Vatican City, Nov 14, 2008 / 02:05 pm (CNA).- Although Cardinal Renato Martino previously said that the social encyclical Pope Benedict XVI has been writing would be published in December, major changes in the world economy resulting from the crisis in the United States are reportedly causing revisions to be made.

A Vatican official quoted by journalist Paolo Rodari of the Italian daily “Il Reformista” said the financial crisis that has hit the U.S. economy and its global repercussions has caused revisions to be made to the Pope’s forthcoming encyclical. The encyclical will focus on the demands of solidarity in the new global economy, according to Vatican officials.

The Vatican officials quoted by Rodari said the Pope will review the draft of the encyclical and that “no date has been set” for its publication.

The last social encyclical, “Centesimus Annus,” was written by Pope John Paul II in 1991 to mark the 100th anniversary of the first social encyclical, “Rerum Novarum,” by Pope Leo XIII.

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