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In so many encyclicals and papal exhortations, the biblical sections, often near the beginning, are the best, and to me, the most helpful. If you want to know about the value and inviolability of human life, read the beginning and especially Chapter 2 of St. John Paul II’s “Evangelium Vitae” (The Gospel of Life). Or, if you want to understand the Catholic Church’s social teaching, focusing on human development driven by charity and truth, read Pope Benedict XVI’s introduction and first chapter in “Caritas in Veritate” (Charity in Truth). Pope Francis wants to get a bit more practical than the style of encyclicals, so he writes “exhortations.” But again, the Catholic and papal vision of love in the family can best be found in Chapter 1 of “Amoris Laetitia” (The Joy of Love), just recently published. Read more.

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