Still waiting
By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Sep 30, 2008
Ignatius Press, the longtime publisher of Cardinal Ratzinger's works, has been taking advance orders for Caritatis Veritate, the 3rd encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI. The Ignatius site says that the encyclical will be "available September, 2008."
But today is the last day of September, and the sun has set in Rome. Apparently publication of the encyclical has been delayed.
This is not unprecedented. Readers may recall that on January 19, 2006, Pope Benedict himself ended weeks of speculation by announcing that his 1st encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, would be released a week later. At the time it was rumored that squabbles over translation had caused the delays, and the Holy Father's public announcement was his unsubtle way of ensuring that the logjam would be broken and the document released.
Perhaps it's time to begin asking once again: What's holding up publication?
Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.
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