Pope’s second part of “Jesus of Nazareth” likely to be ready in spring
(September 18, 2009) Pope Benedict XVI is currently working on the second part of
his book, “Jesus of Nazareth”, which is likely to be complete sometime next spring,
said Vatican spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi. The book is expected to cover Christ's
childhood, passion, death and resurrection. The first volume, the best-selling "Jesus
of Nazareth," was published in 2007. Fr. Lombardi told Catholic News Service that
next spring was a "realistic" target date for completion. He added that readying
the manuscript for publication and translating it into other languages could add to
the timeline, however. The pope has been working on the volume over the last two
years, especially during his summer vacations. The 448-page first volume of "Jesus
of Nazareth" covered the life of Christ from the time of his baptism in the Jordan
River to the transfiguration before his disciples. In it, Pope Benedict said Christ
must be understood as the Son of God on a divine mission, not as a mere moralist or
social reformer. The German-born pontiff he said it was not meant to be a papal teaching,
but the result of his personal investigation, and that no one should feel obligated
to agree with him.