Pope's 1st Encyclical Due January 25?

Rome, Jan. 11 (CWNews.com) -

The first encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) will be published on January 25, reports the Italian weekly Famiglia Cristiana.

The Vatican has not yet announced a date for the appearance of the encyclical, and several previous reports-- such as one story predicting that the Pope's letter would be released on January 6-- have already proven inaccurate. But Famiglia Cristiana lends extra weight to its report by promising readers that the full text of the encyclical will be printed in the magazine on January 25. Famiglia Cristiana offers a toll-free number for Italian pastors to call if they wish to order bulk deliveries of that special edition.

The encyclical, entitled Deus Caritas Est ("God Is Love"), was officially signed by Pope Benedict on Christmas day. Two days earlier the director of the Vatican press office, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, had told reporters that the document would be released in January. He did not specify a date, except to say that it would be after the feast of the Epiphany, which was observed in Italy on January 6.

Some Vatican-watchers remain uncertain about the publication date predicted by Famiglia Cristiana. The Pontifical Council Cor Unum will be holding a seminar January 23 and 24, to discuss the charitable work of the Church. Since that is a theme of the encyclical-- and since Pope Benedict reportedly asked for detailed information from Cor Unum as he drafted the document-- it might seem appropriate to have copies of the papal letter on hand during the seminar. That would require an earlier publication date.

On the other hand, some informed sources report that the Secretariat of State, which is charged with the responsibility for publishing the papal document, has encountered problems with the translation. Those problems could explain the delay in producing the encyclical, which was originally drafted in German, then translated into an official Latin version, to be subsequently rendered into several other languages in time for the release date.

If Pope Benedict XVI follows the pattern set by Pope John Paul II (bio - news), the publication of the encyclical will be accompanied by a news conference at the Vatican, which would be announced several days in advance. Archbishop Paul Josef Cordes, the president of Cor Unum, would be a likely candidate to help introduce the encyclical, perhaps along with the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop William Levada.

Deus Caritas Est is reportedly a document of about 40 pages. By tradition a papal encyclical takes its title from the first words of the text; thus it appears that the Pope begins with a quote from the Epistle of St. John (4:8). The document is said to be a deeply theological meditation on the centrality of Christ, divine love and human love; but the text also speaks at length about the concrete expression of love in charitable action.