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                               VIS-Press releases

URGENT NEED TO EDUCATE LAITY IN CHURCH SOCIAL DOCTRINE

VATICAN CITY, 4 NOV 2010 (VIS) - The Pope has sent a Message to Cardinal Peter
Kodwo Appiah Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and
Peace, to mark that body's plenary assembly which is currently benign held in
Rome. The assembly is focusing on how the Encyclical "Caritas in
veritate" has
been received in various communities.

"Only with charity, supported by hope and illuminated by the light of faith and
reason, is it possible to achieve the goals of the integral liberation of man
and universal justice", the Holy Father writes.

Referring to the "fundamental problems affecting the destiny of peoples and of
world institutions, as well as of the human family", which are examined in
"Caritas in veritate", Benedict XVI points out that social and national
inequalities "have by no means disappeared. ... Co-ordination among States -
which is often inadequate because, rather than aiming to achieve solidarity, it
aims only at a balance of power - leaves the field open to renewed
inequalities, to the danger of the predominance of economic and financial
groups which dictate - and intend to continue to do so - the political agenda
at the expense of the universal common good".

The Holy Father stresses the urgent need "for commitment to educating Catholic
laity in Church social doctrine". Lay Catholics "must undertake
to promote the
correct ordering of social life, while respecting the legitimate autonomy of
worldly institutions".

"A profound understanding of the social doctrine of the Church is of
fundamental importance, in harmony with all her theological heritage and
strongly rooted in affirming the transcendent dignity of man, in defending
human life from conception to natural death and in religious freedom. ... It is
necessary to prepare lay people capable of dedicating themselves to the common
good, especially in complex environments such as the world of politics".

The Pope concludes his Message by expressing the hope that the Pontifical
Council for Justice and Peace may continue "to prepare fresh 'aggiornamenti' of
Church social doctrine". In order to globalise this doctrine, he
writes, "it
may be appropriate to create centres and institutions for its study,
dissemination and implementation throughout the world".

"In collaboration with others, seek more effective ways to transmit the
contents of social doctrine, not only in the traditional itineraries of
Christian formation and education of all kinds and at all levels, but also in
the great centres where world thought is forged - such as the organs of the lay
press, universities and economic and social study centres - which in recent
times have come into being in every corner of the earth".
MESS/VIS 20101104 (450)

SUMMARY

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