Pope Benedict XVI

Aboard the papal plane, Sep 29, 2009 / 10:58 am (CNA).- Pope Benedict XVI said this past weekend that while he has not yet fully recovered from the broken wrist he suffered over the summer, he has been working on the second part of his book on Jesus and that he could complete it by the Spring of 2010.

During a press conference on the way to Prague, the Holy Father told reporters, “The right hand works, and I can do the essential things: I can eat, and above all, I can write.  My thought is developed mainly through writing; so for me it was really a burden, a school of patience, not to be able to write for six weeks.”

However, he continued, “I was able to work, to read, to do other things, and I also made a little bit of progress with the book. But I still have much to do. I think that, with the bibliography and everything that is still to be done, 'Deo adjuvante,' it could be finished next spring. But this is a hope!”

Caritas in Veritate

Responding to a question about the impact of his latest encyclical “Caritas in Veritate,” Pope Benedict XVI said, “I am very content that this serious discussion is taking place. This was the aim: to provide incentives and reasons for a discussion on these problems, not to leave things be as they are, but to find new models for a responsible economy, both in individual countries and for the totality of humanity as a whole.”

“It seems to me,” he went on, “that it has really become clear today that ethics is not something outside of the economy, which could work mechanically on its own, but is an inner principle of the economy, which does not work if it does not take into account the human values of solidarity, of reciprocal responsibilities, if it does not integrate ethics into the construction of the economy itself: this is the great challenge of this moment.”

The Holy Father said he was confident that the encyclical “contributed to this challenge.”

“The debate underway seems encouraging to me. Of course, we want to continue to respond to the challenges of the moment, and to help make the sense of responsibility stronger than the desire for profit, responsibility toward others stronger than egoism; in this sense, we want to contribute to a humane economy in the future as well,” Pope Benedict said.

05:18 am | Vatican prefect encourages Chinese clergy in commitment to unity

05:16 am | Citing new memo, Senators urge HHS to restrict abortion funding in high-risk pools

03:27 am | Anglican cleric apologizes for giving communion to dog

12:54 am | Boston archdiocese asks for lay participation in Catholics Come Home campaign

10:06 pm | Judge rules against Christian banned from Eastern Michigan counseling program

Book of homilies by Pope Benedict available soon in Spanish and English

Spanish bishop says Pope’s new book antidote to “Da Vinci Code”

Navarro-Valls: Focus of Benedict XVI’s pontificate is “ministering to the intellect”

Pope provides in-depth look at drama of real “Jesus of history” and rise of the early Church