A Synthesis of the New Encyclical, Caritas in Veritate
(July 12, 2009) Pope Benedict’s encyclical Caritas in Veritate, released on 7 July
2009, builds on the seminal work of Paul VI’s Populorum Progressio, published over
forty years ago in 1967. The first words and early paragraphs introduce the name
of the encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (‘Charity in Truth’), and the integrating relationship
between the two components of the title. The language used invites contemplation on
the affective component: the introductory paragraphs describe love as an extraordinary
force that has its origin in God and leads us to discover our own truth that reflects
the face of Christ, who is Truth. Truth needs to be sought, found and expressed in
the relationships of charity, and charity needs to be understood, confirmed and practised
in the light of truth, if neither is to be emptied of meaning. Charity in truth drives
the authentic development of all persons. It is the principle behind social teaching
and gives rise to criteria for social action such as, for instance, justice and the
common good. Love in truth when it comes to social affairs is the great challenge
for the Church in a world that is becoming globalised. The first of six chapters
revisits the message of Populorum Progressio. Pope Benedict XVI endorses the work
of his venerable predecessor Pope Paul VI, not only this letter but the overall Magisterium
of Pope Paul VI, especially his social teachings. Specifically, Pope Benedict refers
to the earlier Pope’s vision of development as a vocation that derives from a transcendent
call. This vision is still timely in our day. Caritas in Veritate urges us to mobilise
ourselves at the level of the ‘heart’, so as to ensure that current economic and social
processes evolve towards fully human outcomes. Chapter two addresses ‘Human Development
in our Time’. Pope Paul VI’s vision of ‘development’ was multi-levelled and included
economic participation, social solidarity, democratic stability and freedom from misery.
Pope Benedict provides a succinct, multi-layered analysis of the emergence of a global
market since Populorum Progressio assigned a central role, now surpassed, to ‘public
authorities’. Pope Paul VI said that we needed to think more; Pope Benedict says that,
in a new and complex context, integral human development requires the interaction
of different levels of human knowledge guided by intelligence and love. Truth and
charity are not in different compartments, he says: love is rich in intelligence and
intelligence is full of love. Chapter three addresses the role of fraternity and
civil society in economic development. Pope Benedict notes that for some time now
we have been able to include the economy in the list of areas where we experience
the pernicious effects of sin. But the more astonishing experience is that of gratuitousness,
which imposes itself on everyone in the gift of love and truth. It is a force that
builds community, bringing all people together beyond barriers and limits in a fraternal
communion. Pope Benedict then addresses the market, an institution that permits exchange
relations between economic subjects which, if governed by fairness and justice, generates
trust and functions well. It is the responsibility of the political community to
direct the logic of the market to the service of the common good. Authentic human
relationships of friendship, solidarity and reciprocity can be conducted within economic
activity, not only outside it or ‘after’ it. The demand of economic logic, the demand
of humanity and the demand of charity and truth each require that the grace of intelligence
and love, and the gift of fraternity, must find their place within normal economic
activity. The Holy Father notes that recent scandals have given rise to a new appreciation
of the role of social responsibility in business and politics. Similarly, globalisation
is neither good nor bad of it, but will be what people make of it. It is a complex
phenomenon that must be grasped in all its dimensions, including the theological dimension,
and steered in relational terms: that is, in terms of communion and the sharing of
goods. The Pontiff devotes his fourth chapter to the themes of justice and the
environment and their relationship to development. He treats justice in terms of
duties and rights and applies it to population growth, the defence of life, ethics
in the economy and international cooperation. He then turns to our duties arising
from our relationship with the natural environment. Nature expresses a design of
love and truth; it contains a grammar that provides goals and criteria for its wise
and respectful use. The challenges of intergenerational justice and the energy problem
require international solidarity to achieve solutions: we need to review our lifestyles
to include the quest for truth, beauty, goodness and communion if we are to achieve
a human ecology that benefits environmental ecology. The decisive issue is the moral
tenor of society and the Church must assert in the public sphere our responsibility
towards creation. Truth and love show us what our happiness consists in, and this
is the road to development. Chapter five develops the theme of the cooperation
of the human family. The development of peoples depends on recognising that the human
race is a single family working together in communion and not merely a group of subjects
who happen to live side by side. This requires a better understanding of the category
of ‘relation’, which can be gained through theology and metaphysics as well as social
sciences. In light of the revealed mystery of the Trinity we understand that communion
and individual identity support each other. Our experience of love and truth between
man and woman similarly reinforces our ideas of communion and individual identity.
Reason and faith also contribute to a virtuous cycle of development which falters
in the absence of either. Solidarity and subsidiarity, understood and articulated
in many layers, can contribute to a globalisation that is cooperative rather than
tyrannical. Cooperation for development is not just an economic phenomenon but also
an opportunity for encounter between cultures and peoples. The chapter then comments
perceptively on development aid, international tourism, migration, labour unions,
the financial system, and consumer associations. Those of us who admire the contemplation
of ideas may be grateful for the encyclical’s inclusion of these live issues. But
this may generate controversy on specific points, such as the gentle suggestion that
trade unions might look at wider concerns than the specific category of labour for
which they were formed, or that they should identify civil society rather than politics
as the proper setting for their necessary activity of defending labour. One wonders
where actors in the labour market or in social partnership belong. Chapter six
addresses technological progress and its undisputed link to development. Against
technocratic reductionism, Caritas in Veritate asserts that there cannot be holistic
development and universal common good without taking into account people’s spiritual
and moral welfare. This is a simple summary of a rich treatment of the technology
of financial and political engineering, of peace building, of social communications,
of biology and of psychology. Whereas Pope Paul VI introduced the global dimension
of the social question, Pope Benedict affirms that the social question has become
a radically anthropological question. Authentic human development requires the new
eyes and new heart of a spirituality that is capable of glimpsing the ‘beyond’ that
technology cannot give. The conclusion follows from this. Development comes from
people because they are the subjects of their own existences. But it is also from
God, who freely gives us the truth and love that show us who we are and where we should
go. God calls us to the communion of a family. God transforms our hearts of stone
into hearts of flesh that can give the greatest service of an authentic humanism to
the integral development of peoples. In this encyclical, Pope Benedict takes it from
the top. He is noted for his talent in the contemplation of ideas and in the systematic
ordering of concepts. He gives us, in this letter, an awesome synthesis of the concepts
and concerns of Catholic Social Teaching. He enlightens the obscurities of our social
discourses, restores direction to social debate and inspires hope and energy for social
action and love for the future and its peoples. Caritas in Veritate is a magnificent
gift to the world from Catholic Social Teaching. It does well in giving a descriptive
account of the activities and perspectives found in the spheres of social action.