Entitled “Grace and Vocation Without Remorse” (“Gnade und Berufung ohne Reue”), dated 26 October 2017 and signed “Joseph Ratzinger – Benedict XVI”, the text was not initially intended for publication. In a preface to the article published in Communio, Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said it had been passed on to him as a private reflection and he had encouraged its publication.
An English translation has not yet been published. In the German speaking countries (Germany, Switzerland, Austria), however, the essay has sparked public controversy - and has provoked partially harsh criticism by Christian and Jewish scholars as well. DIALOGIKA - an online library that chronicles the evolving conversation and relationship between the Christian and Jewish communities, edited by the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations (CCJR) and the Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations of Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia - provides unofficial translations of some of the most interesting commentaries on the named subject. You can find them here: