What the catechumens need to know about Caritas in Verite

Pope Benedict XVI’s newest encyclical, Caritas in Verite, has all the elements of a guide for living the Christian life that would be beneficial to catechuemens. All the elements, except one. It is not an easy read. Simply giving the document to those who are new to the faith could be overwhelming.

Fortunately, Sam Lucero has written a brief article: “How we can live out Caritas in Verite“ in the August 5 issue of The Compass. It is not comprehensive, and it is not a substitute for reading the document itself. But it is a terrific starting point for beginning Catholics.

In fact, if catechumens and all the the regular Catholics took just this one suggestion from Lucero’s article and tried to live it out, we’d be a lot closer to fulfilling Christ’s mission:

Make changes in consumer buying habits. This suggestion has been around for more than a decade, but continues to make a solid impact. It includes purchasing fair trade goods such as coffee and boycotting companies whose workers are subject to sweatshop conditions. It’s one of the easiest ways to promote fair wages and human dignity.

Visit Catholic Relief Services’ fair trade Web site to learn about the latest fair trade issues. You can also sign up to receive the CRS Fair Trader e-newsletter.

Lucero has four other direct ways we can live out Caritas in Verite. Check out the suggestions and perhaps make a commitment along with your catechumens to focus on one of them this month.

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See also these related articles:

• Free reader’s guide to Charity in Truth (Caritas in Veritate)
• An RCIA lesson from Barack Obama—community
• The parish is the RCIA catechetical plan