|PIC1|Roman Catholic head, Pope Benedict XVI has this week given his first message on the nature of love since his election last April. ‘God is Love’ headed Benedict's first encyclical or pastoral letter to the 1.1 billion members of the Church.

The encyclical was released as a 71-page document that spoke in depth about the love between a man and a woman, and of the need for unconditional love towards all humanity.

The pope issued a warning against allowing the word love become reduced simply to a sexual commodity. He said, “I wish ... to speak of the love which God lavishes upon us and which we in turn must share with others ... In a world where the name of God is sometimes associated with vengeance or even a duty of hatred and violence, this message is both timely and significant. Love is free; it is not practised as a way of achieving other ends.”

Monsignor Andrew Faley, Assistant General Secretary of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, said: “I think it is a wonderful document. It is much more reflective and conversational in tone and less prescriptive than some past encyclicals. He is calling on people to reflect on the central truth of love. We are seeing the substance of the man as a pastor and shepherd of the flock. A cuddly Benedict? Well, well.”

The Editor of the Catholic weekly publication, The Tablet, said, “I am delighted: it is very direct, idealistic and warm-hearted. We are struggling not to be too gushing in this week's editorial.”

The Vatican’s new doctrinal enforcer, Archbishop Levada said, “This is a strong text that seeks to contest the improper use of God's name and the ambiguity of the notion of 'love' that is so prevalent in the modern world today.”

|TOP|In the encyclical, the pope writes: “Today the term 'love' has become one of the most frequently used and misused of words ... We speak of love of country, love of one's profession, love between friends, love of work, love between parents and children, love of neighbour and love of God. Amid this multiplicity of meanings however one in particular stands out: love between man and woman, where body and soul are inseparably joined and human beings glimpse an apparently irresistible promise of happiness.

“Nowadays Christianity of the past is often criticised as having been opposed to the body; and it is quite true that tendencies of this sort have always existed. Yet the contemporary way of exalting the body is deceptive. Eros reduced to pure sex has become a commodity, a mere thing to be bought and sold.”

As the encyclical continued, Pope Benedict shifted the focus to the need for charity, as a physical act and extension of God’s love for humanity.

He said, “Love of widows and orphans, prisoners and the sick and needy of every kind is as essential to her [the church] as ministry of the sacraments and preaching of the Gospel ... For the church, charity is not a kind of welfare activity which could equally be left to others, but is a part of her nature, an indispensable expression of her very being.”