Pope Benedict XVI: Caritas in Veritate ("Charity in Truth")

Caritas in Veritate online

• From the Vatican Information Service, a chapter-by-chapter summary of the encyclical
• Full text of Caritas in Veritate from the Vatican's website
• Ignatius Press, the primary English-language publisher of the works of Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger), makes use of the occasion to announce its expansion into electronic and audio formats, beginning of course with the encyclical.

Helpful Summaries

• Benedict XVI dedicated Wednesday's general audience to a consideration of Caritas in Veritate July 8, 2009.
  
• the letter Benedict XVI sent July 1 to Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi ahead of the G8 Summit. July 9, 2009.
  
• A helpful summary from Dr. Jeff Mirus (CatholicCulture.com)
  
• Sandro Magister provides selected highlights.
  
• Encycli-bites for reading “Caritas in veritate” - key thoughts from the encyclical condensed into helpful bullet points, courtesy of L’Osservatore Romano and Fr. John Zuhlsdorf.

Press Conference Accompanying Encyclical's Release

• A Capitalist or Anti-Capitalist Encyclical? Vatican Aides Present "Caritas in Veritate" remarks of Stefano Zamagni, an economics professor from the University of Bologna and a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Zenit. July 7, 2009.
  
• "The Heart of Social Doctrine Remains the Human Person" Address Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, the president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unam, gave July 7 at the press conference that marked the release of the encyclical.

Guides for Study

• The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops offer free small group study guides - for stand-alone use or as a series, as well as an action guide on putting Caritas in Veritate into practice.

Additional Commentary

First Things Online Symposium - August 21, 2009

• Pope Benedict XVI: Economist, by Ivan Kenneally. August 21, 2009.
  
• Is Benedict in Favor of World Government?, by Douglas A. Sylva. August 20, 2009.
  
• A Return to Augustinian Economics, by John D. Mueller. August 19, 2009.
  
• Confirmed in Centesimus Annus; Perplexed by Caritas in Veritate, by Joseph A. Swanson. August 18, 2009.
  
• Doing The Truth In Love: An Evangelical Call for Response to Caritas In Veritate August 18, 2009.
  
• Pope Benedict XVI's Caritas, by Michael Novak. August 17, 2009.

Press and Periodicals

• Illustrating the Need for Dialogue between Political Economy and Catholic Social Teaching,, by Antonio Corbo. Journal of Markets and Morality Vol. 15, No. 2 (2012). "This article seeks to illustrate the need for dialogue between political economy and Catholic social teaching. For this purpose, it approaches Benedict XVI’s encyclical letter Caritas in Veritate by highlighting and elaborating on specific guidelines for action as they are found in the text, which represent good examples of areas where more discussion between sound economists and moralists is required."
• Continuity and Res Novae in the Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, by Manfred Spieker. Journal of Markets and Morality Vol. 14, No. 2 (2011). "Although Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical Caritas in Veritate (CV) has largely been viewed as treating globalization, this article shows that CV is much more than a globalization encyclical."
• Benedict XVI as Social Realist in Caritas in Veritate, by Maryann O Keating. Journal of Markets and Morality Vol. 14, No. 2 (2011). "Our goal here is twofold: first, to show how CV challenges scholars to offer perspective on pathological factors impacting culture; second, to address those sections of CV dealing with economics that potentially are subject to misinterpretation. Policy issues concerning globalization, intermediate institutions, national sovereignty, international trade, and the environment are discussed."
• Caritas in Veritate and the Market Economy, by Paul Oslington. Journal of Markets and Morality Vol. 14, No. 2 (2011). "This article focuses on the tensions between some older strands of Christian ethics and newer economic approaches. It is argued that Benedict’s encyclical does not resolve these tensions but provides theological resources and suggests several paths for others seeking to develop better theological accounts of market order. Considering these tensions raises questions about the extent to which theological frameworks constrain economic analysis."
• Caritas in Veritate, Hybrid Firms, and Institutional Arrangements, by Michael Troilio. Journal of Markets and Morality Vol. 14, No. 1 (2011). "Caritas in Veritate calls for businesses to play a role in authentic human development. One of the pope’s ideas is for firms to pursue both profits and the common good with equal fervor. This article categorizes possible types of such hybrid firms and explores the institutions necessary for promoting them."
• Pope proposes a 'Christian humanism' for the global economy, by John Allen, Jr. National Catholic Reporter July 7, 2009.
  
