The 3rd encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI will be devoted to Catholic social teaching in the age of globalization and will be signed in March, according to a report in the French newspaper La Croix. The Vatican has not yet confirmed either a topic or a publication date for the next papal encyclical.
However, informed sources in Rome have spoken for several months about the Pope's plan to produce a new teaching document on Church social doctrine.
The first two encyclicals released by Pope Benedict, Deus Caritas Est and Spe Salvi, have been dedicated to the theological virtues, and the documents reflect the Pontiff's own background as an academic theologian.
The new document will be a quite different effort, La Croix reports.
The French paper suggests that the encyclical will be the product of "collective labor" among different departments of the Vatican.
Since the release of the most recent encyclical devoted to social teaching-Centesimus Annus, promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 1991-the moral challenges of the world's economic system have changed significantly, La Croix notes.
Whereas Centesimus Annus addressed the conflict between Marxist and capitalist economic systems, the early years of the 21st century have seen Vatican officials devote considerable attention to the moral risks involved in globalization.
The new encyclical, the paper predicts, will provide a framework for discussion of those new challenges.
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