Cardinal Bertone: New social encyclical as early as this fall

What he said:

A new social encyclical by Pope Benedict XVI will probably be entitled Caritas in Veritate, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone has revealed.

In an interview with the APCOM news agency, the Vatican Secretary of State disclosed that the Pope's next encyclical will not be ready for publication before the fall. "The encyclical is still being written," he said.

Cardinal Bertone said that Pope Benedict is also working on the second part of his book Jesus of Nazareth. The Pope typically devotes a substantial portion of his summer vacation to writing projects.

In his encyclical, the cardinal said, Pope Benedict "does not want to repeat obvious truths of Catholic social teaching," but will apply Church teachings to contemporary problems. "I am thinking of globalization and other problems, like the food crisis and climate change," Cardinal Bertone said.

Climate change? Oh boy.

Rumor: Third Papal Encyclical by May 1st, "Caritas in veritate"

CWNews:

A new papal encyclical on Catholic social teaching will be released on May 1, according to the Italian ANSA news agency.

The Vatican has not commented on the timing of the encyclical's appearance.

In an interview carried on February 29 by the Italian daily La Repubblica, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone confirmed reports that the Pope would soon release his third encyclical, and that it would be dedicated to "international social problems, with special focus on developing nations."

ANSA said that the encyclical will be entitled Caritas in Veritate ["Charity in Truth"], and will build upon the previous encyclicals Populorum Progressio by Pope Paul VI and Sollicituod Rei Socialis by Pope John Paul II.

The ANSA report said that the publication of the encyclical could possibly be delayed by difficulties in translating the document into Chinese.

Fr. Z reproduces the main points of Marco Tosatti writing for the daily La Stampa on the same topic.

Personally, I'd be very surprised to see this one released before mid-summer.

Social Encyclical expected as early as Easter, Cardinal Bertone confirms

CNA reports:

The Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, confirmed today that Pope Benedict XVI is about to finish his Encyclical on social issues.

"Yes, the Pope is working on a social encyclical, which will have, I believe, a significant impact on the great social and economic problems in the contemporary world," said Cardinal Bertone during an interview published today by the Italian daily "La Repubblica."

....

The Secretary of State gave no clue as to when the document will be released, but unnamed sources from the Vatican quoted previously by the daily "Il Messaggero," said the third encyclical of Pope Benedict would be signed on the feast of St. Joseph –March 19th - and released during Easter.

"The encyclical will focus on international social problems, with special attention to developing countries," Cardinal Bertone told "La Repubblica."

Talking points for his April visit?

Pope to Youth: "Spe Salvi" Is for You

Benedict XVI is encouraging university students to have group reflections on the theme of hope in the modern world, using his encyclical "Spe Salvi."

The Pope spiritually entrusted his second encyclical to the young people today, in a traditional pre-Christmas encounter with Rome's university students.

...

"Is the theme of hope perhaps not particularly suitable for youth?" - Zenit

As I've said before, "Whatta Pope!"

Breaking out the big smile for the university students, too:

[photo: AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia]

Spe Salvi: Pope calls for Living Hope "daily" through prayer

I finished reading Pope Benedict's encyclical letter Spe Salvi last night. One of the themes that the pope often underscores is that hope must inspire us in our daily life.

I've provided the instances where the term "daily" is used by Pope Benedict in the encyclical to describe how the Christian person lives hope, namely, in their daily routine, efforts and life:

"Faith draws the future into the present [and] This explanation is further strengthened and related to daily life if we consider verse 34 of the tenth chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews, which is linked by vocabulary and content to this definition of hope-filled faith..." (#7-8)

"To live for [Christ] means allowing oneself to be drawn into his being for others. For Augustine this meant a totally new life. He once described his daily life in the following terms..." (#28-29)

"... our daily efforts in pursuing our own lives and in working for the world's future either tire us or turn into fanaticism, unless we are enlightened by the radiance of the great hope that cannot be destroyed even by small-scale failures or by a breakdown in matters of historic importance." (#35)

[A quotation from Vietnamese martyr Paul Le-Bao-Tinh:] "...I, Paul, in chains for the name of Christ, wish to relate to you the trials besetting me daily, in order that you may be inflamed with love for God and join with me in his praises, for his mercy is for ever." (#37)

