Dear Quix, I haven't read it yet, but definitely will do so very soon. I simply loved Pope Benedict's first two, Deus Caritas Est and Spes Salve.
From some of the discussion I've heard so far, I gather there is some confusion about what His Holiness intends by his usage of certain terms.
Anyhoot, I'll be reading it soon. I'll try to answer your question then.
Thank you dear brother in Christ for your kind words of support!
MARANATHA!
Protestants should not be surprised if and when the Pope speaks of global charity or economy or hope because the word "Catholic" means universal. It goes with the position so to speak.
Likewise, Catholics should not be surprised when Protestants are troubled if and when those statements refer to global governance because (at least some) Protestants tend to be apocalyptic due to end times prophecies, in this case the prophecy of a one world governance and also a one world religion.
Protestants have long suspected that a key end times player would arise within the Catholic church because of this passage which refers to the city on seven mountains (or hills.) The woman is a city (Rev 17:19) which reigns over the 'kings' of the earth.
IMHO, Jerusalem would be a better match as a city to give rise to a one world religion simply because it is considered holy to Christians, Jews and Muslims. And yet the Eastern religions have no stake there.
For that reason, Share International is the one I am watching because their sales pitch if accepted, would affect all major belief systems around the world. Creme declares their "master Jesus" is already in Rome (a city on seven hills) - he is involved with the U.N. as you say - and will be disclosed on the "Day of Declaration" by the Maitreya who he claims is the Messiah, Krishna, Buddha, Twelth Imam, et al.
From the earlier linked website:
Maitreya will be invited by the international media to speak directly to the entire world through the television networks linked together by satellites.
On this Day of Declaration, we will see his face on the television screen wherever we have access. The biblical statement, "All eyes will see him," will be fulfilled, in the only way in which it can be fulfilled. We will see his face, but he will not speak. His thoughts, his ideas, his call to humanity for justice, sharing, right relationships and peace, will take place silently, telepathically. Each of us will hear him inwardly in our own language. In this way, he will re-enact on a worldwide scale the true happenings of Pentecost 2,000 years ago.
At the same time, the energy which he embodies ― the Christ Principle, the energy of love ― will flow out in tremendous potency through the hearts of all humanity. He has said: "It will be as if I embrace the world. People will feel it even physically." This will evoke an intuitive, heartfelt response to his message. Simultaneously, on the outer, physical plane, there will be hundreds of thousands of miracle healings throughout the planet. In these three ways we will know that Maitreya is the World Teacher, come for all groups, religious and non-religious alike.
Our response to this experience will determine the entire future of this planet. Maitreya will present us with a choice: either we continue as we are now, in the old, greedy, selfish, complacent ways of the past, and destroy ourselves, or we accept the principle of sharing, accept that we are one, and begin the creation of a civilization such as this world has never yet seen. Maitreya already knows our answer. He has said: "My heart tells me your answer, your choice, and is glad."
Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here [is] Christ, or there; believe [it] not.
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Behold, I have told you before.
Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, [he is] in the secret chambers; believe [it] not.
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. - Matthew 24:21-28
And you for your kind hearted support of Biblical truth and all those who Love God above all else.
Can't say quite yet; I'm only on page 15 of 41, as this document prints on my trusty home HP.
But so far I have no reason to believe this encyclical has all that much to do with "global governance" at all, as that idea is entertained by our self-appointed elite experts who pretend to political authority, not only nationally, but increasingly globally. Its express subject matter is: "integral" human social and economic development; i.e., not just body, but soul and spirit as well; not just development of society, but of individual human beings — in an extraordinarily interconnected world that increasingly is subject to ideological manipulation and horrific violence....
Caritas in Veritate takes the high road on questions of human development: "Man is the source, the focus and the aim of all social and economic life." "As society becomes ever more globalized, it makes us neighbours but it does not make us brothers. Reason, by itself, is capable of grasping the equality between men and of giving stability to their civic coexistence, but it cannot establish fraternity." "Paul VI had a keen sense of the importance of economic structures and institutions, but he had an equally clear sense of their nature as instruments of human freedom. Only when it is free can development be integrally human; only in a climate of responsible freedom can it grow in a satisfactory manner." "Integral human development presupposes the responsible freedom of the individual and of peoples: no [political] structure can guarantee this development over and above human responsibility. "The 'types of [utopian] messianism which give promises but create illusions' always build their case on a denial of the transcendent dimension of development, in the conviction that it lies entirely at their disposal. This false security becomes a weakness, because it involves reducing man to subservience, to a mere means for development...." [Cui bono? Bolds added.]
