Pope Benedict Writing a Book on Jesus

REUTERS, July 18 — The second major work of Pope Benedict’s pontificate will be a book on Jesus, reported Reuters.

The book, expected to be completed by the end of the summer, will focus on Jesus, the human race and Christianity’s relationship with other faiths, according to a Vatican source.

Benedict, a leading Catholic theologian and prolific author, aimed to include reflections from his experience as Pope in the book written in the form of a “theological narrative,” the Italian daily La Repubblica said.

The paper noted that his focus on Jesus might revive the controversy surrounding Dominus Iesus (On the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church), a document he issued in 2000 when he was the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Cardinal: Couples Should Use the Catechism More

THE UNIVERSE, July 12 — Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has recommended that couples use the Catechism of the Catholic Church to benefit their long-term relationships, the international faith-based website reported.

Speaking at the Theological-Pastoral Congress, held in the context of the 5th World Meeting of Families, Cardinal Levada recommended the Catechism was a “unique help” for families in discovering the beauty of the faith and transmitting it.

The Catechism, and the recently published Compendium which summarizes it, “can help families and each one of us to discover the beauty of the Catholic faith and to live it joyfully, to transmit it to the new generations, to the fathers and mothers of tomorrow,” Cardinal Levada said.
“The Catechism helps the Church to ensure the unity of faith, for which Jesus himself prayed in the Last Supper,” the cardinal added. “This unity of the Church is supported by the faithful’s awareness of being in communion with Christians of all times, from the age of the apostles to our days.”

Pope Meets Privately With Cardinal Bertone

CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY, July 25 — Pope Benedict XVI met privately Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Archbishop of Genoa and soon-to-be Vatican Secretary of State, while on vacation in northern Italy, the news service reported.

The meeting “did not focus on international political issues,” said Vatican sources, in an apparent response to speculation by some reporters that the Pope and his former colleague at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith may have been discussing the appointment of a successor to Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo as the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States.

The same sources also hinted that the meeting touched upon two other issues: what actions to take regarding Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, who recently announced his decision to join a new cult started by a renegade priest in Washington; and the creation of a special commission at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to look into the alleged Marian apparitions at Medjugorje, where the Virgin Mary supposedly began appearing to six young people on June 24, 1981 (see related story on this page).