Thanks to the efforts of the John Paul II Pontificate Center for Research and Documentation in Rome, the eighth volume in the series “John Paul II. Polish Bibliography” covering the literature of 1996 has been released.
The publication is a continuation of a series appearing for more than 30 years, which include precise records of documents and speeches of John Paul II personal works, his teaching and his pontificate. The bibliography is divided into two parts – subjective and objective. In these eight volumes the authors – Danuta Gulajewska and Zofia Wilinska – developed a record of more than 34 thousand editorials.
All bibliographic descriptions were drawn from personal experiences enriched by annotations with information about the contents of each publication. The use of the helpful bibliography is facilitated by the extensive cross-index that allows researchers to quickly find desired items. It is important to note that the material recorded between 1949 and 1995 has been included in the online catalogue of the on-line Church Libraries Federation FIDES. The link to the database with search engine is also available on the website of the Centre – www.jp2doc.org. The series of “John Paul II. Polish Bibliography” is a helpful tool in the study of the teaching of John Paul II, is also an important “barometer” to indicate the direction and the extent of successive reception in Poland of the Holy Father’s pontificate.
In the latest volume, the reader will find bibliographic references to events that took place in 1996, such as: the 50th anniversary of the priesthood of the Holy Father, as well as the resulting texts, including the book “The Gift and Mystery”. Such documents as the Post-Synodal Exhortation “Vita Consecrata” or apostolic Constitution “Universi Dominici Gregis”, which introduced changes to the rules of electing a pope.
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