• Encyclical breaks new ground on social issues, commentators say, by Nancy Frazier O'Brien. Catholic News Service July 7, 2009.
  
• Benedict XVI Tightens Up the Church's Social Teaching, by Deal W. Hudson. InsideCatholic.com. July 7, 2009.
  
• A New Framework for Social Justice: Pope Places Charity and Truth at Heart of Debate, by Father Joseph Fessio, SJ. Zenit. July 7, 2009.
  
• Pope's Encyclical Both New and Ancient Interview with Vincentian Father David O'Connell is president of The Catholic University of America. Zenit. July 7, 2009.
  
• Benedict XVI's New Social Encyclical Interview with Legionary of Christ Father Thomas D. Williams. Zenit. July 7, 2009.
  
• "Economy Is Not a Moral-Free Zone" Interview with Andrew Abela is a marketing professor and chair of Catholic University of America's department of business and economics. Zenit. July 7, 2009.
  
• "It's a Moral Document, Not a Political One", by Carl Anderson. Zenit. July 7, 2009.
  
• Encyclical Reconnects Rights and Duties, by Father James V. Schall, SJ. Zenit. July 8, 2009.
  
• Catholic World Report hosts a Caritas Roundtable, with contributions from J. Brian Benestad, Francis J. Beckwith, Father Joseph Fessio, S.J., Richard Garnett, Thomas S. Hibbs, Paul Kengor, George Neumayr, Tracey Rowland, Father James V. Schall, and Rev. Robert A. Sirico.
  
• Your Life Is a Gift, by John Zmirak. InsideCatholic.com July 8, 2009.
  
• New Encyclical Reflects Common Sense: Pope Takes Business Ethics to Transcendent Level, by Gabriel Martinez, chair of the Economics Department at Ave Maria University. Zenit. July 8, 2009.
  
• Caritas in Veritate: A Symposium, by Michael Novak, James V. Schall S.J., Joseph Wood, Robert Royal. The Catholic Thing July 8, 2009.
  
• Caveat Venalicium Libertas, by Terence Corcoran, Financial Post July 8, 2009.
  
• Metaphysics Has Returned, and More Overlooked Themes of New Encyclical, by Stratford Caldecott. Zenit. July 9, 2009.
  
• The Family Wage in "Caritas in Veritate": Encyclical Contains Potential Ambiguity on Key Point, by Allan Carlson. President of The Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society. Zenit. July 9, 2009.
  
• "The $64,000 question from Benedict's encyclical", by John Allen, Jr. National Catholic Reporter July 9, 2009.
  
• Why You Can't Just 'Love Your Neighbor' Francis J. Beckwith. Christianity Today July 10, 2009.
  
• "Capitalism with a Conscience", by William Doino Jr. The Times [UK] July 10, 2009.
  
• Fraternity and the modern age: Caritas in Veritate: the Pope’s social encyclical, by Clifford Longley. The Tablet July 11, 2009.
  
• Mater Si, Magister Si! 'Charity in Truth' Calls for a Truly Human Economic Order, by Deacon Keith Fournier. Catholic Online. July 12, 2009.
  
• Pope Benedict is the man on the money, by Ben Griffiths, Vice-Chairman of Goldman Sachs International. The Times [UK] July 13, 2009.
  
• Charity in Truth: The Vatican, the United States, and the issues, after the week that was, by George Weigel. National Review July 13, 2009.
  
• The Audacity of the Pope, by Ross Douthat. New York Times July 13, 2009.
  
• Encyclical Has Message for Catholic Universities Interview with William Fahey, President of the Thomas More College. Zenit July 13, 2009.
  
• Caritas in Veritate: "Its Principal Driving Force", by Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. Ignatius Insight July 14, 2009.
  
• Split in Consciousness: Split in Conscience: “liberal” and “conservative” reactions to Caritas in Veritate, by Michael D. O'Brien. July 14, 2009.
  
• "The Pope and Global Tyranny", by John Zmirak. Zenit. July 14, 2009.
  
