""The more we strive to secure a common good corresponding to the real needs of our neighbours, the more effectively we love them."" -- Benedict XVI
In his sweeping new encyclical on social and economic justice, "Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth)," Pope Benedict seeks nothing less than to proclaim a new vision, based on the social teachings of the Church, which responds to the needs of the world and ultimately leads us to God, the Father of Love, and his Son, Jesus Christ.
Charity--or love--lies at the heart of the true development of society, and it is the heart of our Catholic faith and the Church's social doctrine. However, too often, love is understood primarily in emotional terms, and charity becomes sentimentality. This is why the Pope links charity "with" truth: Truth frees charity from this emotionalism. Truth moves us away from the subjective, allowing us to understand issues as they really are.
Truth needs to be sought in charity, but charity needs to be practiced in the light of truth. Now in Spanish
