Father Joseph Fessio, SJ, of Ignatius Press and publisher of Catholic World Report, offers his reflections on Pope Benedict’s new encyclical, “Deus Caritas Est.” I like how he opens.
Benedict has done for magisterial documents what J.R.R. Tolkein did for literature: drawn on his immense erudition to express in clear and beautiful language the longings of the human heart.
It warms my heart to see Tolkien used in such illustrious comparison. He then talks about how the Pope develops the idea that “the human love of eros [is] an image of divine love,” and notes that one could easily miss the fact that the consequences of what he says is very controversial.
Controversy: the hot-button issues hidden in the document
Technorati Tags: encyclical, eros, love, pope, Pope Benedict, Vatican
