Throughout his prodigious theological and ecclesiastical career, Joseph Ratzinger advanced a rich and nuanced theology of Revelation, reflecting at length on the nature, unity, and interrelationship of Scripture and Tradition, on their native ecclesial context, and on their transformative, Christ-centered purpose and aim. Ratzinger's many writings in this area are marked not only by an unwavering fidelity to divinely revealed truth, but also by sensitivity to the difficulties of its interpretation, to the dynamics of historical progress and regress, and to the needs of the Church and the world within the modern era. In Revelation, Hermeneutics, and Doctrinal Development in Joseph Ratzinger , Mauro Gagliardi offers a penetrating diachronic study of Ratzinger's thought on these foundational themes. Beginning with his 1955 Habilitationsschrift on St. Bonaventure's understanding of Revelation and continuing in his works of the conciliar and post-conciliar periods through those of his episcopacy and later pontificate, Gagliardi traces Ratzinger's vision of Scripture and Tradition, of the Magisterium and theology, and of faith and its transmission today. By turns critical and appreciative, Gagliardi elucidates the German theologian's teaching on Revelation in depth, exploring its underlying hermeneutic commitments, and, in the book's final chapter, elaborating its implications for the question of the development of doctrine, a topic of both longstanding and pressing importance within Catholic theology and Christian thought. "Joseph Ratzinger expressed his original theology of Revelation and biblical interpretation over a span of six decades, through a wide variety of genres, in writings that partly remain untranslated. Father Mauro Gagliardi's mastery of the immense Ratzingerian corpus and pedagogical skill allow him to introduce in an effective way beginners and young scholars to the thought of this giant of twentieth-century Catholic theology." Bernhard Blankenhorn, O.P. University of Fribourg "In this volume, Fr. Gagliardi provides readers with a sophisticated yet crystal-clear presentation of Joseph Ratzinger's Christocentric fundamental theology. Briskly written, the book offers a penetrating analysis of pivotal themes in Ratzinger's thought—revelation, tradition, hermeneutics, and development—dogmatic themes that are crucial for advancing theology in service to the Gospel and to the Catholic Church. Highly recommended." Thomas G. Guarino Seton Hall University "In this careful and lucid study Father Mauro Gagliardi explores the heart of Joseph Ratzinger's theological vision: his Christocentric understanding of divine Revelation. At the same time, he shows its continued importance as the Church newly wrestles with issues of synodality and doctrinal development. For synodality is most fundamentally the Church's 'walking with' its Lord Jesus Christ. And authentic development is ever to enter more fully into the inexhaustible riches of the mystery of Christ." Robert Imbelli Boston College "This a timely work on a theologian whose legacy is yet to be fully appreciated, by a theologian who brings a fresh take on Ratzinger's fundamental theology. A seasoned and holistic theologian in his own right, Rev. Dr. Gagliardi not only knows Ratzinger's corpus, but approaches it with his characteristically catholic and synthetic approach ( et-et ) to dogmatics. The result is an interpretation of Ratzinger's thought that is sympathetic, but not sycophantic. This is not simply an exposition and commentary on Ratzinger's works, but a constructive contribution to contemporary theological discourse." Andrew Meszaros St. Patrick's Pontifical University "Upon the death of Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), there have been a number of edited books of essays that have treated various aspects of his theological corpus. However, Mauro Gagliardi's Revelation, Hermeneutic, and Doctrinal Development in Joseph Ratzinger is the first work to assess almost the entirety of Ratzinger's work. Gagliardi has mastered Ratzinger's theology, and he presents it in a manner that is clear and yet scholarly. He creatively and insightfully allows the reader to appreciate the thought of the twentieth-century's most brilliant theologian." Thomas G. Weinandy, O.F.M., Cap. Former member of the Vatican's Internation Theological Commission Mauro Gagliardi, a priest of the Archdiocese of Salerno, Italy, holds an S.T.D. (Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome), an M.Phil. (University of Naples, "L'Orientale"), and a Diploma as Expert in University Teaching (Francisco de Vitoria University, Madrid). He is ordinary professor at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, and invited professor at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, and has also taught as a visiting professor in Spain and the United States. In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as Consultor to the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supr