The New Encyclical

Last Tuesday, Catholic Pope Benedict XVI released his latest encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth).

An encyclical is a letter from the pope that usually addresses doctrine and takes a stance on some idea or ideas. Perhaps the most famous encyclical is Humanae Vitae (1968), in which Pope Paul VI wrote about abortion, contraception, and so on.

According to The Examiner, Caritas in Veritate builds on Pope Paul VI’s 1967 encyclical Populorum Progressio which discusses worldly progress and truth.  The new encyclical makes it clear that there is a black and white answer for everything – and there should not be any relativism when it comes to morals. It also mentions Humanae Vitae, upholding the “strong links between life ethics and social ethics.” He wrote that man cannot depend on social foundations alone – in other words, we cannot make our decisions based on the progress of the day. Decisions (whether we apply them to abortion, poverty, etc.) must be grounded in a respect for life and in morality. He wrote:

“When a society moves towards the denial or suppression of life, it ends up no longer finding the necessary motivation and energy to strive for man’s true good…By cultivating openness to life, wealthy peoples can better understand the needs of poor ones, they can avoid employing huge economic and intellectual resources to satisfy the selfish desires of their own citizens, and instead, they can promote virtuous action within the perspective of production that is morally sound and marked by solidarity, respecting the fundamental right to life of every people and every individual.”

Read the full encyclical on the Vatican website.

The Pope and Obama

U.S. President Barack Obama met with Catholic Pope Benedict XVI on Friday. Highlights of the meeting include the following:

–The pope gave Obama a copy of Dignitas Personae (2008), his encyclical that talks about the dignity of humans, including the unborn. The statement is pro-life and urges politicians to consider morals when making laws.

–Obama said he’d like to reduce the number of abortions in the U.S.

–CNN reports they likely discussed stem cell research.

–The two discussed the pope’s new encyclical (see above).

A Catholic Surgeon General

Today, Obama named Alabama rural family physician Regina Benjamin as the next U.S. Surgeon General.

According to LifeNews.com, Benjamin:

–is Catholic

–has urged future physicians to learn how to perform abortions

–is on the board of Physicians for Human Rights, which speaks out against illegal abortions

–received a distinguished service medal from the current pope and the National Caring Award from Mother Teresa

By selecting Benjamin, it appears Obama has chosen someone the pope approves of – yet someone who seems to support legal abortions. So has Obama really taken to heart the pope’s call to consider morals? What do you think?

Content created by ReligionTranscends.com

Be Sociable, Share!

• 
•