VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday issued his first encyclical, using the most important form of papal writing to expound upon the meaning of God's love, erotic love between humans, and the relationship between the two.
Physical love, reduced to pure sex, becomes a debased commodity, "a mere 'thing' to be bought and sold," the pope wrote; it must be enhanced by spiritual, selfless love for God and for one's neighbor to achieve a higher and full meaning.
"Today, the term 'love' has become one of the most frequently used and misused of words," the pope wrote in the 71-page document, titled "Deus Caritas Est," or "God Is Love." He said he hoped to restore the idea of love to its "original splendor" and, in so doing, strengthen the Roman Catholic faith.
Benedict's choice of topic puzzled some observers. They expected the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who served more than two decades as the church's chief doctrinal watchdog, to address a more controversial or dogmatic issue in the much-anticipated document.
Instead, eight months into his papacy, Benedict opted for a basic tenet in Christianity -- that God is love -- reflecting his desire to return to an emphasis on the faith's fundamental values. An encyclical is always scrutinized closely for insight into a pope's thoughts and plans, and the first such document is seen as a charter for a new papacy.
The first half of the treatise dealt with the relationship between eros, or physical love, and agape, or spiritual, faith-infused love. The rest of the document is concerned with charity -- the manifestation of love toward other people, especially the poor and disadvantaged.
"In a world where the name of God is sometimes associated with vengeance or even a duty of hatred and violence, this message [of love and charity] is both timely and significant," the pope wrote. "For this reason, I wish in my first encyclical to speak of the love which God lavishes upon us and which we in turn must share with others."
Three senior prelates presented the document to reporters at a crowded news conference at the Vatican on Wednesday. Benedict had previously announced its general contents.
The pope's encyclical "opposes the tendency today to forget God," said Msgr. Paul Josef Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the Vatican's charities division, at the news conference. "It opposes the tendency of what can be called secularism."