• Encyclical Puts God in His Place, by Archbishop Giampaolo Crepaldi, president of the Cardinal Van Thuân International Observatory for the Social Doctrine of the Church. Zenit. July 15, 2009.
  
• What We Could Learn From Pope Benedict: Good Fences, by J.J. Goldberg. The Forward July 15, 2009.
  
• The pope, the market and morality, by Darrell Delamaide. "Marketwatch" July 15, 2009.
  
• Population Growth and the Encyclical: Development Expert Considers Benedict XVI's Innovations, by Antonio Gaspari. Interview with Riccardo Cascioli, president of the European Center for Studies on Population, the Environment and Development. July 16, 2009.
  
• Benedict gives social teaching an injection of theology, by Fr Aidan Nichols. Catholic Herald July 17, 2009.
  
• Primacy of Culture in "Caritas in Veritate", by Jennifer Roback Morse. Zenit. July 17, 2009.
  
• "Justice and Charity", by Roberto de Mattei. The Catholic Thing July 17, 2009.
  
• "Morals, Markets, and the Pope", by Joseph Loconte. The American July 17, 2009.
  
• Morals, Markets and the Pope, by Joseph Loconte. The American [Journal of the American Enterprise Institute]. July 18, 2009.
  
• "From the Vatican, a Tough Read", by Peter Steinfels. New York Times July 18, 2009.
  
• The Pope Needs a Dose of Marxism, by Leonardo Boff. ALAI, América Latina en Movimiento July 20, 2009.
  
• "Caritas in Veritate": A Defense of Life, by Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella. Pontifical Academy for Life. (Zenit, July 23, 2009).
  
• Understanding Caritas in Veritate, by David Warren. InsideCatholic.com. July 29, 2009.
  
• Caritas in Veritate -- One Month Later Michael Novak, Father Robert Sirico and Kirk Doran reflect on the meaning and impact of the encyclical. (Headline Bistro, August 7, 2009).


• Truth & Charity, by Thomas E. Woods Jr. Taki's Magazine August 7, 2009.
  
• Encyclical brings light to Economy of Communion movement, by Jessie Abrams. Catholic News Service. August 12, 2009.
  
• Papal Correspondence: "Six experts interpret what 'Charity in Truth' says about the issues of our times" America November 30, 2009.
  
• Exploring the encyclical, by Frank Turner SJ. Thinking Faith (Online Journal of the British Jesuits)
• Encyclicals Aren't Just for Theologians: High School Seniors Challenged With "Caritas in Veritate", by Karna Swanson. Zenit News Agency. July 12, 2010.
  
• An Advent Conversation with James V. Schall, S.J. Ken Masugi. Claremont Review of Books December 10, 2009. (Largely centered on Fr. Schall's impressions of Caritas in Veritate).

Blog Discussions

• Roma Locuta Est: A Gloss and Commentary on Caritas in Veritate - Chapter-by-chapter discussion by Jake Tawney. (Entire discussion available in single document here).
  
• A Unity for the Good: Benedict’s Rhetoric and Economic Thought as Social Solidarity, by Jonathan Jones. Postmodern Conservative May 25, 2010.
  
• Gratuitous Foundations: Benedict XVI’s Humanism of the Gift, Part I | Part II, by James Matthew Wilson. Front Porch Republic April 2010.
  
• Caritas in Veritate: Responses and commentary from The Acton Institute.
  
• "Pope Benedict XVI and the False Hope of Marxism", by M.J. Andrew. July 6, 2009.
  
• The Pope of Caritapolis, by Michael Novak. First Things "First Thoughts" July 7, 2009.
  
• The Truths in Caritas in Veritate Katherine Jean Lopez of National Review Online. July 7, 2009.
  
• The usury crisis and Catholic social teaching, by Michael Liccione. What's Wrong With The World July 7, 2009.
  
• Caritas in Veritate: Why Truth Matters, by Samuel Gregg. The Acton Institute. July 7, 2009.
  
• First impressions of Caritas in Veritate, by Amy Welborn. Via Media July 7, 2009.
  
• Caritas in Veritate: Not the Left’s Encyclical, by Samuel Gregg. The Acton Institute. July 8, 2009.
  
