John Paul II: The Encyclicals in Everyday Language [Paperback]

Pope John Paul II (Author), Joseph G. Donders (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2001

Father Donders has brought together all 12 of Pope John Paul II's encyclicals in the first complete edition designed with the ordinary lay reader in mind. Father Donders puts the central message of each passage in sense lines that display the core of each text in an abbreviated format. This enablesthe reader to grasp the Pope's meaning easily.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 373 pages
• Publisher: Orbis Books; Updated edition (March 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570753741
• ISBN-13: 978-1570753749
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,112,019 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Encyclicalese translated, September 19, 2009

By 

John ODonnell "jono" (St. Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: John Paul II: The Encyclicals in Everyday Language (Paperback)

John Paul II stood across the last quarter of the twentieth century like a Collosus. His intellect was formed in modern and scholastic philosophy. The larger corpus of his thought and output consisted of many speeches, sermons, letters, interviews, etc. In the top tier of his output stand his encyclicals. In Roman Catholic tradition, encyclicals are letters from the Bishop of Rome to other bishops, to the church and to the world. Encyclicals contain teachings accepted as true and are given great deference among Catholics.

Unfortuantely, much of the wisdom contained in encyclicals comes wrapped in centuries' old manners of communication, much of which are foreign to today's ear.

Father Joseph Donders has provided a service to Catholics and others by rendering all of John Paul II's encyclicals into language more accessible to modern readers who are not professional theolgians. Donders points out, appropriately, that the first source always are the original encyclicals; Donders recommends having the original encyclical alongside his "translation." To enhance using this book as a refernce, Donders prepared a short Epilogue which traces some of the threads that run through the encyclicals. This makes it possible to trace the development of certain of John Paul's thought over time. This is aided also by an index of main terms and themes found in the encyclicals.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reference, May 29, 2006

By 

Anthony J. Warren (Cincinnati, OH United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: John Paul II: The Encyclicals in Everyday Language (Paperback)

This is a great book to have on hand. Pope John Paul's set of encylicals compromise a modern, comprehsensive presentation of Catholic theology. Father Donders makes these writings available to the more casual reader. Reading these encyclicals is a great way to reflect on the great pontifcate of Pope John Paul II. Highly recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Has All of Them, June 29, 2010

By 

Arthur Caldarola - See all my reviews
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This review is from: John Paul II: The Encyclicals in Everyday Language (Paperback)

If you love JP II, all his encyclicals are here in language everyone can understand. It may not be strictly loyal to the original, but it is important that his message gets through.