Proclaim the Truth through Love: A Comment on Deus Caritas Est

Abstract

ALMOST TWENTY YEARS AGO I was about to leave Rome where I had been working in Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in order to take up assignment as bishop of a diocese in New Zealand. An Anglican cleric, a longtime acquaintance, who was then secretary of Canadian Council of Churches, had called at our office. He asked what episcopal motto I had chosen. In fact I had decided on motto of Cardinal Bea, first president of Pontifical Council--speaking in My Anglican friend's reaction was immediately negative, even angry. He saw truth as canceling For him was harsh and demanding, accepting and compassionate. By this account, would be impossible to speak of and together. Fortunately Holy Father himself has come to rescue. In General Audience held on April 5, 2006, he said: Church of is also Church of (1) It is a theme Holy Father has developed over years, and in what follows I draw on some of his writings. For instance in his book and Tolerance he says, Truth and are identical. He explains that what is true and what is good cannot be separated from one another. It is only by knowing about God that about what is good, about love, becomes accessible. The only weapon has is itself and which begets. The of God does not divide; rather binds together. It is force that makes universal peace and communication possible. (2) A Carmelite writer has spoken of released by for love. (3) It was important, and probably courageous, that Pope Benedict should write encyclical on Within Church herself word love has been much abused. In years after Second Vatican Council many homilies were little more than a repetition of Beatles' song All You Need is Love. At almost every Mass we had to sing They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love; serious Catholics just wanted to give up on any mention of love--which was not a good thing. Love is misunderstood and prostituted in today's world, yet is at heart of message of Gospel. In address to Pontifical Council Cor Llnum about time encyclical Deus Caritas Est was published, Pope Benedict, making reference to Dante's Divine Comedy, spoke of as the primordial creative power that moves universe. (4) Far from being a vapid sentiment, he is describing is, he says, an expression of primordial reality. (5) He explains this later in encyclical: Logos, primal reason, is at same time a with all passion of true love. (6) It is not as if were somehow antithesis of truth; has its ground in primordial reality that is truth. But is that has to issue in that he can call the primordial cosmic power. (7) The Pope is speaking about order of and where former is joined to latter and yet comes before it. (8) The Italian monk Divo Barsotti interpreting thought of philosopher Romano Amerigo opines that it is a mental disorder that places 'caritas' before 'veritas,' a disorder that turns upside down proper understanding we should have of Most Holy Trinity; was from divine mouth of Christ that breath of Holy Spirit came, not other way around; proceeds from Word. (9) One begins with supernatural that Christ alone teaches in order to receive from him gift of Holy Spirit through whom he gives us capstone of caritas. Often confusion comes from what people think is. The Orthodox philosopher David Bentley Hart says, Today one finds that what is called is usually a consensus wrested from diversity amid a war of persuasions. (10) Such contemporary truths are the fruit of rhetoric of power, truths that profess to subsist upon 'disinterested' dialectic alone, that advance their claims over others with aims and instruments of judicial terror. …