Encyclical

CHURCH OF ST. JOHN NEUMANN
A ROMAN CATHOLIC COMMUNITY CENTERED IN PRAYER AND EUCHARIST

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Question: What is a papal encyclical?

Answer: "Encyclical" comes from the Greek egkyklios or kyklos meaning a circle and referred originally to a circular letter. Thus, a letter like James in the New Testament (though not written by a Pope) or 1 Peter (which was written by the first Pope) could be considered "encyclicals" since they were intended to be "circulated" among various churches so that everyone could hear them. In modern times, the term has to come to mean exclusively papal teaching letters addressed to a particular topic or group of people. From the nature of the case, encyclicals are addressed to the bishops of the world and are generally concerned with matters which affect the welfare of the Church at large. However, beyond this, the Pope may also wish to address the whole church, a particular segment (such as theologians and academics as Pope John Paul II did in his encyclical on the mission of Catholic education, Ex Corde Ecclesia) or even "people of goodwill" who are not Christian at all (as, for instance, in Evangelium Vitae, since the meaning value of human life is not a concern limited to Christians but to all people). Encyclical typically expound and apply the meaning of the Catholic tradition as it applies to contemporary life, exhort the faithful to constancy, clarify Church teaching, warn of dangers which threaten faith or morals, and suggest courses of action and new ideas (rooted in ancient tradition) to meet new challenges. As for the binding force of these documents it is generally the case that an encyclical does not typically contain an ex cathedra pronouncement and is therefore seldom invested with infallible authority. In the words of the Catholic Encyclopedia, "The degree in which the infallible Magisterium of the Holy See is committed must be judged from the circumstances, and from the language used in the particular case." On the other hand, the fact that an encyclical is not invested with infallibility does not mean it is therefore to be lightly dismissed. It is a normative expression of the teaching office of the Church and is there to help us grasp more fully what the Tradition has to give us in approaching the complexities of the modern world.