VATICAN CITY (AP) – Pope Benedict XVI said Saturday his new encyclical on the economy and labor issues will focus on ways to make globalization more careful to the needs of the poor amid the worldwide financial crisis.
The document will outline the goals and values that the faithful must “tirelessly defend” to ensure “true freedom and solidarity” among humans, Benedict said in a speech.
He said the global downturn shows the need to “rethink economic and financial paradigms that have been dominant in the last years.”
Benedict has frequently spoken out on the crisis, urging leaders to ensure the world’s poor don’t end up bearing the brunt of the downturn even though they are not responsible for it.
The encyclical is expected to be released June 29.
Benedict has been working on “Caritas in veritate” (Charity in Truth) since 2007 but recently said he had held back on issuing it so that he could update it to reflect the global economic crisis.
An encyclical is the most authoritative document a pope can issue. Benedict has written two in his four years as pope: “God is Love” in 2006 and “Saved by Hope” in 2007.
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