During the second half of the past century the Catholic Christology suffered an anthioquian twist in order to overcome what the German theologian K. Rahner called «orthodox monophysitism» in his article about Chalcedon on the occasion of its 1500 th anniversary. For this, he proposed the recovery of a «strict chalcedonism» that opposed to the neochalcedonian interpretations of the 451’s Concillium. Maximus the Confessor has a decisive role in both Balthasar and Ratzinger’s Christology. With this, Ratzinger pretends to answer what he believed is the true danger in today’s theology. Contrary to J.A. Jungmann, K. Adam, K. Rahner, and F.X. Arnold’s thesis that denounced a factical monphysitism amongst the faithful, Ratzinger upholds that the reapparition of a new Nestorianism (and arianism) in today’s Christology is the true danger that must be fought against. In the first place, the article presents, synthetically, the post chalcedonian discussion, concentrating on the apparition of the theological trend of neochalcedonism and on Maximus the Confessor’s Christological contribution. From there on it approaches the neochalcedonian and maximillian interpretations that J. Ratzinger formulates in his sixth thesis of «Behold the Pierced One» and that will be later developed in the Gethsemani chapter of «Jesus of Nazareth».
Joseph Ratzinger discusses papal primacy in the Church, which is a communio based on the relationship between primacy and collegiality. Therefore, he supports jurisdictional primacy executed not in a monarchical way, but collegially, with the Pope as the head of the college of bishops. Joseph Ratzinger discusses the Petrine primacy in the New Testament, which he considers a starting point for a discussion about the succession of Peter’s office, choosing (via media) between papalism and conciliarism. He, therefore, focuses on the personal aspect of primacy connected with a given person. Moreover, the article discusses the relationship between the papacy and doctrinal infallibility. It also poses the question whether after his renunciation Benedict XVI still retains the charisma of doctrinal infallibility (or authentic orthodoxy) and how this refers to the current Pope Francis.