Benedict's Birthday Gift
April 15, 2007
Posted by Robert P. Imbelli

Contrary to custom, Pope Benedict will celebrate his 80th birthday tomorrow by giving a gift: his new book Jesus of Nazareth will be released in Italian, German, and Polish. The English edition will be available in mid-May -- though Amazon is taking pre-publication orders.

The book was formally presented at the Vatican by Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, Archbishop of Vienna, and former student and collaborator of the Pope. His remarks (available here in Italian and German) provide a fascinating preview.

Schoenborn's title is itself significant:"The Pope in the Agora," the public marketplace. He underscores what the Pope himself stresses in the book's "Preface." The work is not intended to be a formal statement of the Church's magisterium, but a meditation by a believer and a scholar who is seeking the face of the Lord. He thus invites attentive consideration and considered response. the rest

Preface