The above represents but a small sampler of the dynamite exploding progressivist/atheist illusions — which seemingly, so far, is the real point of the encyclical.
I left off reading at Chapter 2:29–30:
29. There is another aspect of modern life that is very closely connected to development: the denial of the right to religious freedom. I am not referring simply to the struggles and conflicts that continue to be fought in the world for religious motives, even if at times the religious motive is merely a cover for other reasons, such as the desire for domination and wealth. Today, in fact, people frequently kill in the holy name of God, as both my predecessor John Paul II and I myself have often publicly acknowledged and lamented. Violence puts the brakes on authentic development and impedes the evolution of peoples towards greater socio-economic and spiritual well-being. This applies especially to terrorism motivated by fundamentalism, which generates grief, destruction and death, obstructs dialogue between nations and diverts extensive resources from their peaceful and civil uses.In short, I do not see how even a[n evil] "genius" like David Axelrod could spin such profound insights into a putative "papal blessing" of the schemes and machinations of our own dear Mr. O....Yet it should be added that, as well as religious fanaticism that in some contexts impedes the exercise of the right to religious freedom, so too the deliberate promotion of religious indifference or practical atheism on the part of many countries obstructs the requirements for the development of peoples, depriving them of spiritual and human resources. God is the guarantor of man's true development, inasmuch as, having created him in his image, he also establishes the transcendent dignity of men and women and feeds their innate yearning to “be more”. Man is not a lost atom in a random universe: he is God's creature, whom God chose to endow with an immortal soul and whom he has always loved. If man were merely the fruit of either chance or necessity, or if he had to lower his aspirations to the limited horizon of the world in which he lives, if all reality were merely history and culture, and man did not possess a nature destined to transcend itself in a supernatural life, then one could speak of growth, or evolution, but not development. When the State promotes, teaches, or actually imposes forms of practical atheism, it deprives its citizens of the moral and spiritual strength that is indispensable for attaining integral human development and it impedes them from moving forward with renewed dynamism as they strive to offer a more generous human response to divine love. In the context of cultural, commercial or political relations, it also sometimes happens that economically developed or emerging countries export this reductive vision of the person and his destiny to poor countries. This is the damage that “superdevelopment” causes to authentic development when it is accompanied by “moral underdevelopment."
30. In this context, the theme of integral human development takes on an even broader range of meanings: the correlation between its multiple elements requires a commitment to foster the interaction of the different levels of human knowledge in order to promote the authentic development of peoples. Often it is thought that development, or the socio-economic measures that go with it, merely require to be implemented through joint action. This joint action, however, needs to be given direction, because “all social action involves a doctrine." In view of the complexity of the issues, it is obvious that the various disciplines have to work together through an orderly interdisciplinary exchange. Charity does not exclude knowledge, but rather requires, promotes, and animates it from within. Knowledge is never purely the work of the intellect. It can certainly be reduced to calculation and experiment, but if it aspires to be wisdom capable of directing man in the light of his first beginnings and his final ends, it must be “seasoned” with the “salt” of charity. Deeds without knowledge are blind, and knowledge without love is sterile. Indeed, “the individual who is animated by true charity labours skilfully to discover the causes of misery, to find the means to combat it, to overcome it resolutely." Faced with the phenomena that lie before us, charity in truth requires first of all that we know and understand, acknowledging and respecting the specific competence of every level of knowledge. Charity is not an added extra, like an appendix to work already concluded in each of the various disciplines: it engages them in dialogue from the very beginning. The demands of love do not contradict those of reason. Human knowledge is insufficient and the conclusions of science cannot indicate by themselves the path towards integral human development. There is always a need to push further ahead: this is what is required by charity in truth. Going beyond, however, never means prescinding from the conclusions of reason, nor contradicting its results. Intelligence and love are not in separate compartments: love is rich in intelligence and intelligence is full of love.
It's a good place in the text to take a break — for further meditation. Especially if one is a little tuckered out from a family event today — the celebration of my Uncle Gene's 93rd birthday!
So for now, I wish you a good night, dear brother in Christ! I hope to speak with you again tomorrow.