What happened?
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has entered the debate over the future of the priesthood, contributing to a book by Cardinal Robert Sarah, the Vatican’s liturgy chief, which defends the general rule of clerical celibacy.
The book’s publication was marred by confusion over Benedict’s role. It was first announced as a jointly authored book, but a Benedict aide then said there had been a misunderstanding and that Benedict had asked not to be listed as co-author.
What the book says
Only extracts had appeared at the time of going to press. These suggest that the book has an urgent tone, calling on “everyone – bishops, priests and lay people – to stop letting themselves be intimidated by the wrong-headed pleas, the theatrical productions, the diabolical lies and the fashionable errors that try to put down priestly celibacy”.
