Prayer and study resources to help ministry leaders and individuals explore and promote the Holy Father’s teaching letter
This is a "word cloud" containing the most frequently used words in Pope Benedict XVI's third encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate" ("Charity in Truth"). The size of the word is proportionate to the number of times it appears in the text. (CNS graphic/Emily Thompson)
A list of encyclicals on social concerns including Pope Benedict XVI's third encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate". (CNS graphic/Emily Thompson)
POPE SIGNS ENCYCLICAL 'CARITAS IN VERITATE' Pope Benedict XVI signs a copy of his encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate" ("Charity in Truth"), at the Vatican July 6. The pope's social encyclical, released July 7, addresses the global economic crisis. (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano via Reuters)
To pope, humans more than just 'units' to be used, says ethicist
By Trista Turley, Catholic News Service
Pope Benedict XVI "has a vision of the human person that transcends seeing us as economic units or raw units to be used for biotechnical development," said John Haas, president of the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. "We don't have an understanding of a human being as truly human unless we see them as being open to the transcendent or the supernatural," he said in a July 20 phone interview with Catholic News Service. He made the comments about the pope's stance on bioethics in the encyclical "Caritas in Veritate" ("Charity in Truth"), which was released July 7. Haas said the pope's writing offers a profound philosophical anthropology. MORE
Public money must support life, not fund death, Vatican official says
By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Especially at a time of financial crisis, when life-giving initiatives are hurting for money, it appears strange for a government to expand public funding for abortion, said the head of the Pontifical Academy for Life. Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the academy's head, said Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate" ("Charity in Truth"), tried to explain to people how welcoming, defending and protecting human life at every stage is an essential part of promoting real development for individuals and communities. The archbishop was interviewed July 22 by Vatican Radio before speaking at a conference in Rome dedicated to the encyclical, which was released July 7. MORE
Spiritual needs must be part of solution to global crisis, says pope
By Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Solutions to the world's numerous crises must include strategies to meet people's human and spiritual needs and not focus just on providing material support, Pope Benedict XVI said.
An overemphasis on technology or giving in to a sort of "supremacy of technology, which finds its highest expression in some practices opposed to life, could in fact spell out disturbing scenarios for the future of humanity," he said before reciting the Angelus July 12 with visitors in St. Peter's Square.
"The solutions to the current problems of humanity cannot be merely technical, but must take into account all the needs of the person who is endowed with a soul and body," he said in remarks concerning the Group of Eight summit in L'Aquila, Italy, which wrapped up July 10.
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Pope urges workers' voices be heard, unions adapt to global economy
By Chaz Muth, Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- When Pope Benedict XVI released his third encyclical -- "Caritas in Veritate" ("Charity in Truth") -- he stressed that the voice of workers must be heard as heads of state, industry moguls, labor union leaders and environmentalists develop long-term solutions for the ailing global economy. The pope's encyclical -- released in early July -- re-emphasizes the Catholic Church's continuing support of workers associations going back to Pope Leo XIII's encyclical, "Rerum Novarum," in 1891, but it also challenges labor union leaders to adapt to a growing global economy to remain relevant. According to John Carr, executive director of the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the pope's encyclical says a healthy economy depends on workers who earn a sustainable wage, receive reliable health benefits and have a safe environment in which to perform their jobs. MORE
Encyclical: Keeping pro-life sensibility can help during tough times
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Keeping a pro-life sensibility during hard economic times can actually help a society through those trying years, Pope Benedict XVI said in his third encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate" ("Charity in Truth"). In a social encyclical on development and the world's financial crisis, the pope said it is important to keep in mind the teaching of "Humanae Vitae," Pope Paul VI's 1968 encyclical on human life, and said being pro-life is being pro-development. If society sees a new baby as a problem, how will its citizens view the poor? the pope asked in the encyclical, released July 7. MORE
Encyclical asks unions to protect workers beyond their membership
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI called on labor unions to look beyond their membership when protecting the rights of workers and turn their attention to workers in other fields and in developing countries where social rights are violated. The pope reached out to labor unions in his third encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate" ("Charity in Truth"), released July 7. "The protection of these workers, partly achieved through appropriate initiatives aimed at their countries of origin, will enable trade unions to demonstrate the authentic ethical and cultural motivations that made it possible for them, in a different social and labor context, to play a decisive role in development," he said in the encyclical. Since the church's traditional teaching makes a valid distinction between the roles of trade unions and politics, it is correct for unions to identify civil society as the proper setting for their activity of defending and promoting labor, especially among exploited and unrepresented workers often overlooked by the general public, the pope said. MORE
Encyclical seeks economic model that meets long-term sustainability
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Today's international economic model requires a new way of understanding business enterprise, Pope Benedict XVI said in his third encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate" ("Charity in Truth"). When business leaders make themselves exclusively answerable to their investors, they limit their enterprise's social value and often sacrifice long-term sustainability for short-term profits, the pope said in the encyclical, released July 7. MORE
Will Pope Benedict's encyclical take root? Only time will tell
By Dennis Sadowski, Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Now that Pope Benedict XVI's long-awaited social encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate" ("Charity in Truth"), has been released, a key question arises: Will the pope's call to reform economic and social systems so they encompass broader moral values while focusing on human development be taken seriously by the world's decision-makers? It just may happen, said several Catholic business leaders, social justice advocates and those involved with developing social policy. Certainly, they concluded, there is no better time than the present -- as the world struggles to overcome its deepest economic recession in nearly 80 years -- to give ethical concerns greater consideration in policy decisions. MORE
In new encyclical, pope calls for sharing earth's resources equitably
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI dedicated a portion of his new social encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate" ("Charity in Truth"), to the urgent duty to share the earth's resources equitably and safeguard the environment for future generations. He criticized states, organizations and companies that hoard nonrenewable fossil fuels. Not only does the stockpiling of natural resources hinder the development of poorer nations, but it "gives rise to exploitation and frequent conflicts between and within nations," he said. "The international community has an urgent duty to find institutional means of regulating the exploitation of nonrenewable resources, involving poor countries in the process, in order to plan together for the future," he said. MORE
Encyclical breaks new ground on social issues, commentators say
By Nancy Frazier O'Brien, Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI's new encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate" ("Charity in Truth"), breaks new ground on such topics as microfinancing, intellectual property rights, globalization and the concept of putting one's wealth at the service of the poor, according to Catholic scholars and church leaders. In interviews with Catholic News Service and in statements about the encyclical released July 7 at the Vatican, commentators said the more than 30,000-word document takes on a variety of issues not previously addressed in such a comprehensive way. "I was surprised ... at how wide-ranging it is," said Kirk Hanson, a business ethics professor at Santa Clara University in California and executive director of the Jesuit-run university's Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. "It's not just an updating of 'Populorum Progressio'" ("The Progress of Peoples"), the 1967 social encyclical by Pope Paul VI, he added. MORE
Cardinal George Welcomes Caritas in Veritate, Says Message on Global Economy, Politics, Environment is Helpful Guide for Today
WASHINGTON—Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict XVI’s new encyclical, provides helpful guidance for finding answers to the social, economic and moral questions of the contemporary world in a search for truth. He commented July 7, when Pope Benedict issued to the world a letter that analyzes the current global economic crisis in light of traditional moral principles. The letter affirms the progress that has been made in world development yet notes that other challenges exist given newly emerging problems in the global society. The encyclical offers sound reflections on the vocation of human development as well as on the moral principles on which a global economy must be based. It challenges business enterprises, governments, unions and individuals to reexamine their economic responsibilities in the light of charity governed by truth. MORE
Love for others requires involvement in politics, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Christian call to love one another and to work for justice requires the active participation in the political process, Pope Benedict XVI said in his new encyclical. "To desire the common good and strive toward it is a requirement of justice and charity," the pope said in his encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate" ("Charity in Truth"). The encyclical, published July 7, said God's love for all his creatures must be mirrored in the way they love and care for one another, engaging in acts of charity and solidarity with respect for the truth that every human life is sacred and that humanity forms one family. "To love someone is to desire that person's good and to take effective steps to secure it," the pope said. "Besides the good of the individual, there is a good that is linked to living in society: the common good." MORE
Pope Benedict XVI's third encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate" ("Charity in Truth") will be released July 7. (CNS graphic/Emily Thompson)
Economist: UN could create economic body with teeth, as pope suggested
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI's call for an international authority with "real teeth" to guide the global economy could be realized with the creation of a U.N. "socio-economic security council" to stand alongside the current Security Council dedicated to peacekeeping, said an economist who advises the Vatican. Stefano Zamagni, a professor of economic policies at the University of Bologna, Italy, and a consultant to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, spoke July 7 at the Vatican press conference held to present Pope Benedict's encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate" ("Charity in Truth.") Pope Benedict wrote that the current financial crisis demonstrated just how little control national governments have over the process of globalization and the interdependence of the world's economy. MORE
Pope says moral values must be part of economic recovery, development
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Ethical values are needed to overcome the current global economic crisis as well as to eradicate hunger and promote the real development of all the world's peoples, Pope Benedict XVI said in his new encyclical. The document, "Caritas in Veritate" ("Charity in Truth"), was dated June 29 and released at the Vatican July 7. The truth that God is the creator of human life, that every life is sacred, that the earth was given to humanity to use and protect and that God has a plan for each person must be respected in development programs and in economic recovery efforts if they are to have real and lasting benefits, the pope said. Charity, or love, is not an option for Christians, he said, and "practicing charity in truth helps people understand that adhering to the values of Christianity is not merely useful, but essential for building a good society and for true integral development," he wrote. MORE
This is a "word cloud" containing the most frequently used words in Pope Benedict XVI's third encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate" ("Charity in Truth"). The size of the word is proportionate to the number of times it appears in the text. Common wo rds such as "and," "a" and "the" are not included. (CNS graphic/Emily Thompson)
Key Quotes from Caritas in Veritate
Charity is at the heart of the church’s social doctrine …. It is the principle not only of micro-relationships (with friends, with family members or within small groups) but also of macro-relationships (social, economic and political ones). (2) Truth needs to be sought, found and expressed within the ‘economy’ of charity, but charity in its turn needs to be understood, confirmed and practiced in the light of truth. In this way, not only do we do a service to charity enlightened by truth, but we also help give credibility to truth, demonstrating its persuasive and authenticating power in the practical setting of social living. This is a matter of no small account today, in a social and cultural context which relativizes truth, often paying little heed to it and showing increasing reluctance to acknowledge its existence. (2) The risk for our time is that the de facto interdependence of people and nations is not matched by ethical interactions of consciences and minds that would give rise to truly human development. Only in charity, illumined by the light of reason and faith, is it possible to pursue development goals that possess a more humane and humanizing value. The sharing of goods and resources, from which authentic development proceeds, is not guaranteed by merely technical progress and relationships of utility, but by the potential of love that overcomes evil with good (cf. Rom 12:21), opening up the path towards reciprocity of conscience and liberties. (9) MORE
In new encyclical, pope calls for sharing earth's resources equitably By Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service
New Encyclical -- Anybody Got a Copy? USCCB Media Blog
Pope Benedict XVI’s new encyclical, “Caritas in viritate,” is due out July 7, but has been leaking out in Roman newspapers for several days now. Alas, it has not splashed across the pond and here in the United States we’re left making educated guesses about its contents. We’re not even sure of its English-language title since Latinates can translate it either as “Charity in truth” or “Love in truth.” Vatican Radio on June 29 used the former, so my money’s on that translation. It is said that every translator is a traitor and no one wants to be the traitor with what may be a key encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI’s papacy. MORE
Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson of the Knights of Columbus (CNS photo/Knights of Columbus)
New encyclical should prompt ethical review, Knights' leader says By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service
ROME (CNS) -- When Pope Benedict XVI's social encyclical is released, Catholics shouldn't just ask, "What does the pope say I'm doing right?" but "What should I do to act more morally?" said the head of the Knights of Columbus. Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson, who heads the 1.7 million-member fraternal organization and its enormous life insurance business, spoke to Catholic News Service July 1 in Rome. The Vatican announced that the pope's encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate" (Love in Truth), would be released July 7. Anderson said he would ask the top executives of the Knights of Columbus insurance program to read the encyclical and look at ways it is calling the Knights to make changes to their business and other programs. Too many people, he said, already are predicting that the encyclical will validate their ideas about the economy, finance, business practices and development aid. Catholics need to allow the encyclical to challenge them to act with more integrity, more morality and greater charity, Anderson said. MORE
Groundbreaking Economic Encyclical on the Way USCCB Media Blog
Since 1891, when Pope Leo XIII issued Rerum novarum (On capital and labor, the Church has seen a few blockbuster encyclicals. Pope Benedict XVI may be about to issue another one for the ages with the forthcoming Caritas in veritate (Charity in truth). Rerum novarum addressed the condition of labor and the challenges of the Industrial Revolution’s widespread exploitation of workers. It resounded in the United States as it upheld the rights of employees to organize and rejected communism and unbridled capitalism. Later social encyclicals built on its foundation and addressed growing concerns of labor and international finance. Pacem in terris (Peace on earth), Pope John XXIII’s 1963 encyclical, and the first encyclical ever to address not just Catholics but to all of good will, stands as another remarkable statement. It addressed a major social problem of its time, the Cold War. It said that peace required respect for human rights. Coming just months after the Cuban missile crisis, it offered hope in the United States as it called for negotiation not conflict. MORE
Social Encyclical Primer USCCB Media Blog
Since it looks like Pope Benedict's long-awaited social encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, will be appearing any day now (he reportedly signed it Monday), it's probably a good time to take a look at the history of Catholic social teaching, specifically as it has been expressed through papal encyclicals. Here are the highlights: Rerum Novarum (Of New Things) 1891, Pope Leo XIII -- essentially the Big Bang of Catholic social teaching, truly groundbreaking, and the standard that popes have looked back to ever since (see below). This encyclical tackles the turmoil surrounding labororers in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, touching on issues including socialism, unbridled capitalism, a living wage, the relationship between laborer and employer, and the relationship between classes. Pope Leo also mentions the preferential option for the poor. Quadragesimo Anno (After Forty Years) 1931, Pope Pius XI -- following Rerum Novarum by exactly 40 years, this encyclical offers an update on the state of labor and industrialization, also offering strong critiques of communism, unrestrained capitalism and classism. MORE