Deus Caritas Est (God is Love) - Encyclical Letter on Christian Love

In introducing his letter, Pope Benedict XVI writes: "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." He describes how the words of the title, "God is love," taken from the First Letter of John, "express with remarkable clarity the heart of the Christian faith."

A timely, accessible document
This historic encyclical, the first by Pope Benedict XVI, conveys a timely message written in an accessible style. The letter is divided into two interconnected parts. With the first part, the Holy Father seeks "to clarify some essential facts concerning the love which God mysteriously and gratuitously offers to man, together with the intrinsic link between that Love and the reality of human love." The Pope notes that the second part "is more concrete, since it treats the ecclesial exercise of the commandment of love of neighbour."

Summary
PART I
The Unity of Love in Creation and in Salvation History

PART II
Caritas - the Practice of Love by the Church as a "Community of Love" The Church's charitable activity as a manifestation of Trinitarian love

• Charity as a responsibility of the Church
• Justice and charity
• The multiple structures of charitable service in the social context of the present day
• The distinctiveness of the Church's charitable activity
• Those responsible for the Church's charitable activity