"From the earliest times, the prospect of the Judgement has influenced Christians in their daily living as a criterion by which to order their present life, as a summons to their conscience, and at the same time as hope in God's justice." (#41)

"This looking ahead has given Christianity its importance for the present moment. In the arrangement of Christian sacred buildings, which were intended to make visible the historic and cosmic breadth of faith in Christ, it became customary to depict the Lord returning as a king—the symbol of hope—at the east end; while the west wall normally portrayed the Last Judgement as a symbol of our responsibility for our lives—a scene which followed and accompanied the faithful as they went out to resume their daily routine." (#41)

Pope Benedict's reflection on this topic finds its fullest expression and application in Paragraph #40, which completes Section II ("Action and suffering as settings for learning hope").

Keeping in mind what the Pope has already said about the importance of living hope "daily", see how he takes this truth and provides a practical way of expressing it, living it, in prayer:

"I would like to add here another brief comment with some relevance for everyday living.

There used to be a form of devotion—perhaps less practised today but quite widespread not long ago—that included the idea of “offering up” the minor daily hardships that continually strike at us like irritating “jabs”, thereby giving them a meaning.

Of course, there were some exaggerations and perhaps unhealthy applications of this devotion, but we need to ask ourselves whether there may not after all have been something essential and helpful contained within it. What does it mean to offer something up?

Those who did so were convinced that they could insert these little annoyances into Christ's great “com-passion” so that they somehow became part of the treasury of compassion so greatly needed by the human race.

In this way, even the small inconveniences of daily life could acquire meaning and contribute to the economy of good and of human love. Maybe we should consider whether it might be judicious to revive this practice ourselves." (#40)

The most famous example of this popular devotion (that I know about) is the Apostleship of Prayer. You can learn more about it briefly at Wikipedia, the Catholic Encyclopedia, or at their own website.

The text of the traditional prayer:

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, reparation for sin, and the reunion of all Christians. I offer them for the intentions of our bishops and of all Apostles of Prayer, and in particular for those recommended by our Holy Father this month.

A shorter version, known commonly as the "morning offering":

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in reparation for my sins, for the intentions of all our associates, and in particular for the intentions of our Holy Father for this month.

You can learn more about this prayer, and others like it, at this page.

I would propose that this Advent, at the beginning of the Church new year, as people of hope we should heed Pope Benedict's advice and resolve to continue or begin the fruitful practice of praying a morning offering daily.

Encyclical reporting and the "ginger factor"

Tom via Jeff:

The Ginger Factor, named for a well-known "Far Side" cartoon, is a measure of the ratio of words said to words understood. A dog named Ginger, for example, only understands the word "Ginger" in the sentence, "Okay, Ginger, if you get into the garbage one more time, you'll be spending the night outside."

I think most people, not just benighted reporters, experience a high Ginger Factor with most papal encyclicals; my post below includes a paragraph from an apostolic letter that has a high G.F. for me. Naturally, a reporter doesn't report on the parts of a papal statement that sound like, "Blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah. blah" And naturally, a reporter does recognize (and report on) the part that sounds like, "This means Senator Rawkins is being naughty."

As Jeff explains, in the case of Spe Salvi, all the reporters can really comprehend gets boiled down to the sentence "Pope blasts atheism", and he has quite a few example headlines to demonstrate that.

Hmm, I wonder notable cases of militant atheism we've been talking about could take note.

Full text of "Spe Salvi", Encyclical Letter of Pope Benedict XVI

The full text of the encyclical Spe Salvi (Saved by Hope) has been released on the Vatican website:

ENCYCLICAL LETTER

SPE SALVI

OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF

BENEDICT XVI

TO THE BISHOPS

PRIESTS AND DEACONS

MEN AND WOMEN RELIGIOUS

AND ALL THE LAY FAITHFUL

ON CHRISTIAN HOPE

• In case the Vatican website is slow, I've created a word document of the text and uploaded it here. CNA has published the text here. Zenit here (and PDF here). Reuters has published the excerpts it likes here.

