A book by Pope John Paul II “being edited,” Polish Catholic news agency announces

Warsaw, Poland, Jul 8, 2004 / 22:00 pm

Father Pawel Ptasznik, head of the Polish section of the Vatican's Secretary of State, has revealed to the Polish Catholic news agency KAI that a  book by Pope John Paul  II  is "being edited"  and ready for publication.

The book, dealing with issues of philosophy and existence, "seems…already ripe for publication," said Fr. Ptasznik; but he also explained that it is still in the editing stages.

"It is a long process and you should not expect it to be published in the immediate future," he added.  "As for its content, I can only say that reports that it is mostly about the problems of totalitarianism are not true," he said.

"It is an open secret that years ago Father Jozef Tischner suggested to the sovereign Pontiff an interview on philosophical and existential themes," Fr. Ptasznik also told KAI.

Father Jozef Tischner, a philosopher, theologian and author, died in Cracow on June 28, 2000 after a long illness at the age of 69.  A close friend of the Pope, it is said he held frequent and long conversations with him on questions of human existence and the accountability of human liberty, among other philosophical concerns.

Fr. Ptasznik told KAI that "unless I'm mistaken, the interview (with Tishner) took place in the summer of 1984 and was recorded." Since then, the Pope  "has reworked his ideas."