Populorum Progressio Research Articles

A Critical Race Theology Analysis of Catholic Social Teaching as Justification for Reparations to African Americans for Jim Crow

This article is a critical race theology analysis that asserts that Catholic social teaching established in documents such as the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Populorum progressio, Caritas in veritate, and the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace’s Contribution to the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance justifies reparations for the state of oppression commonly called Jim Crow, or segregation society, from the US government because it denied African Americans “truly human conditions.”

Laudato Si's View on Integral Ecology in Light of the Planetary Boundaries Concept

AbstractPromoting ecological awareness and sustainability of God's creation is now considered as a primary task of the CST. However, from its beginning with Rerum Novarum, CST emphasizes the promotion of social justice and equity, and highlights the dangers of economic inequalities between richer and poorer nations and the need for distributive justice. To that effect, human development was its central theme, which is favored by the dominion mandate and is known nowadays as the Anthropocene. Important documents like Gaudium et Spes and Populorum Progressio are illustrative for this anthropocentric stance, while less attention is given to the wellbeing of nonhuman creatures and natural ecosystems. Nevertheless, from Octogesima Adveniens onwards, the CST starts to look into environmental issues. Pope Francis' Laudato Si' in 2015 introduces a significant shift by referring to nonhuman creatures as ‘our fellow creatures’, thereby extending ‘intrinsic value’ to all nonhuman creatures. In his integral ecology, he promotes a sustainable and integral development that favors the wellbeing of both human and natural environments. In this article, we assess Laudato Si's view on sustainability and integral development in confrontation with the wider framework of the Planetary Boundaries's concept of sustainable development.

Contextualizing Laudato si in the Philippines: Environmental Problem in Purok 1A, Hapay na Mangga, Barangay Dolores, Taytay, Rizal

Laudato si (2015) is a landmark encyclical in the teachings of the Catholic Church concerning the environment. While the Church has issued encyclicals before on social teaching, and briefly mentioned the environment in previous encyclicals, this is the first time that social teaching has been put deeply into the context of an encyclical devoted primarily to the environment. This calls for a reassessment of the peoples’ perceptions on how they care for the environment in the Philippine context. A case study was conducted in a rural area near Metro Manila in the Province of Rizal. This paper reports the views of 47 respondents (N=47) from Purok 1A, Hapay na Mangga, Barangay Dolores, Taytay, Rizal, Philippines, aged from 18 to 60 years old. The Descriptive results of statistics and thematic analyses of respondents’ responses were based on the Care for the Environment Scale (CES) developed by the researcher in this study. The CES revealed significant differences in the perceptions of the respondents about how they care for their environment. This case study illustrates how this research can be used to inform all the people to initiate programs based on the ethics of care and the encyclical Laudato si. References Boyce, C., & Neale, P. (2006). Conducting in-depth interviews: A guide for designing and conducting in-depth interviews for evaluationinput. Retrieved on January 12, 2019, from http://www2.pathfinder.org/site/DocServer/m_e_tool_series_indepth_interviews.pdfCaritas Internationalis. (2009). Climate justice: Seeking a global ethic. Vatican City: Caritas Internationalis Press.Cobb Jr., J. B., & Caster, I. (eds.). 2015. For our common home: Processrelational responses to Laudato si’. Anoka, MN: Process Century Press.Cuomo, Ch. (2011). Climate change, vulnerability, and responsibility. Hypatia, 26: 690–714.Das, J. and B.C. Acharya, 2003. Hydrology and assessment of lotic water quality in Cuttack city, India. Water, Air, Soil Pollut., 150: 163-175. DOI: 10.1023/A:1026193514875Henson, R. (2006). The Rough Guide to Climate Change. London: Rough Guides Ltd.Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E. (2010). Practical research: Planning and design (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill, PearsonEducation, Inc.Lonergan, B. (1971). Insight and method in theology. Toronto: Toronto University Press.Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. (2004). Compendium of the social doctrine of the church. Vatican City: Libreria EditriceVaticana.Pope Paul VI. (1967). Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio.26 March. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.Pope Paul VI. (1976). Message for the 1977 World Day of Peace. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.Pope John Paul II. (1990). Peace with God the creator, Peace with all of creation. Message for the World Day of Peace.1 January.Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.Pope Benedict XVI. (2009). Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate. 29 June. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.Pope Benedict XVI. (2010). If you want to cultivate peace, protect creation. Message for the 2010 World Day of Peace.1 January.Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.Pope Francis. (2015a). Encyclical Letter Laudato si’: On care for our common home. 24 May. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice VaticanaPope Francis. (2015b). Presentation of the christmas greetings to the Roman Curia. 21 December. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.Sandler, R. (2005). Introduction: Environmental virtue ethics. In Sandler, R., Ph. Cafaro (eds.) Environmental Virtues Ethics(pp. 1–14).Lanham, MD:Rowman & Littlefield.Sarantakos, S. (2013). Social research (2nd ed.). Australia: Macmillan Education.Schaeffer, F.A. (1970). Pollution and the death of man: The Christian view of ecology. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.Whyte, Kyle Powys and Chris Cuomo. (2017). Ethics of caring in environmental ethics: Indigenous and feminist philosophies” inThe Oxford Handbook of Environmental Ethics. Stephen M. Gardiner and Allen Thompson (eds.) DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199941339.013.2 Yisa, J. and T. Jimoh, 2010. Analytical studies on water quality index of river landzu. Am. J. Applied Sci., 7: 453-458. DOI:10.3844/ajassp.2010.453.458Yu, L. and N.N.B. Salvador, 2005. Modelling water quality in rivers. Am. J. Applied Sci., 2: 881-886. DOI: 10.3844/ajassp.2005.881.886