Reuters coverage: "New Papal encylical blasts atheism, promises hope". CNA has coverage here.

John Allen has published his commentary here. More commentaries as I find them.

Udate: From today's Vatican bulletino:

• FIRM HOPE IS NECESSARY FOR FACING DIFFICULTIES
• SPE SALVI, THE POPE'S ENCYCLICAL ON CHRISTIAN HOPE

Update 2: CNS: "People need God to have hope, pope says in new encyclical" & Sandro Magister here.

I'll be printing out the encyclical today and reading the text over the weekend.

What a wonderful way to prepare for Advent!

[photo: REUTERS/Osservatore Romano (VATICAN)]

"Spe Salvi" - AmP Coverage of Pope Benedict's Second Encyclical

I am planning on waking up early tomorrow morning to provide comprehensive links and coverage of Pope Benedict's second encyclical "Spe Salvi" (on the theological virtue of Hope). So check back then!

What we know:

• The official press conference will be at 11:30am Rome time (6:30am EST)
• The encyclical is 81 pages long (update: CNS claims it is only 65). The Pope's first encyclical ("Deus Caritas Est"), by comparison was about 50 pages (I believe).
• "Spe Salvi" will be the 295th encyclical published since the first one was issued in 1740.
• It is not guaranteed that the text of the encyclical will be published tomorrow morning, but *ahem* we live in hope, and I'll do my best to find a reliable copy as soon as it's available.
• The Pope's last encyclical was signed Christmas Day, 2006, and released January 25th, 2007. It is believed that this encyclical will be published shortly after being signed, if not the same day.

Some advance reading:

Zenit just posted an interview with Monsignor Robert Sokolowski on the Pope's upcoming encyclical.

Irony of ironies - I just got out of my class with Msgr. Sokolowski. I wish he would tell me these things. :)

Let's not forget, the Pope's new encyclical - this Friday!

That's right. "Spe Salvi" will be published this Friday (morning, for those of us in the United States).

Jimmy Akin observes:

It is also notable that [Pope Benedict] is doing the theological virtues in the reverse order that they are normally given in. This may be a deliberate strategy on his part to play against the stereotype of him as a stern doctrinal enforcer.

What I'm particularly struck by, though, is the claim that the new encyclical will be signed and released the same day. To my mind, that's the way it ought to be, though so often the Holy See will sign something and then not release it for a long time. I haven't followed lately how often they've been doing that, but if there's a move to sign and release the same day, that's a good thing.

I'll be posting the links as soon as it is made available on Friday. It will probably be posted here.

Looks like I've already got my weekend reading lined up!

Pope's next encyclical (on hope) to be published Dec. 8th?

CNA reports the exciting news:

The Italian newspaper La Repubblica revealed today that Pope Benedict XVI has finalized his second encyclical on the subject of Christian hope, and that it should be published before Christmas, during Advent.

Benedict’s first encyclical, “Deus Caritas est”, was signed on Christmas Day 2005 and by the following month had been published in eight languages. His second encyclical is tentatively titled "Spe Salvi” (Saved by Hope) and takes its inspiration from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, the newspaper reported. The potential title comes from the 24th verse of the eighth chapter of St. Paul's letter, which reads: "Because we have been saved by hope."

According to La Repubblica, the Holy Father wants to "reach the hearts of Christians and invite them to have hope, without being thrashed by pessimism."

The document, according to the same source, is being translated into several languages and could be signed by the Holy Father on December 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and the anniversary of the close of Vatican II.

More as I find it.

Update: CWNews adds: "Dziennik says that the papal letter, which is about 70 pages long in its current draft form, is now being circulated among theologians for review and comments. The final version could be released before Christmas, the paper says."

Pope's Next Encyclical on ... Hope?(!)

From Italian reports, through Kreuz.net (German), and translated by Cathcon (thanks!):

All are expecting a social encyclical from the Pope very soon. But it won't be quite what was expected.

On which encyclical did the Pope work on the summer?

The Pope is writing an encyclical about hope. The Roman daily paper `the IL Messaggero' stated yesterday in an exclusive report.

To date, all had counted on the fact that the next teaching letter of the Pope will be a social encyclical .

