Benedict's Mystery Book

Okay, this is odd . . .

Joaquin Navarro-Valls, Vatican spokesman [said that] Pope Benedict was using his mountain retreat to finish a book he began writing three years ago, the spokesman said.

Navarro-Valls refused to tell reporters what the book is about, but said, "You will find out when it arrives in the bookstores."

However, several Italian papers have written that the book is about the "battle of ideas" and finding a proper balance between faith and reason, truth and freedom, and religion and ethics.

Navarro-Valls said the pope also was working on the speeches he will give during his Aug. 18-21 visit to Germany for World Youth Day and on a first draft of an encyclical that "will come out later." [SOURCE]

It’s interesting that they’d be this cagey about the book B16 is penning. It’s also interesting that he appears to be finishing it before getting his first encyclical out.

It’ll also be interesting to determine what level of authority is to be ascribed to the book. It may not be a papal document and thus may not share in papal authority but instead be a composition of the pope in his private capacity as a theologian.

This would be odd, though not completely without precedent. John Paul II wrote several books in private capacities during his reign. For example, books of poetry.

The situation brings to mind something I was reading about in Ratzinger’s excellent and easy-to-read interview book SALT OF THE EARTH. He revealed that when he was named head of the CDF, he told JPII that he felt the need to retain the right to continue to write theology in his own name (i.e., to produce private theological works separate from his capacity as head of the CDF). At first JPII wasn’t sure about this, but they checked and found that it had been done before, so JPII told him that it wouldn’t be a problem.

Perhaps now that he’s pope, B16 intends to do something similar: To continue to write the theology books he’s wanted to write for so long but keep them as personal, non-papal works distinct from the official documents he will be responsible for as pope.

Time will tell.

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

7 thoughts on “Benedict's Mystery Book”

  1. According to my own sources inside the Vatican who shall remain nameless, Pope Benedict is working on a fiction series similar to “Harry Potter,” except that instead of magic, the boy, named Joey Rottweiler, learns the power of virtue, which he develops through prayer and fasting. Joey is also forced to battle the evil Tempteous, of whom the socety that surrounds him is completely unaware, but who is constantly recruiting otherwise good people to do his will. All of Tempteous’ actions revolve around his primary goal — destroying the mysterious Deposit of Faith that has been protected by the shephards of the Church for two millenia. As Joey soon learns, this is not Tempteous’ first effort to destroy the Deposit of Faith, but his attempts seem to become more ingenious each time.

    Will Joey succeed in thwarting Tempteous’ latest efforts? As Joaquin Navarro-Valls said, “You will find out when it arrives in the bookstores.”

  2. Maybe it’s a cookbook. Roast Curia the Easy Way.

    Maybe it’s a diet book. You could lose a lot of weight on the Diet of Worms.

  3. If it is indeed a private theological work, I belive it might be more responisble of Benedict to sign the book with his christian name. John Paul’s books were poems and anecdotes (though very profound and enlightening), Benedict’s stuff will likley be thick theology, and if he signed it “Pope Benedict XVI” there might be some confusion.

    …So if anyone sees the pope could they please pass on my concern ;P.

  4. Just a note: JPII also wrote at least one play that I know about, so it was not all poetry.

  5. If you’re thinking of “The Jeweler’s Shop,” he wrote that before becoming pope.

  6. I thought Ignatius already announced the topic of the pope’s book:

    “On The Way To Jesus Christ” – the newest book by Pope Benedict XVI which will be released exclusively by Ignatius Press in October 2005 – is about the true Jesus, the Jesus of the Gospels, who is “quite different, demanding and bold.” This Jesus is controversial, inconvenient, and brings an often unpopular – and largely unfollowed – message.

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