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Catholic World News News Feature

New encyclical nearing release? November 15, 2007

Pope Benedict XVI is nearing completion of a new encyclical that will focus on the virtue of hope, the Polish newspaper Dziennik reports.

Dziennik says that the papal letter, which is about 70 pages long in its current draft form, is now being circulated among theologians for review and comments. The final version could be released before Christmas, the paper says.

During his summer vacation in the Italian Alps, Pope Benedict was said to be working on a draft of a new encyclical. However, conflicting reports have emerged from the Vatican about the topic of the document. Some officials have said that the Pope is working on an encyclical about hope, while others have said that the topic will be Catholic social teaching.

Deus Caritas Est, the long-awaited first encyclical by Benedict XVI, was released in January 2006. Shortly after his election, the Pope disclosed that he did not expect to issue many papal documents-- a statement that surprised the many readers familiar with the prolific work of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger prior to his election as Roman Pontiff.