• The Economy of Grace: Pope Benedict's Social Theology, by Drew Christiansen, SJ. "In All Things" (America) July 7, 2009.
  
• Benedict Meets Wharton, by James Martin SJ. "In All Things" (America) July 8, 2009.
  
• Pope Benedict: A Call to a Higher Moral/Economic Plane, by Peter Schineller, S.J. "In All Things" (America) July 8, 2009.
  
• The hidden hand in 'Caritas' of Focolare, by Austen Ivereigh. "In All Things" (America) July 8, 2009.
  
• Is the Pope for New World Order?, by Lewis McCrary. The American Conservative July 8, 2009.
  
• Caritas in Veritate and Human Ecology Whosoever Desires July 8, 2009.
• Caritas Veritate and Immigration Joe Hargrave. Evangelical Catholicism July 9, 2009.
  
• Benedict’s (Non-partisan) Truth , by Kishore Jayabalan. "The Corner" (National Review) July 10, 2009.
  
• "Own It.", by Matthew Boudway. dotCommonweal July 13, 2009. [Response to Matt Cavedon on the principle of subsidiarity].
  
• Split in Consciousness: Split in Conscience: “liberal” and “conservative” reactions to Caritas in Veritate, by Michael D. O’Brien. July 14, 2009.
  
• Neither Truth Nor Charity: The Destructive Influence of a Papal Encyclical (7/28/09) | Part II: Globalization and the Pope's Discontents (8/3/09) | Part III: The Attack on Classical Liberalism (8/14/09), by Mario Rizzo. ThinkMarkets.
  
• Benedict on Business: What's Love Got to Do With It? , by Jon Medaille. The Distributist Review August 1, 2009.
  
• On Caritas in Veritate, by Maclin Horton. Light on Dark Water August 9, 2009.
  
• The Mixed Blessing: Caritas in Veritate, Part I (8/10/09) | Part II (8/19/09) | Part III (8/26/09); Part IV (9/7/09); Part V. (9/16/09) The Distributist Review
• Jody Bottum's 10-part reading of Caritas in Veritate, posting his "first thoughts" along the way.

  one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, and ten.

• Stratford Caldecott (editor of Second Spring), maintains a blog devoted to Catholic social doctrine, of which Caritas in Veritate is the current topic of discussion.
• John Schwenkler of Upturned Earth hosts a weekly, chapter-by-chapter discussion of Caritas in Veritate.


• Communio: International Catholic Review - Winter 2010: A Symposium on Caritas in Veritate
  • Introduction
  • The Anthropological Vision of Caritas in veritate in Light of Economic and Cultural Life in the United States, by David L. Schindler.
  • Caritas in veritate and Economic Theory, by Nicholas J. Healy, Jr.
  • Caritas in veritate and the Market Economy, by Andrew V. Abela.
  • Working With the Grammar of Creation: Benedict XVI, Wendell Berry, and the Unity of the Catholic Moral Vision, by David Cloutier.
  • Family, the Economy and Distributism, by Allan Carlson.
  • Enriching the Good: Toward the Development of a Relational Anthropology, by D.C. Schindler.

The Weigel Controversy

• Caritas in Veritate in Gold and Red, by George Weigel. National Review July 7, 2009.
  -- George Weigel, Source Criticism and Biblical Scholars, by John W. Martens. "The Good Word" America July 10, 2009.
  -- Weigel is Right, by Sam Rocha. Vox Nova July 13, 2009.
  -- On the Sheer Implausibility of George Weigel’s Story, by M.J. Andrew. Evangelical Catholicism July 8, 2009.
  -- The Good Pope and the Bad Advisers — A Fable by George Weigel Vox Nova July 7, 2009.

On the question, "How 'authoritative' is a Catholic social encyclical?"

• The Authority of Catholic Social Teaching: Why Should Catholics take the New Encyclical Seriously?, by M.J. Andrew. Evangelical Catholicism July 7, 2009.
  
• Re: Are Social Encyclicals Binding on Catholics?, by Stephen M. Barr. First Things "First Thoughts" July 8, 2009. Dr. Barr recommends on this topic:
  -- Lumen Gentium (Vatican II)
  -- John Paul II's Ad tuendam Fidem (and then-Cardinal Ratzinger's doctrinal commentary on the same).