Pope Benedict’s First Encyclical, On the Ground

Archbishop Paul Cordes is at the heart of the Church’s charitable efforts.

As president of the Vatican’s charitable organization, Cor Unum, there’s probably no one at the Vatican more directly acquainted with the promise and problems associated with the Church’s charitable initiatives than Archbishop Cordes.

The German archbishop spoke by e-mail with Register correspondent Edward Pentin about the lessons that Catholic charities can draw from Pope Benedict XVI’s first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love), in which a central theme explores how the Church should bear witness to the love of Christ through its charitable activities.

What does Pope Benedict’s first encyclical Deus Caritas Est (God is Love) say about your work in the Church?

The priority of any Catholic organization, including aid and development agencies is to bear the face of Christ and his Gospel to the poor and needy. This is the desire of every Christian who intends to give his best: God’s love present in Jesus Christ.

The notion that a Catholic organization can function or work without the dimension of evangelization undermines the essential foundation and purpose of the entity. Engaging with the world does not mean the incorporation of the world’s values and beliefs into the Church, but rather, the infusion of the Gospel into the world for its salvation.

This conviction should not be identified with proselytism. As Pope Benedict says in his encyclical: “Charity … cannot be used as a means of engaging in what is nowadays considered proselytism. Love is free; it is not practiced as a way of achieving other ends.

But this does not mean that charitable activity must somehow leave God and Christ aside. For it is always concerned with the whole man. Often the deepest cause of suffering is the very absence of God. Those who practice charity in the Church’s name will never seek to impose the Church’s faith upon others” (Deus Caritas Est, No. 31c).

In the press conference following the publication of the Holy Father’s encyclical, you cautioned against the tendency of Catholic relief and development agencies towards secularism. What are your concerns in this area?

Allow me to first affirm the great good being done by so many of our Catholic charitable organizations, that indeed bears witness to the presence of Christ in the world. Those who carry it out are often some of the most dedicated and faith-filled among believers.

Nevertheless, throughout the years I have spent at Cor Unum, the organizations themselves have shared with us their struggles to serve those in need and to maintain their Catholic faith and identity. Secularism is one of the many ideologies that seek to influence the way in which Catholic charity is undertaken. The area of funding, especially from sources outside the faith-based world, from governments, and from private donors, often try to place restrictions on the religious dimension of our charitable activity, requiring abandonment of values in order to be considered for grants.

Another secular influence comes from the promotion of the culture of death, in which faith-based groups are pressured to back away from clear moral teaching with regard to human life. A third area is the notion from secular society that compromise is the highest virtue, in the interest of harmony. This can seem very attractive, especially when it comes to the awkwardness that might arise from the Church’s moral and social teaching, but provides a false, merely superficial unity.

It is important to remind ourselves frequently that, as believers, we are to engage with the world in order to bring Christ to it through the Church’s mission, not to remake the Church and Christ in the image of the world.

How does the encyclical help strengthen the Catholic identity of these agencies?

The Holy Father seeks to reorient all of us to the reality of the Charity of Christ, reminding us of the true meaning and nature of what God has revealed about himself: a loving unity of three persons, eternal bliss. Pope Benedict asks us to contemplate this Trinity and to conform ourselves to the loving persons we behold.

By seeking to reflect this reality of love, true charity and the full dignity of all women and men may be seen, because we are made in the image of God. By keeping this truest of loves before our eyes, shown to us most intensely in the cross of Christ, the identity of the agencies and their mission become abundantly clear.

What is Cor Unum doing to ensure these agencies do not adopt secular values in their practices?

Cor Unum has, as one of its principal duties, the proclamation of the “Catechesis of Charity.” The Holy Father’s encyclical makes this easier and ever more vivid, but, most importantly, it provides an opportunity for reflection, both for the dicastery and for all Catholic charitable organizations.

When I think about the several hundred people I have met, faith-filled and motivated by their love for Christ, who carry out the countless works of charity within the Church each day, I actually encounter hardly anyone who wants to follow the wrong path. We encourage them to put into practice the ordinary demands of the Christian life and urge their pastors to give them inspiring and proper guidance.

We try to support a greater openness on the part of full-time employees of charitable organizations to the ever-increasing number of volunteers to be found in every parish and in so many new movements. We will also seek to make known the directives provided in the new encyclical to the leadership of the agencies.

What initiatives would you like to see the agencies themselves taking to ensure they do not separate their charitable work from the faith?

It is very important that they bear witness and make available opportunities for charity within parishes, especially in the prayer life and the celebration of the sacraments, and of the sacrament of penance in particular. Formation of leaders and all levels is also a key factor; especially in embracing the vision that takes greater interest in persons than projects, and holds spiritual values of greater importance than fundraising and collections.

This approach also safeguards the Christian identity of the organization, even when accepting contributions from various donors. So, a return to fundamental catechesis in the basics of the faith, together with prayerful reflection on the Church’s social teaching, provides the integral vision necessary to understand and maintain the unity of faith and charitable works.

Who ensures agencies work as the Church intends?

Some time ago, Sept. 9, 2002, to be exact, [Vatican Secretary of State] Cardinal [Angelo] Sodano sent a letter to all of the bishops’ conferences throughout the world on this very topic. He clarified that the ultimate responsibility for all of the charitable activity in his diocese, even though he may rely on others to help him, belongs to the bishop: “In fact,” the cardinal noted, “witnessing to charity in the name of Christ is explicitly mentioned in the Liturgy of Episcopal Ordination with the question: ‘Are you willing to always be welcoming and merciful, in the name of the Lord, toward the poor and all those in need of comfort and help?’”

It is clear that the bishops bear the burden for charity, and may not delegate or abdicate this final accountability to others. This in no way means that he must do everything himself, as this would be impossible. It does mean that those who assist in this necessary work do so in connection and under the supervision and guidance of the shepherd the Lord has provided for the diocese.

How do you see the future of Catholic aid and development?

We must not make the mistake of thinking that we can eradicate poverty by ourselves, since the Lord himself assured us that the poor with always be with us. Paradise on earth is an illusion.

We come to a greater appreciation of the future of Catholic aid and development work by reflecting on the life of the early Church: “He [Jesus] went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. (cf. Acts 10:38ff.) It is of the very mission of the Church to “do good” and to proclaim the Good News to the poor as Christ did. The credibility of our Gospel witness through charity will be found rather in doing our best to provide an experience of God’s goodness, thus allowing Him to heal the wounds of humanity.

Edward Pentin

writes from Rome.