The Church has made moral judgments about
economic and social matters, "when the fundamental rights of the person or the
salvation of souls requires it." In earlier times the primary vehicle for
Catholic Social Teaching was the jurisprudence of canon law.
The social doctrine of the Church became the
purview of papal encyclicals during the nineteenth century when the Church
struggled with the rise of the modern industrial society with its new structures
for the production of consumer goods, with its new concept of a just society,
with the rise of the secular state, and with the modern world's new forms of
labor and ownership.
|
Pope Leo XIII |
Issued on the fifteenth of May 1891. Literally "Of New Things," on capital and labor and the condition of the working class. This was the most significant of all the encyclicals before or since. Rerum Novarum broke down the barriers that separated the church from the worker. Rarely had the Church spoken on social matters in such an official and comprehensive fashion. **
|
|
Pope Pius XI |
Issued May 15, 1931. Literally "In forty Years," commemorating the fortieth anniversary of Rerum Novarum. This encyclical repeated many of the themes of Rerum Novarum: the dignity of labor, the rights of workers to organize, etc. Quadragesimo anno also emphasized the immorality of keeping economic control in the hands of a few. It recognized the principle of subsidiarity, which held that higher levels of authority should act only when lower levels cannot deal with a problem. **
|
|
Pope John XXIII |
Issued May 15, 1961. Literally "Mother and Teacher," on Christianity and Social progress. This encyclical gave an updated interpretation of the classic theme of private property and introduced the notion of private initiative as an extension of private property. While Rerum Novarum and Quadragesimo Anno left responsibility for social justice with the individual, Mater et Magistra placed some in the hands of the state. (this encyclical needs to be read in conjunction with Pacem in Terris, literally "Peace on Earth," Pope John XXIII's other great encycical.) ** |
Pope Paul VI
|
Octogesima Adveniens: A Call to Action (May 14, 1971) Issued for the Eightieth Anniversary of Rerum Novarum |
|
Populorum Progressio: On the Development of People Issued March 26, 1967.
Literally "On the Progress of Peoples." As a vigorous endorsement of
Mater et Magistra, Populorum Progressio presented Catholicism as a
advocate of a pluralistic, decentralized approach to economic problems. **
|
|
Pope John Paul II |
Issued on September 14, 1981. Literally "On Human Work." Laborem Exercens focused on the themes that work is central to the social question and that work has potential not only to dehumanize but also to be the means whereby the human person cooperates in God's ongoing creation. Issued on December 30, 1987. Literally "On Social Concerns," commemorating the twentieth anniversary of Populorum Progressio. Solicitudo Rei Socialis presented an overview of modern social problems with some guidelines for action. It dealt with authentic human development and adopted a critical attitude toward both capitalism and communism. Solicitudo Rei Socialis warned that economic development alone may not set people free but only enslave them more. ** Issued on May 1, 1991.
Literally, "The Hundredth Year," commemorating the one hundredth anniversary
of Rerum Novarum. Centesimus Annus brought Rerum Novarum up to
date and tied it to "the preferential option for the poor" done in the
context of the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union,
Centesimus Annus still criticized both capitalism and communism. **
|
** The above explanations were taken from Upon This Rock: The Church, Work, Money and You, by Tim Unsworth & Jean Unsworth. Published by ACTA Publications, 4848 N. Clark Street, chicago, Illinois, 60640, copy right 1991. This volume is still in print, and is designed as an adult study guide to visit and evaluate church teachings and practices on the issues of work and money.
This web page is adapted from http://www.pernet.net/~sinclair/encyclicals/papal-encyclicals.htm that is part of the Catholic Labor Network
