Very Initial Thoughts...

First of all, consider this thread an OPEN FORUM for any discussion that anybody wants to have in the com-boxes. I will turn off comment moderation for the time being (reserving the right to delete if that becomes necessary). I hope to shuttle some traffic over here from Facebook.

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Anyway, here are my initial thoughts:

WOW! Benedict has been known for some heady writing, but this... wow.

I am initially very pleased after scanning the Encyclical, and find many points resonating therein which I will need to reflect upon here at length over the next few days. In the meantime, one that jumped out at me immediately is from Chapter 3:

Charity in truth places man before the astonishing experience of gift. Gratuitousness is present in our lives in many different forms, which often go unrecognized because of a purely consumerist and utilitarian view of life.... [W]e must make it clear, on the one hand, that the logic of gift does not exclude justice, nor does it merely sit alongside it as a second element added from without; on the other hand, economic, social and political development, if it is to be authentically human, needs to make room for the principle of gratuitousness as an expression of fraternity.

Caritas in veritate 34.

Which rather reminds me of the dearth of "humane" principles in economic theory, which I reflected upon earlier.

There's a lot in here, though, and it seems that nearly every paragraph can be subject for reflection, so pardon my silence today as I chew on this and try to organize my own response.