Integral Human Development: From Paternalism to Accompaniment

This article traces the development of Catholic treatments of integral human development from Paul VI’s Populorum Progressio to the writings of Pope Francis on accompaniment. The author argues that community organizing is an important avenue for promoting the political dimension of accompaniment as understood in the teaching of Pope Francis.

Social evil threatens the integral development of the human person and of the human society

This paper discusses social evil as one type of various forms of evil. That is, the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church offers much scope for theological reflection on evil as a social phenomenon. It provides a socio-ethical perspective within which we can reflect on the reality of evil and its manifestations in the human society. The first part discusses the phenomenon of social evil and a plausible description of its essence in the context of deprivation and threats it poses to the integral human development in society. The second part points out the specific forms of social evil in the present day that threaten human dignity and prevent »full development of the whole man and of all men« (Sollicitudo rei socialis, no. 38; Populorum progressio, no. 42). Certain forms of social evil are increasingly multiplying and becoming a serious obstacle to the integral development of the human person and of the human society. Finally, the question of human freedom arises that reaches its full realization in the choice of good, which confirms the quality of existence. As true human existence cannot be thought of without its spiritual dimension that opens towards the Absolut, the path towards the full development of the whole person, of each individual and of the human society depends on the urgent need for value options.

Evolución de la economía de mercado

Populorum Progressio (PP) realiza un llamamiento a la colaboración en el desarrollo de los pueblos a todas las personas, países y organismos internacionales. PP propone un desarrollo integral, es decir, que afecte a todas las dimensiones de la persona (materiales y espirituales), y a todas las personas del mundo. Bajo el necesario respeto a la dignidad de hombres y mujeres, PP insiste en la necesidad de ayudar de una manera especial a los pueblos que se encuentran en una situación de desarrollo más desfavorecida. En este capítulo vamos a analizar la evolución de la situación económica de los distintos países del mundo desde la publicación de PP tomando como referencia los postulados de la economía convencional (neoclásica), comparándolos con los postulados defendidos desde PP y la tradición de la Doctrina Social de la Iglesia (DSI). El trabajo consta de una primera parte cualitativa y de una segunda parte de análisis empírico, que nos permitirá contrastar numéricamente los objetivos de desarrollo tanto de la economía convencional, como de PP/DSI.

