Pope Benedict XVI ended weeks of speculation yesterday by announcing that his first encyclical will be published next Wednesday and will deal with the difference between spiritual and erotic love.
Speaking to pilgrims yesterday in the Vatican audience hall, Pope Benedict said the encyclical would aim "to show the concept of love in its various dimensions".
He suggested his encyclical will warn that erotic love risked being degraded to mere sex or merchandise if it did not have a balancing component of spiritual or divine love. He said erotic love can be blended with and transformed into spiritual love, "where two people really love each other and one no longer seeks his or her own joy or delights but seeks above all the good of the other person".
The first encyclical of any pontificate is generally seen as setting the tone for the entire papacy. Following on from the Pope's first post-election homily last April and also from his first overseas visit to Cologne last August, this encyclical is likely to reveal more about the main themes and concerns of his pontificate.
Vatican sources said that in explaining his position in the encyclical, the pope quotes not only from biblical writings, his predecessors and church teachings, but also from philosophers including 17th century thinker René Descartes.
The encyclical, called Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love), had been due for release on December 8th last but a series of technical problems related to additions, deletions and translation corrections suggested by various cardinals and Vatican departments has delayed the publication.
Speaking to pilgrims at his weekly general audience, the Pope said he considered this delay "an act of providence" in that it meant the encyclical would now coincide with Christian Unity week.
Vatican sources suggest the encyclical focuses on the relationship between "eros", or erotic love, and "agape", the unconditional, spiritual and selfless love taught by Jesus. "Eros, this gift of the love between a man and a woman, comes from the same source, from the goodness of creator," the pope told his audience yesterday.
Saying that he hoped his encyclical would "illuminate and help our Christian life", the Pope highlighted the links between Deus Caritas Est and ecumenism, saying: "Notwithstanding our divisions ... Christians can still offer up a common prayer to God ... a prayer for the search for unity".
Vatican sources say that while the first part of the new encyclical was written entirely by Benedict, the second section of the document was inherited from John Paul II and was written for the ailing late pope by experts and close confidants.
Pope John Paul wrote 14 encyclicals during his reign, including several so-called social encyclicals on themes such as the rights of workers and the relationship between the superpowers during the Cold War.
Pope Benedict has said he does not expect to write as much as his predecessor did but wanted to spread John Paul's teachings and see that they were properly understood. The new encyclical will be formally released at a Vatican news conference next Wednesday.
- (Additional reporting Reuters)