Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Per "Caritas," Six Days' Notice

This morning, the Holy See announced next Tuesday, 7 July, as the release date for B16's social encyclical "Caritas in Veritate."

First slated for publication in 2007, the long-delayed text will be formally presented that day by the Vatican's Peace Czar Cardinal Renato Martino and German Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, the Holy See's top official on humanitarian aid, at an 11.30 Sala Stampa press conference prior to the text's appearance a half-hour later.

For all the snags along the way, it's indeed conspicuous that this pontificate's first major foray into questions of capital, labor and development is to drop on the eve of the G8 Summit in the Pope's backyard -- the leaders of the world's eight economic superpowers will open their three-day meeting in L'Aquila a day after the encyclical's release.

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On another note, even though the title of B16's first encyclical was translated as "God is Love," the return of caritas atop the pontiff's latest major text has already sparked rows over whether the word would emerge as "love" or "charity" in English.

Now, we seemingly have our answer.

In its Monday report that the Professor Pope had signed Caritas in Veritate earlier that morning, Vatican Radio rendered the title as "Charity in Truth" on its English broadcast.

PHOTO: Getty

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