Vatican City, Jan 17, 2006 / 22:00 pm
During his general audience held today at the Vatican, Pope Benedict announced that his long waited, first Encyclical, on the theme of love, will be released on January 25th.
The title of the document is "Deus Caritas Est," which means, “God is love,” a theme taken from the first letter of St. John. It will be made public during an official presentation in the Holy See Press Office at noon.
The Pope explained the document’s contents saying that "love today often appears as something far removed from Church teaching." Yet "It is a single movement that has various dimensions."
"Charity," he continued, "is the love that renounces itself in favor of others. 'Eros' becomes 'agape' if one seeks the good of others; it becomes 'caritas' if it opens to one's own family and to the entire human family."