Papal encyclical out on July 7

VATICAN CITY — The speculation is finally over. Today the Vatican announced that Pope Benedict XVI’s long-anticipated social encyclical will be released next Tuesday, July 7th.

Journalists accredited to the Vatican will be given a copy of the encyclical, “Caritas in Veritate” (Love in Truth), at 9 a.m. Tuesday with an embargo on the text until noon Rome time. Expect full coverage from CNS!

Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and Cardinal Paul Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum,” will present the encyclical during a Vatican press conference at 11:30 a.m.

They’ll be joined by Archbishop Giampaolo Crepaldi from the justice and peace council and Stefano Zamagni — an economic policy expert from the University of Bologna, who is also an adviser for the Vatican justice and peace council.

As we have written in several stories, the encyclical met with many delays, primarily because the pope wanted to go back to the text and make sure the document thoroughly dealt with the crippling global economic crisis that erupted while he was writing it.

From the Catholic News Service Blog