadelphia, PA). The presentation is available in pdf format on this page of the National Catholic Bioethics Center.
• “Points to Consider: Triage in the Perspective of Catholic Bioethics”, by NCBC Ethicists, March 25, 2020. May be read online on this page of the National Catholic Bioethics Center.
• “Thinking Through the Rationing of Ventilators”, by Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, PhD, 09 April 2020. May be read online at Rhode Island Catholic. Also published in Ethics & Medics (July 2020), which is available on this page (requires registration) at the National Catholic Bioethics Center.
• “Triage Protocol Guidelines”, by NCBC Ethicists / John A. Di Camillo, PhD, BeL, April 16, 2020 (Posted April 7, 2020; updated April 15, 2020) (© 2020, The National Catholic Bioethics Center, Philadelphia, PA). May be read online on this page of the National Catholic Bioethics Center, which states: “These guidelines set out some basic moral principles and examples of what a sound triage protocol might include, as well as what it should avoid, in outline format. They are not exhaustive and remain subject to revision.”

See also these other related texts

Online ebook: “Towards Reducing Unemployment”, by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences

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• Towards Reducing Unemployment: The Proceedings of the Fifth Plenary Session of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, 3-6 March 1999 (Acta 5), edited by M. Archer (Vatican City: Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, 1999). 345 pages. Available in pdf format on this page of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

On the Feast of Saint Cajetan (San Gaetano) in the Roman Rite. For other texts and ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title), the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject), the List of Worth-It Catholic Books & eBooks, and the main page of the Catholic eBooks Project.