Pope uses tape recorder as writing tough with cast
(July 23, 2009) Pope Benedict XVI is using a tape recorder to get his thoughts out
rather than trying to write by hand with a cast on, the Vatican spokesman said Wednesday.
Pope Benedict had hoped to make progress during his two-week mountain vacation on
the second instalment of his two-book project on Jesus of Nazareth. But he fell and
broke his right wrist last week, making writing by hand difficult. Vatican spokesman
Father Federico Lombardi said the right-handed pope is getting more and more used
to the cast, and has started using a tape recorder to get his thoughts out. The 82
year old Pontiff was given a small computer over the weekend, but Father Lombardi
has said the pope hasn't used it. “He's not that technological. He creates by writing,
and he likes to write with a pen,” he said. Pope Benedict's first book as pope, «Jesus
of Nazareth,» was published in 2007 wherein he offered a very personal meditation
on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, and criticized capitalism's exploitation
of the poor and the absence of God in Marxism. The Pontiff’s second volume would explore
the birth of Christ, his crucifixion and resurrection. In an update Wednesday, Lombardi
said the pope was feeling good and in high spirits, and had added a new event on his
limited public schedule: He plans to visit to a local clinic to greet the sick on
Friday, after celebrating vespers in the local Aosta cathedral. Despite the cast,
Pope Benedict managed to bless the faithful during his traditional Sunday blessing
and seemed to move about with ease.