These captivating essays by Pope Benedict XVI deal with various issues facing the Church in the world today, including what unites and divides denominations, liturgy and sacred music, peace and justice in crisis, and interreligious dialogue and Jewish-Christian relations. As David Schindler notes in his introduction, "Cardinal Ratzinger -- Pope Benedict XVI -- rarely writes on any churchly matter that does not manifest its implications for man and culture, and vice versa. Indeed, this indissoluble linking is one of the main distinguishing features of his theology." This volume on the Church is to be followed by two others from Pope Benedict on, respectively, the themes of anthropology and theological renewal.