German journalist and writer, correspondent for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in Rome for decades. One of the most competent specialists on issues related to Italy, the Vatican, and the Catholic Church. He accompanied John Paul II and then Benedict XVI on their travels. Awarded with the Federal Cross of Merit, he is the author of numerous popular science books. Conversations that began in 1976 with then Professor Joseph Ratzinger and continued after his election as Pope were compiled in the books Benedict XVI. The Portrait and From Theologian to Pope. In the “Library of Forbidden Books,” he curates texts of world literature that were once included in the forbidden “black list” of the Roman Church.