Pontifications

Text of the encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate"

Tuesday July 7, 2009

Here, in an easily searched version. Analysis and excerpts to come.

ENCYCLICAL LETTER
CARITAS IN VERITATE
OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF
BENEDICT XVI
TO THE BISHOPS
PRIESTS AND DEACONS
MEN AND WOMEN RELIGIOUS
THE LAY FAITHFUL
AND ALL PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL
ON INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
IN CHARITY AND TRUTH

 INTRODUCTION

1. Charity in truth, to which Jesus Christ bore witness by his earthly life and especially by his death and resurrection, is the principal driving force behind the authentic development of every person and of all humanity. Love -- caritas -- is an extraordinary force which leads people to opt for courageous and generous engagement in the field of justice and peace. It is a force that has its origin in God, Eternal Love and Absolute Truth. Each person finds his good by adherence to God's plan for him, in order to realize it fully: in this plan, he finds his truth, and through adherence to this truth he becomes free (cf. Jn 8:22). To defend the truth, to articulate it with humility and conviction, and to bear witness to it in life are therefore exacting and indispensable forms of charity. Charity, in fact, "rejoices in the truth" (1 Cor 13:6). All people feel the interior impulse to love authentically: love and truth never abandon them completely, because these are the vocation planted by God in the heart and mind of every human person. The search for love and truth is purified and liberated by Jesus Christ from the impoverishment that our humanity brings to it, and he reveals to us in all its fullness the initiative of love and the plan for true life that God has prepared for us. In Christ, charity in truth becomes the Face of his Person, a vocation for us to love our brothers and sisters in the truth of his plan. Indeed, he himself is the Truth (cf. Jn 14:6).

2. Charity is at the heart of the Church's social doctrine...

Read it all at the Vatican site in English...

Advertisement
Comments
Rebecca
July 7, 2009 2:58 PM

I don't want to read this Encyclical.
You read it.
I don't like this pope.
Why is he so politico-christian?
he is not concerned with the Truth in Christ and His Cross
which is the only remedy to a World gone astray.
Only Christ's Truth can bring things back to Order and Harmony,
here, in this World and in the Universe and the entire Cosmos.
I want the holy Archangel, St. Michael, to be our Pope.
Him I would listen to and obey,
because he is one and the same St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles,
and so -is- Prince of the Heavenly Host.
He is faithful and true
and deserves to wear the white robe of Supreme Pontiff
and the gem-studded Tiara.
St. Peter/St.Michael, same difference,
we all know this one's loyalty to Christ -is- forever!
Wake up, People!
The Church has gone astray.
Let us pray for the Spirit of Christ
to bring it back onto the right path.
I remain,
Friend of Humanity
in Texas, USA

Mareczku
July 7, 2009 5:22 PM

So you are saying that you want St. Michael the Archangel as Pope and St. Michael and St. Peter are one and the same. That is confusing to me.

Cindy
July 7, 2009 5:33 PM

I think that's a poem.

ann
July 7, 2009 6:56 PM

that is very Christian of you Cindy...

Post a Comment

By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.



Please type the text you see in the box below to verify your post and help us prevent spam. You have a limited time to type - you may wish to compose your comment in a separate document and paste it here upon completion.

Type the characters you see in the picture above.

Advertisement

About Pontifications

This blog is no longer updated and is closed for comments. We welcome your comments about Catholicism in our Catholic forums.

David Gibson is an award-winning religion writer who specializes in writing about the Catholic Church, which he joined as a convert at the age of 30. He is the author The Rule of Benedict: Pope Benedict XVI and His Battle with the Modern World. He also wrote The Coming Catholic Church: How the Faithful are Shaping a New American Catholicism. He has written about Catholicism for leading newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, New York magazine, Boston magazine, Fortune, Commonweal, and America. Gibson worked in Rome for Vatican Radio for several years and traveled frequently with Pope John Paul II. He later covered religion for The Star-Ledger of New Jersey. He has co-written several recent documentaries on Christianity for CNN. For further information check out his website at dgibson.com.

Search This Blog

David's Books:

book_rule.jpg

buybook.gif
  book_coming.jpg

buybook.gif

Advertisement

Advertisement


About Beliefnet

Our mission is to help people like you find, and walk, a spiritual path that will bring comfort, hope, clarity, strength, and happiness. More about Beliefnet.

Legal

Copyright © Beliefnet, Inc. and/or its licensors. All rights reserved. Use of this site is subject to Terms of Service and to our Privacy Policy. Constructed by Beliefnet.

Advertisement

Report as Inappropriate

You are reporting this content because it violates the Terms of Service.

All reported content is logged for investigation.