Church Officials Comment on Caritas in Veritate

Church Offers Inspiration, Not Politics

Says Cor Unum President

VATICAN CITY  -  In his new encyclical Benedict XVI is not offering political ideas, but rather inspiration -- presenting "charity in truth" as a guide for personal and community life, says one of his collaborators.

Cardinal Paul Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, said the text highlights the role of the Church as a facilitator
of aid to the needy.  This is not, he added, a "third way," distinct from capitalism and communism, in order to attain an "earthly paradise."

Instead, the social doctrine of the Church is an element of evangelization:  "That is, the proclamation of the dead and risen Christ who the Church announces throughout time" and who "is also relevant to social life."

Hence, Cardinal Cordes contended, the encyclical cannot be read outside of the context of the Gospel.  Revelation, he explained, is also a key tenet in civil life.  "The principles of social doctrine are not merely philosophical, but rather have their origin in Christ and his Word."

The Vatican official explained that Veritas in Caritate takes up the theme Benedict XVI had already considered in "Deus Caritas Est": Charity, the "royal road of the Church's social doctrine."

Far from proposing an ideological or political system, Catholic social doctrine is the way that Christians commit themselves to "'incarnating' their faith," the cardinal said.

And the main point in this teaching is the importance of the person.  "The first capital that must be safeguarded and valued is man, the person in his integrity," Cardinal Cordes explained. Hence the "social question radically becomes an anthropological question."

The person, however, cannot be considered in a merely horizontal plane, without taking into account his spiritual side, the prelate continued, citing the Pope's affirmation that development is impossible without upright people committed to the common good.

Cardinal Cordes noted how in this context, the Holy Father concludes his encyclical emphasizing the importance of prayer, saying it is God who renews the person so he can be dedicated to live in charity and justice.

"Christians are not simply observers to watch or protest, infected by the modern culture of complaining, but rather they allow themselves to be converted so as to build a new culture in God," he said. "This is true as well for members of the Church, as individuals or associations."
 

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A Capitalist or Anti-Capitalist Encyclical?

Vatican Aides Present "Caritas in Veritate"

VATICAN CITY  -  "This is not an anti-capitalist encyclical," affirmed one of the Vatican aides who presented "Caritas in Veritate" today, but it does "condemn capitalism when it becomes totalitarian."

That was the estimation offered by Stefano Zamagni, an economics professor from the University of Bologna and a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, during a press conference to present Benedict XVI's third encyclical.

The text, Zamagni explained, "looks at capitalism in its historical situation" and reiterates that no economic system is a "guarantee of happiness."

In this regard, the professor noted that the Church does not propose or develop practical solutions to economic problems, but rather looks at the roots of social conflicts.  For example, he explained, "If we were to cancel debt but not change structures, in another 15 years, there would be debt again.

"It is necessary to attack the structures of sin."

For his part, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Cardinal Renato Martino, referred to the theme of what businesses gain from their workers: "Benefits should extend not only to the capitalist system but to those who participate in the market."

"So then is it socialist or capitalist?" the prelate asked.  "The characteristic of social doctrine is in the fact of having present all the
components of society," he answered.

Cardinal Martino also commented on the Benedict XVI's suggestion to reorganize the United Nations, which he mentioned in the context of a general reform of the international economic and financial architecture.

The Pontiff assured that this measure is necessary "to manage the global economy; to revive economies hit by the crisis; to avoid any deterioration of the present crisis and the greater imbalances that would result; to bring about integral and timely disarmament, food security and peace; to guarantee the protection of the environment and to regulate migration."

In response to a question on the topic, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace noted that the United Nations currently has 191 members, which is more than double what it had when it began.

"This organization should have political, efficient authority to be able to respond to the demands of the world, and this is what John XXIII had already said in Pacem in Terris and Benedict XVI repeated it," said Cardinal Martino.

He noted that the Pontiff "senses the urgency to find innovative ways to put into practice the principle of responsibility to protect the poorest nations, as well as to give them a voice in making common decisions."