Overview
Acton Lecture Series (April 14, 2011) - When Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope in April 2005, it was assumed that his papacy would be marked by an intense engagement in the world of ideas. As one of the world's best-known contemporary theologians, Pope Benedict XVI has more-than-lived up to expectations. Whether the subject is the rise and decline of the West, Islam, ecumenism, or simply the ever-present subject of "Who is Jesus Christ", Benedict has helped open up discussions once considered taboo, and caused even hardened secularists to rethink some of their positions. In this Lord Acton lecture series, Dr. Samuel Gregg looks at the social teaching of Benedict XVI, and illustrates how much the pope has changed the focus of Catholic and Christian engagement with political, social, and economic questions.