(July 15, 2009) “Charity in truth, to which Jesus Christ bore witness” is “the principal
driving force behind the authentic development of every person and of all humanity”:
thus begins Caritas in Veritate, the Encyclical addressed to the Catholic world and
“to all people of good will”. In the Introduction, the Pope reminds us that “charity
is at the heart of the Church’s social doctrine”. On the other hand, given “the risk
of being misinterpreted, detached from ethical living”, it is linked with truth. Pope
Benedict’s latest encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate," is very well accepted in all
circles and is being sold online in an edition published by the Holy See. The encyclical,
which ranges from 127 to 136 pages according to language, was printed by the Vatican
Publishing House. This edition is a copy of those normally reserved for bookstores
in Rome. It is being sold in English, as well as French, German, Italian, Portuguese
and Spanish. The Vatican press alone has printed 500,000 copies of the encyclical
in Italian, and 50,000 in each of the other languages. HDH Communications, the company
that is distributing the printed encyclicals on the Internet, is offering a discount
on their Web page for online shoppers.