” ” ” “”Deus caritas est”, Benedict XVI’s first encyclical, is the best-selling Papal writing in the Netherlands. During this second week of November, the Pope’s bestseller will be reprinted for the fourth time and will exceed the limit of 10,000 copies, according to the Secretariat of the Rooms-Katholiek Kerkegenootschap (Catholic church association of the Netherlands). So far, about 8,000 copies of the encyclical in Dutch have been sold. The circulation of theological publications in Holland usually ranges between 2,000 and 5,000 copies. The encyclical is not the only success of the Catholic publishing industry in the Netherlands, since other Catholic "works" have sold well lately, for instance the so-called “Missiebrief” (Missionary Letter) of the Dutch Bishops, reprinted for the third time. So far, the overall circulation has reached a total of nearly 7,500 copies. Another example is that of the magazine ‘Light on the horizon’ presented in October, dealing with the Catholic view of life after death, printed in a first run of 20,000 copies, with hundreds of orders still flocking in. None of these works are sold in bookshops, but can be ordered from the Dutch Secretariat of the Catholic Church Association of the Netherlands.” “
