CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Pope Francis marked the 10th anniversary of Benedict XVI\u2019s encyclical \u201cDeus Caritas Est\u201d by telling participants in a conference commemorating the document that not only is love God\u2019s identity, but it\u2019s also the very heart and life of the Church.<\/p>\n\u201cGod does not simply have the desire or capacity to love; God is love: charity is his essence, it is his nature,\u201d the Pope said Feb. 26.<\/p>\n
He said that while God is unique, he\u2019s \u201cnot solitary; he cannot be alone, he cannot be closed in on himself because he is communion, he is charity; and charity by its nature is communicated and shared.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pope Francis spoke to participants in a Feb. 25-26 conference celebrating the 10th anniversary of the publication of retired pontiff Benedict XVI\u2019s first encyclical, \u201cDeus Caritas Est,\u201d meaning \u201cGod is love.\u201d<\/p>\n
The document, Francis said, touches on a theme that retraces \u201cthe entire history of the Church, which is also a history of charity. It is a story of the love received from God, to be carried to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Charity doesn\u2019t mean \u201csimply almsgiving to ease one\u2019s conscience,\u201d he said, but rather consists of \u201cloving attentiveness towards the other which considers the other as one with himself and desires to share friendship with God.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that the current Jubilee of Mercy is an opportune time \u201cto return to this beating heart of our life and our witness, to the center of the proclamation of faith: God is love.\u201d<\/p>\n
Benedict\u2019s encyclical \u201cDeus Caritas Est\u201d was published Dec. 25, 2005, just eight months after his election as Bishop of Rome.<\/p>\n
Entitled \u201cLove Never Fails: Perspectives 10 years after the Encyclical Deus Caritas Est,\u201d the conference drew participants from all over the world to discuss the encyclical from theological and charitable perspectives, as well as the perspective of other religions such as Judaism and Islam.<\/p>\n
It was organized by the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, which was founded by Bl. Pope Paul VI in 1971 to oversee the Holy See\u2019s charitable initiatives, including aid to the poor and humanitarian relief.<\/p>\n
In his speech to the conference participants, Pope Francis said that one of the first things Benedict\u2019s encyclical draws us to \u201cis the face of God: who is the God we can encounter in Christ? How faithful and unsurpassable is his love?\u201d<\/p>\n
Every expression of love, solidarity and mutual sharing are only \u201ca reflection\u201d of the love which is God, he said, explaining that God never tires of pouring his love onto us, so we are therefore called to be witnesses to this love throughout the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should look to divine charity as to the compass which orients our lives, before embarking on any activity: there we find direction; from charity we learn how to see our brothers and sisters and the world,\u201d Francis observed.<\/p>\n
He said the encyclical also serves as a reminder that charity needs to be increasingly reflected in the life and activities of the Church.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow I wish that everyone in the Church, every institution, every activity would show that God loves man!\u201d he said, explaining that the mission of the Church\u2019s charitable organizations is crucial, because they provide the impoverished with a more dignified life.<\/p>\n
This mission \u201cis of utmost importance because, not with words, but with concrete love it can make every person feel loved by the Father,\u201d he said, and thanked all those to all those who are committed to this mission, \u201cwhich challenges every Christian.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pope Francis said that his goal for the Holy Year of Mercy is that everyone can experience the grace of the jubilee by practicing the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.<\/p>\n
To really live the works of mercy, he said, \u201cmeans to conjugate the verb \u2018to love\u2019 according to Jesus. In this way then, all of us together can contribute concretely to the great mission of the Church: to communicate the love of God which is meant to be spread.\u201d<\/p>\n
Francis closed his speech by pointing the timeliness of the encyclical\u2019s message, which indicates \u201cthe ever relevant prospect for the Church\u2019s journey.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more we live in this spirit, the more authentic we all are as Christians,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\n
![](\"https:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\")
<\/a>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews\/~4\/d1QaYjvuNzw\")
<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Venice, Fla., Feb 26, 2016 \/ 05:40 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Francis marked the 10th anniversary of Benedict XVI’s encyclical “Deus Caritas Est” by telling participants in a conference commemorating the document that not only is love …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\n
