Catholic Social Teaching

1. Catholic Social Teaching Timeline through the Documents

2. Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum, 1891(Of New Things) • Context: Industrial Revolution leads to exploiting workers. • Message: • First comprehensive document of social justice. • Defends workers’ rights based on natural law. • Rights include work, private property, just wage, workers’ associations.

3. Pius XI, Quadragesimo Anno, 1931(The Fortieth Year) • Context: Fortieth anniversary of Rerum Novarum; Great Depression underway; dictatorships growing in Europe. • Message: • States need to reform greedy capitalist systems to which they have become slaves. • Communism dangerous because condones violence and abolishes private property. • Labor and capital need each other. • Workers need just wage to acquire private property. • International economic cooperation urged. • Principle of “subsidiarity” introduced.

4. John XXIII, Mater et Magistra, 1961(Mother and Teacher) • Context: Science and technology advance in developed nations, while millions live in poverty in Third World. • Message: • Disparity between rich and poor nations must be addressed. • Arms race contributes to poverty. • Economic imbalances cause threat to peace. • Rich nations must help poor ones while respecting culture. • Nations are interdependent and need to cooperate. • Catholics should know social teaching and be active.

5. John XXIII, Pacem in Terris, 1963(Peace on Earth) • Context: Cold War, erection of Berlin Wall (1961), Cuban Missile Crisis (1962). • Message: • Peace ensured through social rights and responsibilities-- between people; between citizens and public authorities; between states; among nations. • World needs to recognize rights of women. • Arms race goes against justice, reason and human dignity. • United Nations needs to be strengthened

6. Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes, 1965(Church in the Modern World) • Context: Continuing Cold War and arms race. • Message: • Church is not separate from the world, but intimately intertwined with it. • Assesses the rapid cultural changes and technological advances in the light of the Gospel. • Overall warm and optimistic tone, but reflects pastoral concern for faith, family, transcendent destiny of man.

7. Paul VI, Octogesima Adveniens, 1971(The Coming Eightieth Year) • Context: World verging on recession. In U.S., see civil rights and women’s movements, Vietnam war protests. • Message: • Urbanization has presented problems, especially the “new poor” – cities’ elderly, handicapped and marginalized. • Discrimination continues based on race, color, sex, religion. • Christians called to engage political process to address injustices, applying gospel principles.

8. Synod of Bishops, Justice in the World, 1971 • Context: Political upheavals of 60’s. Increased focus on “liberation” especially in Latin America. • Message: • Structural injustices and oppression must be met by liberation rooted in justice. God is “liberator of the oppressed.” • Church must speak on behalf of the oppressed, be a witness for justice.

9. Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 1975(On Evangelization in the Modern World) • Context: Rising atheistic secularism, consumerism, growing consciousness of evil of oppression. • Message: • Evangelization crucial in a de-Christianized world. • Witness of evangelization should permeate judgment, values, interests, thought, lifestyle. • Evangelization includes challenging injustice and preaching liberation.

10. John Paul II, Laborem Exercens, 1981(On Human Work) • Context: Great numbers of people are unemployed, migrant workers exploited. Both capitalist and communist systems exploiting the worker. • Message: • Work is part of man’s vocation and dignity, participation in God’s creative work. Has spiritual dimension. • Decent wages, rights and benefits of worker must be assured. • Work must serve the family, with special consideration for working mothers. • Steps must be taken to assure that disabled can participate in dignity of work.

11. U.S. Bishops, Economic Justice for All, 1986 • Context: In U.S., 33 million poor, 20-30 million needy, 8 million unemployed. • Message: • Inequalities of income, consumption, privilege and power should be examined. • The poor should have most urgent claim on conscience of nation. • Employment policy, tax and welfare systems, farm support, role of U.S. in world trade should be examined. • Church must model justice in wages, management and investment.

12. John Paul II, Solicitudo Rei Socialis, 1987(On Social Concern) • Context: World economy in flux – debt, unemployment and recession hitting both rich and poor nations. • Message: • Critiques economic gap between northern and southern hemispheres and global debt. Should be one united world. • East-West tensions and competition block world cooperation and solidarity. • Critiques consumerism and waste, as well as international trade practices that hurt developing nations.

13. John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, 1991(The Hundredth Year) • Context: 100th anniversary of Rerum Novarum. Collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. • Message: • Critiques fundamental error of communism – atheistic view of humanity. • Gives qualified support to free market as most efficient system for utilizing resources and responding to needs. Free market also recognizes freedom of human person. • Warns against consumerism, as well as making capitalist system an all-encompassing ideology.

14. John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, 1995(The Gospel of Life) • Context: Prevalence of “culture of death” – abortion, euthanasia, death penalty. • Message: • Gives overview of threats to human life both past and present, and brief history of the many Biblical prohibitions against killing. • Speaks out against abortion, euthanasia and the death penalty. • Calls for a “culture of life” embracing truth, life and love.

15. Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 2005(God is Love) • Context: First Encyclical of Benedict XVI. Comes in the midst of a culture of relativism. • Message: • Encyclical divided into two parts: • Part One: Explains the true meaning of love and shows how human love is raised up, not destroyed, by divine love. • Part Two: Affirms the Church’s irreplaceable vocation to carry the charity of Christ into a world in need.

16. Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, 2009(Charity in Truth) • Context: Worldwide economic crisis centered on weakness in financial institutions and the collapse of the housing market. • Message: • True human development requires charity lived out in truth, including respect for the common good, religious freedom, and the sanctity of human life. Only an economy of communion, a business ethic centered in persons and not in profit, will be a sufficient response to the present economic and financial crisis.