San Antonio, Texas, Aug 1, 2009 / 05:40 am
In his newest column, Archbishop of San Antonio José H. Gomez has discussed Pope Benedict XVI’s latest encyclical “Caritas In Veritate.” Highlighting some of its main points, he exhorted all Catholics to read this “valuable contribution” to Catholic social doctrine, since it cannot be captured by media sound-bites.
Writing in his column for his archdiocesan newspaper Today’s Catholic, Archbishop Gomez said Caritas In Veritate is “not only a true source of guidance for all Catholics, but it is also a valuable contribution to the building of the fundamental structure of society that is the social doctrine of the Church.”
Neither the secular media nor supporters of different economic theories have given a “proper interpretation” of the encyclical, he wrote.
“Some have tried to find in the Pope’s third encyclical a reaffirmation of their own ideological and political tendencies, others, including some journalists who, in good faith, have only reported on selected principles in the encyclical in a way that makes it sound more like ‘news’, linking it to some fleeting events.”
However, the encyclical is best understood “in the full context of the social doctrine of the Church,” Archbishop Gomez said.