So unusual, I know.

Here, in a convenient, easy-to-read place, is a translation of the excerpts from the preface to the Pope’s book on Jesus.

I have felt the need to give readers these indications of a methodological character so that they can determine the path of my interpretation of the figure of Jesus in the New Testament. With reference to my interpretation of Jesus, this means first of all that I trust the Gospels. Of course I take as a given all that the Council and modern exegesis say about the literary genres, the intention of their affirmations, on the communal context of the Gospels and its words in this living context. Accepting all this in the measure that was possible to me, I wished to present the Jesus of the Gospels as the true Jesus, as the "historical Jesus" in the true sense of the expression.

I am convinced, and I hope the reader will also realize, that this figure is far more logical and, from the historical point of view, also more comprehensible than the reconstructions we have had to deal with in the last decades.

I believe, in fact, that this Jesus — the one of the Gospels — is a historically honest and convincing figure. The Crucifixion and its efficacy can only be explained if something extraordinary happened, if Jesus’ figure and words radically exceeded all the hopes and expectations of the age.

Approximately twenty years after Jesus’ death, we find fully displayed in the great hymn to Christ that is the Letter to the Philippians (2:6-8) a Christology which says that Jesus was equal to God but that he stripped himself, became man, humbled himself unto death on the cross and that to him is owed the homage of creation, the adoration that in the prophet Isaiah (45:23) God proclaimed is owed only to Him.

With good judgment, critical research asks the question: What happened in the twenty years after Jesus’ Crucifixion? How was this Christology arrived at?

Teresa Benedetta at PRF has a bit more, from Avennire (the Italian bishops’ newspaper) about tranlsations of the book:

Rossini said the book will be in bookstores in April 2007, "probably by Easter, or the second anniversary of Benedict’s Papacy.

"Obviously it wil be available in German, because it was written in German, and in the Italian translation but we are trying to see if one or two more language editions will also be ready. Other language versions will certainly follow, Rossini added."

For the record, the two last autobiographical books of John Paul – ‘Memory and Identity,’ and ‘Arise, let us move on’ – were published in 27 and 34 language editions, respectively.

Translation, however, is not a simple matter. Rossini said: "The text – 276 typewritten pages – got to us the end of October. To translate a Pope’s work is never easy, but in this case, one has to take into account that Benedict XVI writes in a very cultured German which is however also very fluid and clear – some say it is a linguistic model to be studied in schools. Therefore, the translation has to reflect and respect that style."

He adds, "There is also the fact that this book is not meant just for experts but is also and primarily intended for the general public that does not have any specific theological preparation."

Those British headline writers strike again, this time on top of the Times’ Richard Owens’ article on the Pope not attending The Nativity premiere on Sunday.: "Pregnant Mary Embarrases Vatican."

(The very young actress who plays Mary in the film, Keisha Castle-Hughes, is 16 and pregnant by her 19-year old boyfriend of 3 years.)

Of course the article gives no actual evidence to support the headline. When the premiere in the Paul VI Hall was announced a month or so ago, it was widely assumed that the Pope wouldn’t be attending. Given that he’ll be leaving for, you know, Turkey, a couple of days afterwards, we probably shouldn’t be surprised. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to be careful to avoid any kind of "It is at is was" moment or any chance of his presence being used in a commercial way.

Father Melchor Sánchez de Toca y Alameda, deputy to Cardinal Paul Poupard, head of the Papal Council for Culture, which is hosting the screening, confirmed there were rumours that Castle-Hughes’s presence on Sunday had been “vetoed”, but said he “did not believe them”. He gave the film “8½ out of 10”, and said Castle-Hughes was “not expected to be a saint herself, only to do her work as an actress properly”.

Then there’s this line:

Christian websites in the US and Canada have questioned Castle-Hughes’s “suitability” to play the mother of Christ.

…with again, not a citation anywhere in the vicinity…