Vocación y misión en Populorum Progressio

En pleno s. XXI, la encíclica Populorum Progressio guarda una sorprendente actualidad y nos interpela a la hora de abordar los retos que tenemos planteados. En ella hay una llamada al compromiso del laicado para transformar el mundo que nos parece muy sugerente. En este trabajo hemos puesto el acento en la espiritualidad presente en la Populorum Progressio, ya que puede ayudarnos como cristianos a vivir nuestra fe como experiencia traducida en un estilo de vida, lo que es esencial para poder transformar la sociedad y el mundo en que vivimos en un sentido de mayor justicia. Nos parece atractiva su propuesta de vivir la amistad tanto en las relaciones interpersonales como en las relaciones entre los pueblos. Pablo VI propone una verdadera espiritualidad de la amistad y de la fraternidad universal, tan imprescindible en un mundo desvinculado como el de hoy. El trabajo concluye con una alusión a la espiritualidad ignaciana, especialmente idónea para vivir una espiritualidad laical en contextos secularizados como los nuestros; se trata de una espiritualidad de Amigos en el Señor que ayuda a construir con otros el Reino de Dios en el interior de cada uno y a nivel social.

Del desarrollo integral del hombre a la ecología integral. Análisis comparativo de los conceptos de desarrollo integral del hombre (Populorum Progressio, Pablo VI, 1967) y de ecología integral (Laudato Si’, Francisco, 2015)

La teología ha ido incorporando a su acervo los diferentes retos a los que la humanidad se ha ido enfrentando a partir del magisterio pontificio y en los años sesenta el mundo se enfrentaba, entre otros, al tema del desarrollo. El papa Pablo VI publicó la encíclica Populorum Progressio (PP), de 1967, en la estela del concilio Vaticano II, mediante el cual la Iglesia Católica quiso mirar de frente al mundo y dialogar abiertamente con algunas de las modernas corrientes de pensamiento. El desarrollo, para que sea humano,no puede serlo de una sola dimensión, por ejemplo, la del crecimiento económico, sino que todo el hombre y todos los hombres tienen que verse afectados positivamente por el desarrollo. Todo el hombre hace referencia a la integralidad del desarrollo, mientras que todos los hombres, a su universalidad.

La antropología teológica de Populorum Progressio

Pablo VI en Populorum Progressio dibuja una imagen del hombre en diálogo con las corrientes de pensamiento que hicieron del debate antropológico el centro de la discusión. Conocer esa descripción y su contenido teológico, identificar las influencias que ha recibido y apuntar su proyección en los problemas actuales es el objetivo de este trabajo.

Empresas financieras y desarrollo humano integral

En el 50º aniversario de la publicación de la Encíclica Populorum Progressio, y frente a un escenario de política económica y comercial internacional caracterizado por unas crecientes fuerzas aislacionistas, el sector financiero propone una reflexión sobre la urgente necesidad de cambiar su paradigma funcional.
 Las reflexiones de la encíclica vuelven a ser de gran actualidad sobre todo en su atención hacia la cooperación entre pueblos y naciones en el mundo y el derecho de estos últimos al bienestar y al desarrollo humano integral.
 En la raíz de los problemas económicos y financieros de la economía global, encontramos tres enfermedades “filosóficas” que representan tres visiones distorsionadas de la persona, de la empresa y del valor. En contraposición proponemos las alternativas de los fondos éticos, la tutela de la biodiversidad bancaria, el voto con la cartera y una especial atención para los sistemas de remuneración de las figuras de poder en los bancos, empresas e intermediarios financieros.

Dimensión social del discípulo misionero. A los 50 años de Populorum Progressio

Al cumplirse los 50 años de la publicación de la Populorum Progressio este artículo presenta los orígenes y la evolución del concepto del desarrollo y de la reflexión en torno a las políticas de desarrollo. A continuación, se hace un breve recorrido del Magisterio pontificio sobre la cuestión, desde la Populorum Progressio a la Laudato Si’. Sintetizando lo aprendido en ambos recorridos, el artículo concluye presentando las exigencias y los desafíos con los que se enfrenta el discípulo misionero a propósito del desarrollo.

The Virtue of Sobriety: Integral Ecology in Its Full Flourishing Jennifer E. Miller Notre Dame Seminary New Orleans, Louisiana

