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74 Pages·2014·0.344 MB·English
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Catholic Social Teaching and Pope Benedict XVI Other Titles by Charles E. Curran from Georgetown University Press Catholic Moral Th eology in the United States: A History Th e Catholic Moral Tradition Today: A Synthesis Catholic Social Teaching, 1891–Present: A Historical, Th eological, and Ethical Analysis Th e Development of Moral Th eology: Five Strands Loyal Dissent: Memoir of a Catholic Th eologian Th e Moral Th eology of Pope John Paul II Th e Origins of Moral Th eology in the United States: Th ree Diff erent Approaches Th e Social Mission of the U.S. Catholic Church: A Th eological Perspective Catholic Social Teaching and Pope Benedict XVI Charles E. Curran © 2014 Georgetown University Press. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Join our mailing list and get updates on new releases and special off ers from Georgetown University Press. Contents Introduction 1 Chapter 1: A Comparison: Deus caritas est and Caritas in veritate 3 Chapter 2: Methodological Considerations 14 Chapter 3: Substance and Content of Caritas in veritate 46 Conclusion 64 v This page intentionally left blank Introduction This volume discusses Catholic social teaching and Pope Benedict XVI’s contribution to this teaching. Th e term “Catholic social teaching” has come to refer to the teachings of the papal and hierarchical magisterium of the Catholic Church, beginning with Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical.1 Th ere is no offi cial canon of the documents that belong to Catholic social teaching, but there is a general agreement about most of them. Th e best English col- lection of such documents is Catholic Social Th ought: Th e Documentary Heritage, edited by David J. O’Brien and Th omas A. Shannon.2 References in this volume will be to the documents as found in the O’Brien–Shannon book. Catholic social ethics is a much broader term that includes the social theory and teaching developed by Catholic theologians over the centuries. Catholic social teaching by defi nition is only one part of the broader Cath- olic social ethics. Sometimes in this volume I use the term “papal social teaching” to refer to the same basic documents, although some of the doc- uments come from the Second Vatican Council and from national confer- ences of bishops. In his eight-year pontifi cate (2005–13), Pope Benedict XVI wrote three encyclicals. His 2009 encyclical, Caritas in veritate (Charity in Truth), by its content and purpose belongs to Catholic social teaching. His fi rst encyc- lical, in 2005, Deus caritas est (God Is Love), touches on some themes con- nected with the social teaching and especially the social mission of the Church, but its purpose and content show that it does not claim to belong 1 2 CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING AND POPE BENEDICT XVI to the documents of Catholic social teaching. His 2007 encyclical, Spe salvi (Saved in Hope), has no connection with Catholic social teaching. Th is volume develops the topic in three short chapters. Chapter 1 ana- lyzes and compares the teaching proposed in Deus caritas est and Caritas in veritate. Th ese two documents have somewhat diff erent understandings and approaches. Chapter 2 relates the methodological approaches and pre- suppositions found in Caritas in veritate with the tradition of Catholic social teaching under three headings—theological methodology, ethical methodology, and ecclesial methodology. Chapter 3 examines the sub- stance and content of Caritas in veritate and its relationship to Catholic social teaching, focusing on its approach to the person, political and civil society, and some specifi c issues and topics. Notes 1. Kenneth R. Himes, ed., Modern Catholic Social Teaching: Commentaries and Interpretations (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2004), 2–6; and Charles E. Curran, Catholic Social Teaching 1891–Present: A Historical, Th eo- logical, and Ethical Analysis (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2002). In Catholic Social Teaching 1891–Present, I developed my own understand- ing, analysis, and criticism of Catholic social teaching. 2. David J. O’Brien and Th omas A. Shannon, ed., Catholic Social Th ought: Th e Documentary Heritage, exp. ed. (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2012). CHAPTER 1 A Comparison Deus caritas est Caritas in veritate and Although Deus caritas est does not belong to the documents of Cath- olic social teaching, it overlaps somewhat, especially in its treatment of the social mission of the Church. Signifi cant diff erences, however, exist between Deus caritas est and Caritas in veritate. Th is chapter considers the two encyclicals and points out the diff erences between them. Deus caritas est It was most appropriate that the pope should take up the subject of love as the fi rst encyclical of his papacy. Love is central to the understanding of God, the Church, and the individual Christian believer. Th e encyclical develops in two major parts—the meaning and theology of love and the promotion of love by the Church as a community of love. Th e fi rst part is a scholarly, erudite, but very readable biblical, theological, and philosoph- ical analysis of love. A signifi cant contribution of this part is bringing together in one whole both eros and agape. Too oft en in the past, eros (ascending, possessive, and covetous love) is opposed to agape (descend- ing, oblative, and self-sacrifi cing love). Benedict XVI sees both eros and agape in God’s own love and also in human love.1 Since our focus here is on social teaching and mission, no more will be said about the fi rst part of the encyclical. Some questions have been raised about how well the two parts of the encyclical hang together. Archbishop Paul Cordes, the then president of Cor unum, the pontifi cal charitable council, pointed out that John Paul II requested a draft for a proposed encyclical on charity that he was not able 3

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