DEUS CARITAS EST: The Release

Word 'round the campfire is that, contrary to earlier reports which announced a later debut, Deus Caritas Est, the first encyclical letter of Benedict XVI, will be released on Friday, 20 January, a week from today. Prior speculation had said that the first appearance of the document would come in an enhanced edition of the Pauline magazine Famiglia Cristiana on the 25th, the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul and therefore the major feast of the Pauline communities.

On the morning of the 20th, according to reports in the Italian press, the traditional presentation press conference will be held in the Sala Stampa of the Holy See. Archbishops Paul Josef Cordes, the German president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum (and, so it's said, the Pope's chief collaborator for this encyclical) and the American William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, will serve as presenters. The document will likely be posted at the same time on the Vatican website in its various translations -- the Internet Office has already prepared the proper link and webpage for it.

As Encyclicals go, it is important to remember that the date of public release is of less importance than the date on which it was "given," i.e. the date the Pope places on the document and signs it.

For months, the plan was to have the letter signed on December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. After initial reviews were said to have urged significant changes, the text was revised and, in mid-December, it was announced that it would bear the date of December 25, the Nativity of the Lord.

Oh, I agree with you completely!

This Pope's homilies, Angelus meditations, etc. are phenomenal. In fact, I did a quick translation and posting of today's Angelus talk elsewhere here on FR under the heading "Pope Benedict XVI's Homily Service". I suggested, that if the Pope, during Ordinary Time, takes advantage of his Angelus talk on Sundays to give a mini-homily has he did today, priests in the USA might think about getting up a little bit earlier and tuning into Vatican TV on the Internet at 6 AM (which is noon and Angelus time in Rome) for some homily helps!

In my response on here, I was being sarcastic toward a previous poster who has, in the past, taken the opportunity to use my postings to bash Rocco Palmo's Whispers in the Loggia blog - which is what the initials stand for RPOS (Rocco Palmo Obsession Syndrome). She responded to the opening posting here precisely for that reason, so I took the opportunity to point it out.

Having been thoroughly trounced by me last time, however, she and the other usual suspects have had the good sense not to take the bait this time! :-)

POPE BENEDICT'S FIRST ENCYCLICAL TO BE PUBLISHED ON JAN 25

VATICAN CITY, JAN 18, 2006 (VIS) - During today's general audience, Benedict XVI announced that his first Encyclical, the title of which is "Deus Caritas est," will made public on January 25. The official presentation of the document will take place in the Holy See Press Office at midday on the same day.

Explaining the contents of the document, the Pope said that "love today often appears as something far removed from Church teaching." Yet "It is a single movement that has various dimensions."

"Charity," the Holy Father went on, "is the love that renounces itself in favor of others. 'Eros' becomes 'agape' if one seeks the good of others, it becomes 'caritas' if it opens to one's own family and to the entire human family."

The Pope affirmed that his Encyclical "seeks to show that the very personal act of love must be expressed within the Church also as an organizational act. If it is true that the Church is an expression of God, it must be true that love becomes an ecclesial act."

"I feel it is a sign of Providence that the Encyclical will be published on January 25, the final day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, when I will go to the basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, to pray together with our Protestant and Orthodox brethren."

Benedict XVI concluded his remarks by expressing the hope that the forthcoming document may "illuminate our Christian life."
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