God is love: Simple papal message reflects basics of faith

Published: 2006-01-20

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Even before the release of Pope Benedict XVI's first encyclical in late January, it was clear that the theme -- "God is love" -- reflected an emerging focus of his papacy's first year. From his inaugural Mass in April to his recent improvised sermon at a baptismal liturgy, in speeches to world leaders and bishops, the pope has been preaching a basic message -- God is good, God cannot be shut out of personal and social life, and God reaches out to humanity through Jesus Christ. Many were expecting a rule-tightening papacy from Pope Benedict, who headed the Vatican's doctrinal congregation for 24 years. But instead of loading his talks and texts with Catholic magisterial pronouncements, the pope has used scriptural, philosophical and anthropological sources to stir an awareness of the transcendent purpose of human affairs. As a teacher, the pope is taking a less-dogmatic approach in order to reach a wider audience. He is inviting individuals and modern society to change their relationship with God -- a relationship, he argues, that is often one of indifference or antagonism.

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