Use of Papal Texts and Talks

The Vatican Publishing House said [its copyright] rules are not new or secret, but they are necessary to prevent pirated copies of papal documents -- texts sold under the pope's name but with no Vatican control over the content and no compensation to the Vatican. . . . Francesca Angeletti, who handles copyright permissions for the Vatican, told Catholic News Service the Vatican wanted to ensure the integrity of texts attributed to the pope and to prevent publishers from making money off his works without the knowledge of the Vatican and without giving the Vatican appropriate compensation.

Newspapers, magazines and bishops' conferences, she said, still may publish papal texts without paying royalties as long as the texts are not changed and a line is included saying the text has been copyrighted by the Libreria Editrice Vaticana. . . .

--Catholic News Service