special to CWNews.com
Jan. 18 (CWNews.com) - The encyclical Deus Caritas Est, scheduled for release on January 25, is the first such letter by Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news). But it is the 294th in a long list of encyclical letters by Roman Pontiffs dating back to Benedict XIV, whose pontificate stretched from 1740 to 1758.
Shortly after his election to the Chair of Peter, on December 3, 1740, Pope Benedict XIV released Ubi Primum, an encyclical on the ministry of bishops. Since that time, other Popes have used the same form to teach on a host of theological, ecclesiastical, and social topics.
The term "encyclical," drawn from the Greek word meaning "circular," refers to a letter that is meant to circulate among the bishops of the world (or, occasionally, some particular part of the world), providing instruction that is also usually addressed to the clergy, the Catholic faithful, and often to other "men of good will" outside the Catholic Church. The form of the encyclical letter allows the Pope a great latitude in choosing his subjects and his approach.
The title of an encyclical is always taken from the first words of the opening sentence. (Thus, although the text has not been released, it is now common knowledge that the first encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI begins with a quote from the Epistle of St. John: "God is love"-- Deus Caritas Est.) The official version of an encyclical is promulgated in Latin, except in those rare cases when the Pope is writing to a single nation, and uses the vernacular of that land.
Encyclicals have been used primarily for teaching, occasionally for cautionary messages, and in a few cases for condemnations. An encyclical might analyze current theological or social problems and propose remedies, or hold up exemplary figures like the Virgin Mary for the emulation of the faithful. But an encyclical is not the vehicle for proclaiming new dogmas.
Every recent Pontiff has produced encyclicals, with the single exception of Pope John Paul I, whose 33-day pontificate did not give him the opportunity for such a writing project. Pope John Paul II (bio - news) produced 14 encyclicals, marked by their length as well as their philosophical depth. But it was Pope Leo XIII (1878- 1903) who produced the greatest number of encyclicals: a remarkable 86 such documents during his own long pontificate. (That output is not quite as astonishing as the number might suggest. Many of the letters of Leo XII were quite short, and today would probably be classified as apostolic letters of simply as pontifical messages.)
Pope Piux XII (1939- 1958) was also a prolific author, producing 41 encyclicals. Other major contributors to the total of 293 papal encyclicals already in print include Popes Pius IX (1846- 1878) with 38, Pius XI (1922- 1939) with 32, Pius X (1902- 1914) with 16, and Benedict XIV, the author of the first encyclical, who eventually produced a total of 13. Among the most recent Roman Pontiffs, Pope John XXIII (1958- 1963) wrote 8, and Paul VI wrote 7.
Among the most memorable encyclicals are Rerum Novarum, in which Pope Leo XIII decried the conditions facing modern laborers in an industrial society. That document, published in 1891, is regarded as the foundation of modern Catholic social teaching, and the first in an important series of "social encyclicals." In fact several subsequent Popes have echoed the message of Rerum Novarum in their own encyclicals, sometimes publishing them on the anniversary of that first document. These major "social encyclicals" include Quadrejesimo Anno, published by Pope Piux XI some 40 years after Rerum Novarum; Mater et Magistra, written by John XXIII in 1961; and two encyclicals by John Paul II: Laborem Excercens (1981) and Centesimus Annus (doc) (1991)-- the latter dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Rerum Novarum. The important encyclicals on social issues also include Pacem in Terris, the 1963 on world peace by John XXIII; and Populorum Progressio, the 1967 document by Pope Paul VI on economic inequalities and development in the poor countries.
Many papal encyclicals have been produced to analyze and correct important errors in contemporary thought. In 1775 Pope Pius VI deplored the rise of atheism and the excesses of Englightenment philosophy in Inscrutabili Divinae Sapientiae. In 1864 Pope Pius IX warned against the errors of philosophical modernism in Quanta Cura, an encyclical that is remembered most vividly for its appendix, the Syllabus of Errors, which listed and condemned 80 propositions of modernist ideology. The Syllabus ended by deploring the notion that "the Roman Pontiff can, and ought to, reconcile himself, and come to terms with progress, liberalism and modern civilization."
In 1884 Pope Leo XIII condemned Masonic associations and other secret societies in Humanum Genus. And Pope Pius X, in 1907, repeated the condemnation of modernism in Pascendi Dominici Gregis.
A few encyclicals have addressed political problems in a particular country. In his 1870 letter Respicientes ea Omnia, Pope Pius IX decried the entry of Italian troops into Rome, bringing an end to secular power of the Pontiff as ruler of the papal states. And Pius X, in Vehementer Nos (1906), lamented the new French law establishing a strictly secular state.
The bloodshed of the 20th century also provoked condemnation in encyclicals. Pope Benedict XV, in 1914, wrote Ad Beatissimi Apostolorum Principis to call attention to the brutality of World War I. In 1937, with Mit Brenneder Sorge, Pope Pius XI warned the German people against the pagan and racist Nazi ideology. And in 1939, at the outset of World War II, Pope Pius XII proposed a Christian approach to peace in Summi Pontificatus.
Many papal encyclicals have been concerned with matters internal to the Catholic Church. Pope Leo XIII dedicated 11 different encyclicals to the Virgin Mary and the Rosary. Pope Benedict XV address missionary work in Maximum Illud (1919). Pope Pius XII wrote on liturgical music in Musicae Sacrae (1955). And Pope John Paul devoted Ut Unum Sint (doc) (1995) to the cause of ecumenism.
Perhaps the most controversial of all papal encyclicals, and certainly the one that provoked the most widespread public dissent, is Humanae Vitae (doc), the prescient 1968 letter in which Pope Paul VI upheld the traditional Christian teaching against the use of artificial contraception.
It means that everyone is really thinking about the exact wording . . . words mean things, this is not an empty exercise but a real teaching encyclical. Therefore they want to get it right.
Merging two different people's work is always difficult - I'm sure it's much worse when three languages are involved.
Interesting that C.S. Lewis discussed this issue at length in The Four Loves . . . storge, filia, eros, agape - affection, friendship, erotic love, and Christian love. Sounds like BXVI is going to illuminate and discuss the same issues.