CWA: Pope Benedict’s Encyclical Defines Love     1/26/2006

Washington, D.C. – Concerned Women for America (CWA) calls attention to Pope Benedict XVI’s first released papal encyclical this week. Critics immediately claimed that it was “uncontroversial” and didn’t deal with the “problematic” issues of the day.

Dr. Janice Crouse, Senior Fellow of CWA’s Beverly LaHaye Institute, said, “When a pope defines love and sex in terms of a married husband and wife, there’s going to be plenty of controversy.

“When he linked authentic Christianity to personal lifestyle choices, this new Pope held up an orthodox standard that stands in stark contrast to cultural trends and the prevailing morality of today,” Crouse continued.

“By condemning promiscuity, the pope is getting at the root cause of the breakdown of the family and the disastrous social outcomes that plague women and children as a result.”

The release of his first encyclical reveals a pope’s priorities and gives a glimpse into his agenda –– where the pope plans to take the church. The 71-page document, God is Love, condemned promiscuity because it relegates “eros” (erotic love) to nothing more than a bodily commodity. Sex that is purely biological, he said, is deceptive. Further, said the pope, such debasement of the human body falls far short of the “agape” love (unconditional, self-giving love) that God intends between a husband and wife.

“Nothing could be more central to orthodoxy today than an encyclical that carefully delineates the role of charity; not to mention that it describes the relationship between the church and state in dispensing charity, as well as how it should create and maintain a just society.

Crouse concluded, “When a Christian leader speaks with Biblical consistency, all Christians can take heart and be encouraged.”

For Information Contact:
Demi Bardsley
(202) 488-7000, ext. 1020
media.cwfa.org

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