Africa needs good Samaritans who bring generosity, pope says in book

Published: 2007-04-04

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Africa's struggling populations are in need of good Samaritans who bring Christian generosity and not the "cynicism of a world without God," Pope Benedict XVI said in a new book. The pope examined the modern relevance of Christ's parable of the good Samaritan in a chapter from his upcoming book, "Jesus of Nazareth." The excerpt was published by the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera April 4. The Vatican, meanwhile, announced that the pope's book would be presented at a Vatican press conference April 13, three days before its publication in Italian, German and Polish. An English edition was to be released later this spring. In his chapter on the good Samaritan, the pope reviewed the New Testament text closely and noted that Jesus was expanding the common understanding of loving one's neighbor to include all people, and not only those in one's specific community.

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