But IL Messaggero knows now that the encyclical which is already nearly finished will be on hope.

It will appear before the social encyclical, of which Pope Benedikt XVI. while on his holidays in Lorenzago di Cadore had previously spoken to journalists.

It was not then known that the Pope in the silence of his alpine chalet wrote about hope.

Hope is that theological virtue, which refers to the longing of Christians for the highest blessedness in heaven.

`IL Messaggero' believes that this topic is relevant in times of uncertainty and relativism.

The newspaper mentions that the Pope deplored two years ago in a speech to the Mexican bishops that hope is exposed to a hard counter wind in view of the variable and complex present day conditions which also affect the church.

Thus the Pope appears to address also by this means the church collapse, which is not only limited to the rich countries of the western hemisphere.

The Pope would like to invite in his encyclical - according to Il Messaggero - to hope.

Christians are not to let themselves be frightened by pessimism, nihilism and human failure.

Friedrich Nietzche scoffed that hope is "the virtue of the weak“, as she distances Christians from "world progress“- `Il Messaggero':

The Pope has answered nihilism which which has been criticised again and again by him, with an encyclical.

The title of the teaching letter will depend on its first words.

According to the informration of `Il Messaggero', this has not yet definitely been decided on.

Also the publication date has not been publicly fixed.

Drew of the Whappsters adds:

I would not be surprised if the two rumored encyclicals are actually one and the same [previous rumors focused on a social topic as its subject]. Before Deus Caritas Est, we were told to expect a commentary on 1 John: it included some 1 John, but was more expansive than a simple commentary on 1 John. Perhaps, then, an encyclical on hope would also explore the social aspects of hope? It would not at all be difficult, as the social thought of il grande John Paul emphasized that labor which is divorced from the reverence and worship of God is cruel reduces man to an oppressive hopelessness.

... A number of people have pointed out that if there is an encyclical on hope, then we have a pattern: First Love, then Hope, then... Faith?

Previous posts on possible topics for Pope Benedict's next encyclical:

• September 23rd, 2007 "UK tabloid claim: "Pope to make climate action a moral obligation"
• August 15th, 2007
• June 20th, 2006

More as I hear it.

Pope's new encyclical to be released in a matter of days?!

The report, however unlikely (read: very), comes out of India's Economic Times:

MUMBAI: The Vatican, the seat of the Catholic Church, has decided to lend a helping hand to governments across the globe that are trying to tackle the menace of cross-border tax evasion. It will soon come out with an Encyclical denouncing tax evasion and the tax havens that deprive many governments of resources for social justice.

According to the reports in the foreign media, the Encyclical, an official statement of the Pope issued periodically by the Catholic Church, will be released within a few days. The office of the Archbishop of Mumbai said it will be able to comment on the issue only after the Encyclical is released.

It makes sense that Indian presses would be particularly involved in speculation regarding the new encyclical's subject matter and release date. As I understand it, India is particularly notorious for its problems with tax evasion, where actually paying one's taxes to the government is the exception: most people find some way around the laws ("In fact, money flowing into Swiss bank accounts from India is estimated at $500 billion.")

Tax evasion will also be a political issue during our upcoming elections. The release time of this encyclical, whatever it is, will be interesting in the context of those accompanying debates. The local inspiration for the encyclical could well be the recent crackdown on tax evasion in Italy, led by Romano Prodi [source], himself a practicing Catholic who has called upon the Church to speak out on this issue. 1/3 of Italians, it is known, heavily evade their tax debts, creating a huge deficit problem for the government [source]. The time frame, of course, also coincides nicely with the 40th anniversary of Paul VI's encyclical Populorum Progressio [source].

What do we know for sure about the Encylical? One, that it is being worked on during the Pope's vacation [source: Msgr. Ganswein & Fr. Lombardi] Second, the subject matter will include the topics of globalization, tax evasion and offshore banks, as well as outline just guidelines for world trade, with care for the poor [source].

Already the debate over the wisdom of the Pope's perceived position is getting hot, and I guess that it would be too much to ask that people cool off until the time when we actually have a published text to read.

Until then, I'll be watching the ticker tape.