The Virtue of Sobriety:Integral Ecology in Its Full Flourishing Jennifer E. Miller Notre Dame Seminary New Orleans, Louisiana Jennifer E. Miller Introduction Pope Francis's 2015 social encyclical entitled Laudato Si' (LS) introduces a new term into Catholic social teaching, "integral ecology," and with it, gives an impetus to the further development of theologically based virtue ethics, or virtuous morality, as found in the virtue of sobriety. In order to understand the term "integral ecology" and its implications in sobriety properly, it is necessary to situate it within the context of earlier social encyclicals. Thus, I will first review the social encyclicals to show how integral human development forms the background for integral ecology. Then I will further investigate the meaning of integral ecology by following the pontiff 's Scriptural exposition of the natural moral law. Finally, I will conclude by demonstrating how the praxis of integral ecology, rooted within the natural moral law, comes to maturity in the virtue of sobriety. Although there has been a suggestion that proportionalist moral reasoning might be one way of understanding the moral implications of integral ecology,1 through [End Page 205] careful examination of the text, Pope Francis's call for integral ecology can then be understand as the summons to a full flourishing of the natural moral law in the virtue of sobriety, needed by society especially to realize this broadened idea of integral human development within the context of all of Creation. The Context of Integral Ecology "Integral human development,"2 meaning "the context within which … an adequate approach to ecology can be conceived,"3 was first introduced by Blessed Pope Paul VI in 1967, two years after the close of the Second Vatican Council.4 In contrast to earlier methodology: "[Paul VI] did not take the current conception of economic development as a starting point and then modify it. Instead, he laid down certain basic criteria by which we can measure to what extent any changes brought about in society deserve to be called authentic human development, … [thus providing] a heuristic notion of development, a framework or [End Page 206] anticipation of the 'shape' of genuine development."5 This framework of genuine development, christened by the Pontiff "integral human development," insisted upon promoting the good of every man and of the whole man6 in the "transition from less human conditions to those which are more human."7 In order to ensure the integral nature of such development, it enumerated four aspects of progress that required respect and promotion: economic, social, cultural, and spiritual.8 Paul VI saw the elaboration of these four interrelated aspects of human development as constitutive of the Church's contribution to society: "The Church, … which 'seeks but … to carry forward the work of Christ himself under the lead of the befriending Spirit,' … wishes to help [men] to obtain their full flowering and that is why she offers [them] what she possesses as her characteristic attribute: a global vision of man and of the human race."9 This global vision of the development of the human person, emphasizing the relationship of the various aspects of integral human development, as well as that between the development of each individual person and that of society as a whole, became a constant reference point elaborated in later encyclicals. St. John Paul II's 1987 social encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (SRS), written to coincide with the twentieth anniversary of Populorum Progressio (PP),10 begins by stating that "the aim of the present reflection is to emphasize, through a theological investigation of the present world, the need for a fuller [End Page 207] and more nuanced concept of development."11 The idea of integral human development here becomes more Scripturally, and thus more theologically, rooted. It emphasizes the revelation of the "specific nature of man"12 in the Creation story of Genesis and reveals and establishes the importance of the virtue of solidarity in having and being for such development.13 Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict XVI's 2009 social encyclical, also written to commemorate PP, continues to insist that "progress of a merely economic and technological kind is insufficient."14 He highlights the importance of civil...

La ley natural en el pensamiento de Jacques Maritain

La importancia de la obra del autor francés Jacques Maritain está fuera de toda duda. No sólo fue uno de los iniciadores del movimiento personalista, sino que influyó de forma decisiva en la Doctrina Social de la Iglesia desde Populorum progressio (1967) e inspiró el surgimiento de un gran número de partidos de inspiración cristiana. Uno de los mayores hitos de su carrera fue la participación en los trabajos preparatorios de la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos, auspiciada por la ONU en 1948. Ese cometido ofreció a Maritain una ocasión privilegiada para debatir y hacer filosofía viva de sus tesis sobre la ley natural. En este artículo ofrecemos una revisión crítica del pensamiento iusnaturalista de Maritain y analizamos su participación en la Declaración de 1948, la cual avala la solidez de su elaboración filosófica.

Proclaiming the reign of God in a suffering world: The movement from development to liberation

Today’s missionary, whether long-term or short-term, church-based or part of a faith-based NGO, is faced with grinding poverty and the extreme isolation and marginalization of vulnerable populations. This article will develop a theological foundation that calls missionaries to address the root causes of poverty as a key element of proclaiming the Good News, and will conclude with specific and concrete recommendations for doing so. The article places liberation theology in dialogue with Catholic Social Teaching and with the experiences of faith-based development agencies. Particular attention is given to the work of Gustavo Gutiérrez and Pope Paul VI’s document, Populorum Progressio. The article will illustrate the ways that liberation theology has challenged Catholic Social Teaching in its thinking about how to respond to economic marginalization, insisting that charitable aid is insufficient and highlighting the difference between “development” and “liberation.”

