Wednesday, December 07, 2011

Pope's headline-grabbing book comes out in Arabic

Pope Benedict XVI's recent book that grabbed headlines for his comments on condoms and gays will be published in Arabic.

Now in its 28th printing, the latest edition of Light of the World will be presented in Beirut Friday at the Arabic Book Fair. 

The 18-chapter book, which was first released last year, is an extended interview with German journalist Peter Seewald, who posed 90 questions to the pope.

Benedict's admission in it that condoms might be justified in certain rare cases, like those involving male prostitutes wanting to change their ways, caused a huge international stir even though the Holy See subsequently said this did not suggest the Church's much-criticized opposition to condom use had softened.

The pope angered gay groups by reaffirming the Vatican's condemnation of homosexuality, saying this is a ''great trial'' a person may be faced with but which can never be ''morally just''.

''It remains something that is against the Nature that God originally willed,'' he added.

Other issues included the sex abuse scandals which have roiled the Catholic Church, with the pope saying it was time to recover ''the right and need for penalties'', something which he said had been lost during the 1960s when there was an emerging ''conviction'' that the Church ''should not punish''.

The 84-year-old pontiff also said he would resign if he were no longer ''physically, psychologically and spiritually'' capable of carrying out his duties.