I Was A Ghostwriter For The Pope

Here is one thing I learned

Photo by iam_os on Unsplash

It should hardly come as a surprise that popes don’t write most of their own material. The sheer volume simply doesn’t allow for it. In the thirty days since Leo XIV was elected, he has delivered just as many speeches. That’s in addition to dozens of documents he must sign each week, including bulls, apostolic constitutions, diplomatic letters, and so on. Each pope opts for a different level of involvement in the work, which varies according to schedule, health, expertise, interest, and so on.

Benedict XVI chose to spend much of his time writing three brilliant books on the life of Jesus of Nazareth, covering his public ministry, passion/death/resurrection, and infancy. Because he did not intend them as part of the “ordinary Magisterium” — i.e., the body of teaching that Catholics must adhere to — he published them under the name “Joseph Ratzinger” instead of “Benedict XVI.” That left the bulk of the papal writing to us, his ghostwriters. Although Benedict diligently reviewed everything we prepared for him, he rarely made comments or suggestions.

One reason for this is that we, his ghostwriters, already knew his mind. In fact, the whole world did. As a professional theologian, Ratzinger was a prolific author. He gave book-length interviews while Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine…