.- Pope Benedict XVI’s third encyclical will discuss Catholic social teaching, touching on issues as varied as poverty, peace, wars, international cooperation, energy sources, and globalization.
The encyclical will be titled “Caritas in Veritate,” “Love In Truth,” La Repubblica reports.
“Caritas in Veritate” will be Pope Benedict’s third encyclical. His first encyclical, “Deus Caritas Est,” examined the virtue of love while the second, “Spe Salvi,” focused upon the virtue of hope.
The four-chapter encyclical will no longer be published on May 1 as previously planned, but will be delayed so that translations, especially the Chinese translation, may be completed.
The decision to offer a Chinese version of the encyclical comes at a time when Pope Benedict is seeking to improve relations with the Chinese government.
Last June, he sent a letter offering dialogue with Chinese authorities. In September, Chinese priest Father Joseph Li Shan was installed as Bishop of Beijing with the approval of the Pope, an event that has not happened in fifty years.
Other Vatican-approved bishops are believed to have been installed in the official state church in China. China has an estimated eight to 12 million Catholics split between an ‘underground’ Church loyal to Rome and a state-run Catholic Patriotic Association cooperative with the government.
