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GeorgeSword
Guest
I was reading up on ghostwriters when I came across something that said that Papal Encyclicals were ghostwritten. Is this true, and if so, how can they be binding if they aren’t written by the Pope?
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bpbasilphx
Guest
A president’s speech is generally ghostwritten by one or more of his team of speech writers.
Does that stop it from being the president’s speech?
Does that stop it from being the president’s speech?
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MarcoPolo
Guest
What were you reading? Also, if there were parts not written by him that he read and approved for inclusion, the message is the same.I was reading up on ghostwriters when I came across something that said that Papal Encyclicals were ghostwritten. Is this true, and if so, how can they be binding if they aren’t written by the Pope?
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chris_molter
Guest
They are approved and issued by the Pope with his binding authority. To try to parse each encyclical to determine which parts are written with the Papal hand and which were not is just silly. A Bull is a Bull, an Encyclical is an Encyclical. What matters is not whose hand wrote the document, it’s whose signature and authority the document carries.
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chaunceygardner
Guest
Think of it like a member of the Supreme Court preparing a decision. They don’t research every legal citation and every case. They have aides to do that,and to prepare briefs. But the decision, the ultimate responsibility for what the final document says, is with the justice. The same with a Papal Encyclical. They usually contain many references to prior encyclicals, councils, scripture and the writings of other Popes and Church Fathers. Those are researched for him, based on what the subject and purpose of the encyclical is. For example, the Pope may ask, “What did the early Church Fathers say about Divine Mercy?” He could also ask someone who has expertise in the topic to provide their (name removed by moderator)ut.
From that research, the Pope has others prepare “briefs” and discussion based on what he wants. Some of the language that is ultimately included in the encyclical may come from these papers and (name removed by moderator)ut from others, but as was stated in an earlier post, the final product is from the Pope and he is responsible for the message.
As a side note, any Pope should obviously have a strong familiarity in the items mentioned above, and he probably already knows what an early Church Father said or what an earlier Pope wrote on a subject he is interested in. And they most likely do some of their own reading and research, once the materials are gathered.
(Being a book person and a fan of musty old libraries, one of the few things I would ever ask for on this earth would be to spend a few hours in the Vatican Library).:heaven:
If you read encyclicals, it is often fairly easy to see the “style” of the Pope who wrote it, once you get past the formulaic stuff. They can be very enlightening and inspirational.
From that research, the Pope has others prepare “briefs” and discussion based on what he wants. Some of the language that is ultimately included in the encyclical may come from these papers and (name removed by moderator)ut from others, but as was stated in an earlier post, the final product is from the Pope and he is responsible for the message.
As a side note, any Pope should obviously have a strong familiarity in the items mentioned above, and he probably already knows what an early Church Father said or what an earlier Pope wrote on a subject he is interested in. And they most likely do some of their own reading and research, once the materials are gathered.
(Being a book person and a fan of musty old libraries, one of the few things I would ever ask for on this earth would be to spend a few hours in the Vatican Library).:heaven:
If you read encyclicals, it is often fairly easy to see the “style” of the Pope who wrote it, once you get past the formulaic stuff. They can be very enlightening and inspirational.
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diggerdomer
Guest
Binding teaching does not come from only the Pope. It comes from the Magisterium.I was reading up on ghostwriters when I came across something that said that Papal Encyclicals were ghostwritten. Is this true, and if so, how can they be binding if they aren’t written by the Pope?
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