In my own humble opinion, the blogging world has waited like vultures (instead of an eager flock) for the release of Pope Benedict's Caritas in Veritate. Some, George Weigel notably among them, decry this encyclical as leftist leaning and unclear. Weigel writes, "The net result is, with respect, an encyclical that resembles a duck-billed platypus." Disrespect for the Pope aside, it seems that many have focused on seeking to criticize and reading quickly according to their own agendas, instead of appreciating the words of Pope Benedict.
Admittedly, I have not finished the encyclical. But I would like to offer the following quote, which seems to point at a purpose for the encyclical that transcends the blogging disputes. Our Holy Father writes,
The Church does not have technical solutions to offer and does not claim "to interfere in any way in the politics of States." She does, however, have a mission of truth to accomplish, in every time and circumstance, for a society that is attuned to man, to his dignity, to his vocation.
Far from being mere "sentimentality," as some claim, this thesis speaks to the very purpose of man on earth. The Church speaks of the dignity of man in every situation, because She is the best organ to do so. Perhaps instead of reading this lengthy and in-depth encyclical in under 24 hours and spinning off a quick heated argument, we all would do better to read and pray over this work that the Vicar of Christ has labored over for all to read.
Your thoughts?
3 comments:
Admittedly, I've only begun reading the document, but I am struck by several things:
(1) The inversion of Paul's "truth in love" to "love in truth". If I might be permitted to bastardize each, Paul is saying, "tell the truth, but do it in a nice way," whereas Benedict is pointing out that "we should be nice, but in a way that is consonant with reality." From the very beginning Benedict is doing far more than giving policy prescriptions: he is asking about the highest things. Thus, mere partisan political critiques - from the left or right - seem out of place.
(1b) Benedict writes that, "I am aware of the ways in which charity has been and continues to be misconstrued and emptied of meaning, with the consequent risk of being misinterpreted, detached from ethical living and, in any event, undervalued." Attempts to politicize the encyclical do just that.
(2) It seems to me that one of Benedict's major goals is to reconnect the more philosophical aspects of the Church's though with the social. Too often we have hippy social activists who don't know theology and metaphysicians who haven't been out of the library in far too long. He's seeking to bridge that.
(3) It seems to me that Weigel's praise of Centesimus Annus, while fitting, misses the point. That encyclical, while hardly the far left document that some would have wanted to see, was not a full embrace of capitalism. If not a third way “beyond” or “above” the capitalist/socialist divide, it at least steers a middle course. That middle course is closer to the capitalist side, but by emphasizing the document as a defeat for the far left (which it was), Weigel downplays its criticism of unbridled atheistic capitalism - which Benedict has deftly called "totalitarian".
(4) Weigel argues that Populorum Progressio is the odd social encyclical, the one that breaks from the tradition. He may be onto something here. But rather than assuming that CV's emphasis on it must be a mistake, why not assume that Benedict is acknowledging and addressing that uniqueness, explaining how it does in fact fit in?
More to follow...
I think your Fourth point is well taken. I think Pope Benedict has shown his shrewdness in the past and knows what he is doing including his analysis of Populorum Progressio. While I don't have exact quotes at hand, it struck me that he is aware of how it is different and trying to make others aware of the place it has in social teaching.
I've been appalled by early commentary from the likes of Wiegel. I think he reacted so quickly in order to try to head off at the pass those things in the Encyclical which are threatening to his own ideology. It's saddening for the way in which such a response leads people away from open reception of the Holy Father's teaching. Nonetheless, His Holiness has given us a beautiful gift in Caritas in Veritate and I'm overjoyed for it.
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