Excerpts from Pope Benedict’s General Audience
July 8th,
2009
My new Encyclical Caritas in Veritate was officially presented yesterday. Its fundamental vision is inspired from a passage of the Letter of St Paul to the Ephesians, in which the Apostle speaks of acting in accordance with truth in love: "Speaking the truth in love", as we have just heard, "we are to grow up in every way into him who is the Head, into Christ" (4: 15). Charity in truth is therefore the principal force behind the true development of every person and of all humanity. For this reason the entire social
doctrine of the Church revolves around the principle caritas in veritate. Only with charity, illumined by reason and by faith, is it possible to achieve goals of development endowed with humane and humanizing values.
In the introduction the Encyclical immediately mentions two fundamental criteria: justice and the common good. Justice is an integral part of that love "in deed and in truth" (1 Jn 3: 18), to which the Apostle John exhorts us (cf. n. 6). And "to love someone is to desire that person's good and to take effective steps to secure it. Besides the good of the individual, there is a good that is linked to living in society.... The more we strive to obtain a common good corresponding to the real needs of our neighbors, the more effectively we love them" (n. 6). Hence there are two operative criteria, justice and the common good.
The Encyclical does not of course aim to offer technical solutions to the vast social problems of the contemporary world. This lies outside the competence of the Magisterium of the Church (cf. n. 9). Yet, it recalls the great principles that prove indispensable to building human development in the years to come. Among them, in the first place, is attention to human life, considered to be the core of all true progress; respect for the right to religious freedom that is always closely linked to human development; the rejection of a Promethean vision of the human being which maintains that he is the absolute author of his own destiny. An unlimited trust in the potential of technology ultimately shows itself to be illusory. We need upright people both in politics and in the economy who sincerely have the common good at heart. In particular, looking at the global emergencies, it is urgent to focus public opinion on the tragedy of hunger and food security which affects a considerable part of humanity
The Gospel reminds us that man does not live on bread alone: it is impossible to satisfy the profound thirst of the human heart solely with material goods. The human horizon is undoubtedly higher and broader; for this reason every development program must consider alongside the material the spiritual growth of the human person, who is endowed with both a body and a soul. This is the
integral development to which the Church's social doctrine constantly refers. The criterion that orients it is the driving force of "charity in truth".
Dear brothers and sisters, let us pray that this Encyclical may also help humanity to feel that it is one family committed to bringing about a world of justice and peace.
To view the new encyclical, please visit: