Catholic social teaching and Pope Benedict XVI

74 Pages·2014·0.344 MB·English

by  Pope Benedict XVI, Curran, Charles E.

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
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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
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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