God's love is the 'beating heart' of the Church, Pope Francis says<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Venice, Fla., Feb 26, 2016 \/ 05:40 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Francis marked the 10th anniversary of Benedict XVI’s encyclical “Deus Caritas Est” by telling participants in a conference commemorating the document that not only is love ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/02\/gods-love-is-the-beating-heart-of-the-church-pope-francis-says\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"God's love is the 'beating heart' of the Church, Pope Francis says\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Venice, Fla., Feb 26, 2016 \/ 05:40 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Francis marked the 10th anniversary of Benedict XVI’s encyclical “Deus Caritas Est” by telling participants in a conference commemorating the document that not only is love ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/02\/gods-love-is-the-beating-heart-of-the-church-pope-francis-says\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-02-26T12:40:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Pope_Francis_with_a_group_of_disabled_children_led_by_Unitalsi_Lazio_in_Santa_Martha_on_May_29_2015_Credit_LOsservatore_Romano_CNA.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/02\/gods-love-is-the-beating-heart-of-the-church-pope-francis-says\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/02\/gods-love-is-the-beating-heart-of-the-church-pope-francis-says\/\",\"name\":\"God's love is the 'beating heart' of the Church, Pope Francis says\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-02-26T12:40:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-02-26T12:40:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\"},\"description\":\"Venice, Fla., Feb 26, 2016 \/ 05:40 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Francis marked the 10th anniversary of Benedict XVI’s encyclical “Deus Caritas Est” by telling participants in a conference commemorating the document that not only is love ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/02\/gods-love-is-the-beating-heart-of-the-church-pope-francis-says\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/02\/gods-love-is-the-beating-heart-of-the-church-pope-francis-says\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/02\/gods-love-is-the-beating-heart-of-the-church-pope-francis-says\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"God’s love is the ‘beating heart’ of the Church, Pope Francis says\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\",\"name\":\"Catholic News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\",\"name\":\"CNA Daily News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"CNA Daily News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"God's love is the 'beating heart' of the Church, Pope Francis says","description":"Venice, Fla., Feb 26, 2016 \/ 05:40 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Francis marked the 10th anniversary of Benedict XVI’s encyclical “Deus Caritas Est” by telling participants in a conference commemorating the document that not only is love ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/02\/gods-love-is-the-beating-heart-of-the-church-pope-francis-says\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"God's love is the 'beating heart' of the Church, Pope Francis says","og_description":"Venice, Fla., Feb 26, 2016 \/ 05:40 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Francis marked the 10th anniversary of Benedict XVI’s encyclical “Deus Caritas Est” by telling participants in a conference commemorating the document that not only is love ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/02\/gods-love-is-the-beating-heart-of-the-church-pope-francis-says\/","og_site_name":"Catholic News","article_published_time":"2016-02-26T12:40:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Pope_Francis_with_a_group_of_disabled_children_led_by_Unitalsi_Lazio_in_Santa_Martha_on_May_29_2015_Credit_LOsservatore_Romano_CNA.jpg"}],"author":"CNA Daily News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"CNA Daily News","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/02\/gods-love-is-the-beating-heart-of-the-church-pope-francis-says\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/02\/gods-love-is-the-beating-heart-of-the-church-pope-francis-says\/","name":"God's love is the 'beating heart' of the Church, Pope Francis says","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-02-26T12:40:00+00:00","dateModified":"2016-02-26T12:40:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1"},"description":"Venice, Fla., Feb 26, 2016 \/ 05:40 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Francis marked the 10th anniversary of Benedict XVI’s encyclical “Deus Caritas Est” by telling participants in a conference commemorating the document that not only is love ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/02\/gods-love-is-the-beating-heart-of-the-church-pope-francis-says\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/02\/gods-love-is-the-beating-heart-of-the-church-pope-francis-says\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/02\/gods-love-is-the-beating-heart-of-the-church-pope-francis-says\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"God’s love is the ‘beating heart’ of the Church, Pope Francis says"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/","name":"Catholic News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1","name":"CNA Daily News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"CNA Daily News"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13112\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Pope_Francis_with_a_group_of_disabled_children_led_by_Unitalsi_Lazio_in_Santa_Martha_on_May_29_2015_Credit_LOsservatore_Romano_CNA.jpg\")
<\/p>\n