Keeping up with the Pope: Journals Containing Papal and Vatican Documents A Guide to Resources in Mount Angel Abbey Library

The twentieth century has seen an enormous increase in the papacy's literary output. In particular, recent popes have used formal addresses and encyclical letters as teaching tools. Pope John Paul II has given thousands of addresses during his travels and in Rome; he has written a number of important encyclicals as well. In addition, the various congregations and commissions of the Vatican publish official documents of various kinds. There are a number of journals through which users of Mount Angel Abbey Library can keep abreast of this variety of papal teaching. An asterisk indicates that a journal is indexed in the Catholic Periodical Index.

• *Acta Apostolicae Sedis (1989 = vol. 89) is subtitled "commentarium officiale." This journal gives the official texts of papal documents and documents from the Vatican congregations. Many are in Latin; otherwise, they are in the language in which they were issued. The library has a complete run of this journal and its predecessor (Acta sanctae sedis).
• Commentarium Pro Religiosis et Missionariis (1989 = vol. 70) is mainly devoted to questions of canon [=church] law and missionary practice. It includes both scholarly articles in various European languages and notices of official interpretations by church courts. It is not an official Vatican publication.
• *Communicationes (1988 = vol. 20) contains papal and Vatican documents, especially those touching on the interpretation of the code of canon law. It is published by the pontifical commission for the interpretation of canon law.
• The Newsletter of the (US) Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy often contains information and documents regarding papal and Vatican teaching on the liturgy.
• *Notitiae is a publication of the Vatican's Congregation on Divine Worship. It contains documents from the pope and Vatican congregations concerned with liturgy. It also contains scholarly articles on the liturgy.
• *Origins, the weekly magazine of the Catholic News Service (sponsored by the NCCB) contains English translations and summaries of papal documents. At Mount Angel it is the most used source for information about papal teaching and Vatican documents, because it is both timely and prepared for American readers.
• *L'Osservatore Romano is the Vatican's newspaper. The library subscribes to the weekly edition in English. It contains the text of many of the pope's routine addresses. Often these addresses rehearse themes which will receive fuller treatment in encyclicals and other important documents. The library binds this newspaper, so back issues are available.
• *Periodica de re canonica et morali utilia praesertim religiosis et missionariis, published at the Gregorian University in Rome (1989 = vol. 78) contains many articles, in Latin, regarding papal documents. It also includes decisions of the papal commission on the interpretation of canon law.
• *The Pope Speaks (1989 = v. 34) is an English language magazine devoted exclusively to official Vatican documents. It is older than Origins.
• *Seminarium is a quarterly (1988 = vol. 39) published by the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education. Articles are in various European languages; the authors are often professors in pontifical faculties in Rome or elsewhere.

Last updated April 2005