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February
6, 2006
VOL.
44, NO. 3Oakland,
CA
Excerpts from
Pope Benedict’s encyclical ‘
Deus Caritas Est’
Below
are some excerpts from Pope Benedict XVI’s first encyclical, “Deus
Caritas Est” (God is Love):
``Today, the term ‘love’ has become one of the most frequently
used and misused of words. ... We speak of love of country, love of one’s
profession, love between friends, love of work, love between parents and
children, love of neighbor and love of God. Amid this multiplicity of
meanings, however, one in particular stands out: love between man and
woman, where body and soul are inseparably joined and human beings glimpse
an apparently irresistible promise of happiness.’’
``Nowadays, Christianity of the past is often criticized as having been
opposed to the body; and it is quite true that tendencies of this sort
have always existed. Yet the contemporary way of exalting the body is
deceptive. Eros, reduced to pure ‘sex,’ has become a commodity,
a mere ‘thing’ to be bought and sold, or rather, man himself
becomes a commodity.’’
``Even if eros is at first mainly covetous and ascending, a fascination
for the great promise of happiness in drawing near to the other, it is
less and less concerned with itself, increasingly seeks the happiness
of the other, is concerned more and more with the beloved, bestows itself
and wants to ‘be there for’ the other. The element of agape
(unconditional love) thus enters into this love.’’
``...Love for widows and orphans, prisoners, and the sick and needy of
every kind, is as essential to her (the church) as ministry of the sacraments
and preaching of the Gospel. ... For the church, charity is not a kind
of welfare activity which could equally be left to others, but is a part
of her nature, an indispensable expression of her very being.’’
``It must be admitted that the church’s leadership was slow to realize
that the issue of the just structuring of society needed to be approached
in a new way.’’
``Marxism had seen world revolution and its preliminaries as the panacea
for the social problem. ... This illusion has vanished. In today’s
complex situation, not least because of the growth of a globalized economy,
the church’s social doctrine has become a set of fundamental guidelines
offering approaches that are valid even beyond the confines of the church.’’
``The state may not impose religion, yet it must guarantee religious freedom
and harmony between the followers of different religions. For her part
the church, as the social expression of Christian faith, has a proper
independence and is structured on the basis of her faith as a community
which the state must recognize.’’
``The church cannot and must not take upon herself the political battle
to bring about the most just society possible. She cannot and must not
replace the state. Yet at the same time she cannot and must not remain
on the sidelines in the fight for justice.’’
``It is time to affirm the importance of prayer ... a personal relationship
with God and an abandonment to his will can prevent man from being demeaned
and save him from falling prey to the teaching of fanaticism and terrorism.’’
(The complete text of the encyclical is available at www.vatican.va.)
