Pope Benedict finishes his book

CNS:

Pope Benedict XVI has completed the first volume of a major scholarly and spiritual book on Jesus of Nazareth, a work he began several years before being elected pope.

"Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration" is scheduled for a March release in Italian by the Rizzoli publishing house and in German by Herder Verlag.

Announcing the publication Nov. 21, Rizzoli and the Vatican gave reporters copies of the book's preface and a portion of its introduction.

In the preface, signed "Joseph Ratzinger -- Benedict XVI," the pope wrote that for decades he had noticed a growing scholarly distinction between the "historical Jesus" and the "Christ of faith," a distinction that many Christians now accept as accurate.

But, he wrote, if the human Jesus was totally different from the Jesus depicted in the Gospels and proclaimed by the church, what does it mean to have faith in him?

"I trust the Gospels," the pope wrote. [More...]

Reuters spends a fair amount of its time looking for rumors of the Pope's failing health:

Pope Benedict has finished the first volume of a book on the life of Jesus Christ and has decided to publish what he has written so far because he doesn't know "how much time and strength" he has left.

... He says he started writing the book during his summer holidays in 2003 when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and has been dedicating "every spare minute" to the project since his election.

"Because I don't know how much time and how much strength will still be granted to me, I have decided to publish the first 10 chapters as the first volume," he writes in the preface.

The Pope appears to be in generally good health, but since his election he has made several public references to being old and not knowing how much more time God will give him.

The Associated Press spends most its time also pointing out that the book is noninfallible and again quotes Pope Benedict saying that everyone is free to contradict him. Great, these are the important angles to the story...

Moving on. I'm particularly thrilled about this announcement since I'm taking a course right now on "The Gospel of Mark and the Historical Jesus," so hopefully I'll have a bit more context and background to understand what the Pope is talking about when I'm able to read it.

And of course, if anyone wants to send me an advance copy before March for review purposes ...

Update:

VATICAN CITY, NOV 21, 2006 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office today released a communique stating: "The Holy Father Benedict XVI has completed writing the first part of a book, the title of which is 'Gesu di Nazareth. Dal Battesimonel Giordano alla Trasfigurazione' (Jesus of Nazareth, From His Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration) and, within the last few days, has consigned it to the Vatican Publishing House. The book will be published in spring 2007."

CNA: Pope Benedict XVI completes first book of Pontificate, "Jesus of Nazareth"