[Salvation]

**He is nothing more and nothing less than a disciple of Jesus Christ.**

Bravo, Pope Benedict -- I think all we Catholics and Orthodox believers already knew that!

[Salvation]

As one would expect with an encyclical from Benedict XVI, its strength lies in its use of theology to re-orientate Catholics and other Christians away from thinking in a merely secular -- and sometimes hyper-politicized way -- about questions such as economic and political questions.

Your comments? (REmember this is a Catholic Caucus thread!

[SuziQ]

Bump for later reading

[SuziQ]

Of course, there are many economic and cultural observations in the encyclical that bear repeating. Benedict XVI's dismissal of dependency theory as " erroneous," his warning against protectionism, and his affirmation that it is people rather than the market economy per se that creates economic evils should be welcomed as helpful correctives to particular ideas that often prevail among social justice activists.

Yeah, the Justice and Peace crowds won't be too thrilled about those ideas.