Pope Benedict XVI’s next encyclical which focuses
on the theme of faith, is almost ready.
“The Pope - a high-ranking
prelate in the Curia explained – finished writing it this summer in
Castel Gandolfo and the text will be published by January 2013.”
The publication of the new encyclical will be a key moment in the Year of Faith which kicks off this coming 11 October.
One of the reasons why the text will be published
at the beginning of next year, despite the fact the Pope has finished
it, is so that it does not overlap with the publication of the Pope’s
third volume on Jesus of Nazareth, expected this coming Christmas.
The Pope’s text - the prelate said, having read
the draft versions – is beautiful. Benedict XVI manages to express even
the most complex and very deep truths using simple language which has a
widespread reach that goes beyond all imagination.”
The issue of faith completes the triptych of
theological virtues already discussed by Pope Benedict XVI in other
encyclicals on charity - Deus caritas est (2006) - and on hope – Spe Salvi (2007).