(February 19, 2011) “Jesus of Nazareth”, the most recent work of Pope Benedict
XVI will be released on Thursday, March 10th. The book will be presented
to Journalists, the same day in John Paul II hall at the Vatican Press Office. The
full title reads, Jesus of Nazareth: Part II, Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem
to the Resurrection; it is the sequel volume to Jesus of Nazareth: Part I, From the
Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration. The writings of the Pope as Cardinal
and before that and later as Pope, number close upon thirty volumes. In this most
recent volume Benedict maintains that the evidence, fairly considered, brings us face-to-face
with the challenge of Jesus-a real man who taught and acted in ways that were tantamount
to claims of divine authority, claims not easily dismissed as lunacy or deception.
Benedict XVI presents this challenge to the men of today of every creed and nation..
Why was Jesus rejected by the religious leaders of his day? Who was responsible for
his death? Did he establish a Church to carry on his work? How did Jesus view his
suffering and death? And, most importantly, did Jesus really rise from the dead and
what does his resurrection mean? The story of Jesus raises many crucial questions.
Benedict brings to his study the vast learning of a brilliant scholar, the passionate
searching of a great mind, and the deep compassion of a pastor's heart. In the end,
he dares his readers to grapple with the meaning of Jesus' life, teaching, death,
and resurrection. "Only in this second volume do we encounter the decisive sayings
and events of Jesus' life helpful to all readers who seek to encounter Jesus and to
believe in Him." "Working from Scripture, the Church Fathers and contemporary scholarship,
the author deftly brings together the historical and theological dimensions of the
gospel portraits of Jesus. This is a splendid, penetrating study of the central figure
of Christian faith; a learned and spiritual illumination not only of who Jesus was,
but who he is for us today," says the Franciscan Charles J. Chaput, , Archbishop
of Denver .