Benedict's remarkable voice

The Church news service I subscribe to had a tidbit on a letter by Pope Benedict on the topic of the encyclical "God is Love." The letter was evidently written to accompany the publication of the encyclical in Italy's (and the world's, I think) largest Catholic magazine--one which had been (ahem!) founded by the Daughters of St. Paul. At any rate, what I find remarkable is that a Pope would himself prepare a pastoral "introduction" to a Papal document, with both the introduction and the document itself being made available to the ordinary Catholic lay person. I am delighted that the Pauline Family was able to give the Pope this new kind of "platform" for addressing the multitudes (indeed, Famiglia Cristiana has an enormous public influence in Italy).