DEUS CARITAS EST

Pope Benedict XVI officially released his first encyclical today called Deus Caritas Est "God is Love." I wish I had time to comment on it more, because it is really great and, I think, sets just the kind of trend we would expect: compassionate and challenging. He has some *very* interesting things to say about the relationship between the Gospel, Social Justice, and the State. That's what I found most interesting.

Anyway, the official English translation is here on the Vatican website. Catholic News Service has a good short article here and Catholic World News has an even shorter one here.
I hope to be able to comment on it next week, but my plate is really full right now.