Another Great Q and A Session by Pope Benedict- Plus Clues to Upcoming Encyclical.

John Allen has a wonderful piece up that hits another Pope Benedict Q and A session as well as hints of the new social encyclical.l .See Benedict perfects the Q&A format

He states in part :

To be clear, these Q&A’s are not really unscripted. An aide usually collects questions in advance, giving the pope a chance to think about what he wants to say. In general, however, Benedict doesn’t duck the hard questions, and one rarely has the sense that he’s simply rolling out canned replies. As a result, these events are the closest one gets to watching the wheels turn in this pope’s nimble mind. There are any number of reasons why Benedict XVI might find the Q&A format congenial, but at bottom he’s a veteran university professor who’s most at home around the table in a graduate seminar, and these exchanges are the closest he gets to being back in his natural habitat.
Benedict’s latest Q&A is another instant classic, offering insights into how the pope thinks at the levels of both substance and style.

As to the upcoming social encyclical Caritas in Veritate

In terms of content, the pope offered a preview of his forthcoming social encyclical Caritas in Veritate (“Charity in Truth,” expected to be issued later this month), in response to a question about the global economic crisis. The core of his reply was that while protests from the church over unjust economic systems are essential, the distinctive contribution of Christianity is changing hearts.

“Where there aren’t just people, there is no justice,” Benedict said, arguing that the root cause of today’s upheaval, such as the failure of large American banks, is original sin – egoism, greed, and idolatry of worldly goods.

“The dialogue of Abraham with God (Genesis 18:22-33) seems to me still true and realistic,” Benedict went on. “Abraham says: ‘Are you truly going to destroy the city? Maybe there are fifty just people, maybe there are ten, and ten just people are enough for the city to survive.’ On the other hand, if the ten just people are missing, even with all the economic doctrine, society cannot survive. Hence we have to do what it takes to educate, to ensure that there are at least ten just people … but if possible, many more.”

“Justice cannot be created in the world solely through good economic models, however necessary those are,” Benedict said. “Justice is created only where there are just people. There cannot be just people without a humble, daily work of conversion of hearts, or creating justice in hearts.” In that light, Benedict argued, the simple daily work of a pastor of souls, even in a small, out-of-the-way parish, is “fundamental, not only for the parish, but for humanity.”

In light of those comments, one can expect that the new social encyclical – which was set to appear in September 2008, but then delayed in light of the crisis – will likely stress that systemic change must be rooted in individual metanoia, or conversion, away from self-interest or tribal concern toward the common good.

In terms of style, this Q&A confirms a defining feature of Benedict’s approach to problems: his relentless insistence upon “both/and” solutions.

Perhaps especially in the field of social doctrine, Catholicism is rife with either/or divisions. Some emphasize the church’s pro-life message, others its peace and justice concerns. More basically, some accent the “horizontal” dimension of Catholic spirituality, its impact on the broader culture, while others see that as a distraction from “vertical” matters of prayer and liturgical worship.
Benedict’s comments point to a more balanced vision. Not only are private devotion and the sacramental life not a distraction from changing the world, the pope suggests, they are a necessary prerequisite to the extent that they promote a sense of solidarity with others – because “good structures can’t be developed if they’re opposed by egoism, including that of competent people.” In other words, in response to the question of whether the church should concern itself with piety or politics, Benedict’s answer is clearly “both.”

Related article Pope Benedict’s Economic Realism

ALLEN HAS TRANSLATED THE FULL Q and A HERE