"He had the capacity to create an atmosphere of discussion..."

... and Ratzinger has the wonderful capacity to listen to what everybody says."

That's just one of many observations made by Fr. Vincent Twomey, SVD, in a really interesting audio interview with Vatican Radio. Fr. Twomey compares his time, in the late 60's and early '70's, as a doctoral student with Karl Rahner and Joseph Ratzinger. Rahner, he says, liked to talk and talk, while Ratzinger liked to listen and encourage discussion. He also talks about the term "new evangelization", which was the focus of discussion at the 2011 "Ratzinger Schuelerkreis."

Fr. Twomey is the author of an excellent book about Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, titled Pope Benedict XVI: The Conscience of Our Age (A Theological Portrait) (Ignatius Press, 2007). Here are links to the book's Introduction, as well as to an Ignatius Insight interview with Fr. Twomey: