Pope’s Encyclical Available For Purchase July 20
WASHINGTON—Charity in Truth (Caritas In Veritate), Pope Benedict XVI’s third encyclical, will be available for purchase as a book July 20, in English and Spanish, according to the USCCB Publishing Office.
John Carr, Executive Director of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development (JPHD), said the pope’s encyclical “offers a much needed ethical analysis of the global economic crisis and an essential moral framework on how to move forward as one human family.”
“The Holy Father insists that ethics and a priority for the poor need to be at the heart of economic life,” Carr said. “The pope challenges each of us to put charity and truth, justice and the common good at the heart of our economic choices and everyday lives.”
Charity in Truth (Caritas In Veritate) covers several issues integral to Catholic Social Teaching. The pope places charity at the heart of the Church’s social doctrine. He also calls for a new way of doing business to ensure the stability and welfare of all stakeholders, including workers and society at large. The global economy, problems with non-renewable energy resources, and a need for a new world political authority are other issues the pope discusses in the encyclical.
The USCCB’s Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development is developing study and reflection guides to accompany Charity in Truth (Caritas In Veritate). The guides include session templates with excerpts from the encyclical, short prayers, and discussion questions. Paul Henderson, USCCB Publishing director, highlighted the value of the study guides as “aids for people to reflect on the Holy Father’s encyclical and put it into action in their own communities.”
Charity in Truth (Caritas In Veritate), Publication numbers 7-049 (English) and 7-806 (Spanish),is $6.95 per copy and can be ordered online at http://www.usccbpublishing.org. The study guides will be available as free downloads at http://www.usccb.org/jphd/caritasinveritate/.