Cardinal Schonborn has issued the following statement on the Pope's new Encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, and Gerald Augstinus has translated his comments into English:

The Apostle John, in his old age, had only one thing to say in his letters, only one thing was dear to his heart and he returns to it time and time again: "God is love" (1 John 4,16). Pope Benedict XVI, as his first and most important statement of his pontificate, has only that to say, that which encompasses all and gives meaning to everything: "Deus Caritas Est". My first impression of this Encyclical is [that it is] full of strength, clarity and hope.

For twenty-three years Cardinal Ratzinger was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. All erroneous teachings, moral aberrations, conflicts of teachings and morals of our age landed on his desk, had to be studied, discussed, clarified and sometimes sanctioned by him. He has not become bitter over it. His view of the world and of humans has not been darkened by all those difficulties. His first Encyclical is fresh and brimming with confidence, its realism is devoid of pessimism. For this, there is only one reason for the 78-year-old successor of Peter: with the favorite disciple John, he says, "We have believed love."

Click here to read the rest of the Cardinal's observations.

The Encyclical's full english text is now available on the Vatican website.