1.
Cardinal Renato Martino - Love
experienced makes one capable of 'self-gifting'
Cardinal Martino, President of the
Councils for Justice and Peace and for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and
Itinerant People, locates the heart of Pope Benedict XVI's Encyclical,
Deus
Caritas Est, in the proposition that, because Christianity
proclaims truth and love, it is "the religion of the communion and unity
of the human race."
2.
Bruno Forte - Jesus Christ makes
'impossible love possible'
The Archbishop of Chieti-Vasto, Italy,
describes Pope Benedict XVI's Encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, as
both simple and dramatic, going "straight to the heart of the revelation
of God." God is love agape, and in Jesus Christ He makes this love,
which is naturally impossible for us, possible.
3.
Fr Réal Tremblay, C.SS.R. -
Open Heart of the Son: Place of Trinity,
Source of Church
Fr Réal Tremblay, C.SS.R., Professor of Fundamental Moral
Theology at the Alphonsianum, and Member of the Pontifical Theological
Academy, finds the doctrine of the Trinity implicit in Benedict XVI's
Encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, with the open Heart of the
Crucified Christ as its starting point.
4. Archbishop Paul Josef Cordes
- Charity, evangelization and the 'signs' of the Saviour
Archbishop Cordes, President of the Pontifical council Cor Unum,
observes that the Holy Father's
Encyclical, rather than pointing out new lines of action, recalls us to
the heart of what we believe, that God is love. The Encyclical seeks to
communicate a fascination for God which moves us to become evangelizers.
5. Archbishop Angelo Amato - The heart of the matter: An encounter with
God who is love
Archbishop Amato, Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith, noting that this Encyclical will likely set the tone for the Holy
Father's whole pontificate, examines the six "agapic" theses of the
Encyclical, in which God's love (agape) is manifested.
6. Enrico
dal Covolo - The poor themselves as the real treasure of the Church
Father dal Covolo surveys Greek and Latin Fathers on the relationship
between love of God and love of neighbor. Love of neighbor is seen as
both a condition for loving God and a consequence of it.
7.
Giovanni Reale - Seeking and passing on the gift of Love, which is
God
Giovanni Reale, professor of philosophy, examines the distinction
between eros (desire) and agape (sacrifice), before
showing their synthesis in the Holy Father's Encyclical.
8. Bishop
Giampaolo Crepaldi - Charity is not an added extra but pervades
Christian living
Bishop Crepaldi, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and
Peace, shows the connection between the Church's social doctrine and the
overall message of the Holy Father's Encyclical. "The Encyclical
proclaims charity as the essence of God himself, and for this very
reason does not fail to consider the human and social aspects of
love..."
9.
Bishop Rino Fisichella -
The heart of the truth: love alone is credible
Bishop Fisichella, Rector of the Pontifical Lateran University and
Auxiliary Bishop of Rome, focuses on the statement in Deus Caritas
Est, "God's love for us is fundamental for our lives, and it raises
important questions about who God is and who we are." The Bishop
explains that only love can reveal the true self, as well as the
identity of God.
10. Fr. Antonio Maria Sicari, O.C.D.
- Drawing near to God
— and others
Father Sicari draws attention to the Holy
Father's emphasis on the unity of the commandments to love God and our
neighbor, exemplified in the Saints, but above all in the Incarnation,
when the natures of God and man were wed.
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