Pope John Paul II's works compiled in 4 volumes by Kerala publisher

Thiruvananthapuram – A Kerala publishing house has compiled all the written works of late Pope John Paul II during his 25–year tenure into four volumes – in what is believed to be the first such collection.

The compiled documents describing the Pope's thoughts on a variety of subjects like faith, moral teachings and youth was released at a function in Thiruvananthapuram on Jan 27.

Fr. Mathew Thundathil, director of the Carmel International Publishing House, which worked for the past three years on the documents, told IANS: "We have divided them into four different volumes. They consist of Encyclicals, Apostolic Letters, Apostolic Exhortations and Apostolic Constitutions,” IANS quoted Fr. Mathew Thundathil, director of the Carmel International Publishing House, which worked for the past three years on the documents, as saying.

The price of all the four volumes is Rs.1,350.

Thundathil said the Pope had given the nod for the publication a couple of years ago.

“The Encyclicals" consist of 1,152 pages and include the Pope's views on faith and reason, ecumenism, human life, the Church's moral teachings and many similar issues.

"The Apostolic Letters" run into 562 pages long and include his notes on the sacrament of penance, a letter to the youth of the world and the Christian meaning of sacrifice.

"The Apostolic Exhortations" is 960 pages long and has articles on bishops, the role of the Christian family in the modern world and reconciliation and penance in the church.

"The Apostolic Constitutions" is 240 pages long and deals with the intricacies of the Catholic Church.

"Even though most of these have been published, this is going to be a ready reckoner on the Pope who led us for a quarter of a century," said Thundathil.

Pope John Paul II passed away on April 2 last year.

Twenty–five percent of Kerala's population is Christian, of which 50 percent is Catholic.