Dives in misericordia
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Dives in misericordia Latin : Rich in Mercy Encyclical letter of Pope John Paul II |
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| Date | 30 November 1980 |
| Argument | On Divine Mercy |
| Encyclical number | 2 of 14 of the pontificate |
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Dives in misericordia (Latin: Rich in Mercy) is the name of the second encyclical written by Pope John Paul II. It is a modern examination of the role of mercy—both God's mercy, and also the need for human mercy—introducing the biblical parable of the Prodigal Son as a central theme. The original text was written in longhand in Polish. The encyclical was promulgated on 30 November 1980.
(Dives in misericordia is also the title of an apostolic letter of Pope Pius IX issued in November 1877 proclaiming St. Francis de Sales a Doctor of the Church.)
John Paul II had a strong love for the Divine Mercy, a devotion revealed by his fellow Pole, Sister Faustina Kowalska (b. 1905 - d.1938), a devotion that he later instituted for the entire Catholic Church in 2000 as Divine Mercy Sunday and during which vigil, in 2005, he died. He told his biographer George Weigel that he felt spiritually "very near" to Sister Faustina when he began the encyclical.
Pope John Paul II's second encyclical continues to examine the world problems brought up in his first encyclical, Redemptor hominis, including rising militarization, tyranny, starvation, and daily problems of personal life. He teaches that the only authentic Christian response to these rising problems is through love informed by God's mercy, especially as revealed in the love of the Father in the Trinity.
Just as in his previous encyclical, John Paul motivates his discussion by examining many problems in the world. He posits that many in today's world are made uneasy by the idea of mercy. In opposition to an impersonal, technology-driven dominion over the world that "seems to have no room for mercy," John Paul appeals to the world to turn to the mercy of God: "I wish them to be a heartfelt appeal by the Church to mercy, which humanity and the modern world need so much. And they need mercy even though they often do not realize it."
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