Deus Caritas Est
(God Is Love)
This is where Catholic social doctrine has its place: it has no intention of giving the Church power over the State. Even less is it an attempt to impose on those who do not share the faith ways of thinking and modes of conduct proper to faith. Its aim is simply to help purify reason and to contribute, here and now, to the acknowledgment and attainment of what is just.
In his first encyclical, Pope Benedict focuses on the Christian understanding of love through its divine and human dimensions.
Benedict highlights the importance of recognizing God’s love for humanity, but also ways we should respond to that love, exploring the role of Church in society and the need for both charity and social justice.