The Changed Economic Terrain and the Continued Relevance of Populorum Progressio Fifty Years After

The Changed Economic Terrain and the Continued Relevance of Populorum Progressio Fifty Years After

The Contribution of the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church in the Construction of a New Concept of “Sustainability”

Abstract In the Bible we find, in the “book of Genesis”, two accounts of creation, which refer to two experiences, two different cultural and theological traditions. The Synoptic reading of the tracks offers the possibility of a deep reflection on what are the concepts “of creation such as universe and of creation such as making” and the role of the man in the creation with its functions of guardian and manager. It also provides the opportunity to assess the character and the meaning of human action, which is always characterized by ethical reference. It turns out the idea that man's relation to the world is a constitutive element of human identity, the result of a relationship that began as a deep relationship between Creator and creature. This ratio, deeply troubled allowed in “modern era to record a growing ability to transformative intervention of man. The aspect of the conquest and exploitation of resources became predominant and invasive, and came to threaten today ‘s hospitable environment; the environment as a “resource” risks threatening the environment as “home“. This showed that the balance between man and the environment reached a critical point” (John Paul II, 1997). This fracture is followed by a dynamic and anthropocentric vision, which can help strengthen the concept and practice of sustainability, which must constantly seek to achieve and accomplish the common good, which “set of social conditions which allow both individual members to the community, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily” (Gaudium et Spes, 26, 1966). Then, the social doctrine is looking to pursue three objectives: to found the motivation, to direct through the social living standards and to guide the consciences in to the creation of new life styles (Centesimus Annus, 53, 1991). This is to “denounce” and to “announce”: to denounce to defend the balance between man and the world and to announce a global vision of man and of humanity (Populorum Progressio, 13, 1967). Starting point and hermeneutical method is the training that is not so much passive assimilation of facts and cultural traditions, but to accustom the mind to become active, competent and responsible critical of the complexity of the world (Nussbaum M., 2013, p. 35).

From The Wealth of Nations to Populorum Progressio (On the Development of Peoples): Wealth and Development from the Perspective of the Catholic Social Thought Tradition

AbstractCatholic social thought (CST) looks at economic development from the broader framework of authentic human development. It is only by viewing both man's dignity and his social nature that we include the full nature of the human being. In CST wealth is understood based on its role in promoting authentic human development. Wealth is a gift from God, with humans participating in its creation, and its creation, distribution, and its use must be carried out in a manner that respects God's law (justice and charity). Furthermore, man should never place wealth above God or above humans. Those who control wealth have special responsibilities with regards to their use of it; thus the right of private property is always restricted by the social responsibility to use it towards the common good. The goal must be the development of the whole person and all people. Wealth is socially created and thus must be distributed, at least partially, among the entire community. Economic development needs to be grounded in social justice and its two co‐principles, charity and justice. Grounding economic development in the authentic development of the person means placing the people of the poor countries at the center of their development drama, both as the leading actors and as the directors.

Economia e humanismo

O artigo visa reconstruir a história do movimento Economia e Humanismo. O seu fundador e teórico foi o frade dominicano francês Joseph-Louis Lebret. Trabalhando inicialmente com marinheiros e pescadores da sua cidade natal, Saint-Malo, porto bretão, ele tomou consciência da exploração capitalista representada pelos grandes navios pesqueiros que faziam concorrência à pesca artesanal e comunitária da região. Estudando a obra de Marx, Lebret incorporou à doutrina social cristã a noção de mais-valia: daí a sua crítica à economia liberal. Economia Humana parte das necessidades do trabalhador e não dos cálculos de lucro do empresário. As equipes de pesquisa (surveys) do movimento Economia e Humanismo estudaram as condições de vida dos bairros pobres de cidades francesas depois da Segunda Guerra Mundial. Vindo ao Brasil, Lebret orientou levantamentos semelhantes em São Paulo, Rio, Belo Horizonte e Recife, formando pesquisadores que trabalharam junto às prefeituras locais. Visitou 60 países do Terceiro Mundo. Por indicação de D. Helder Câmara, Paulo VI o designou para a função de perito em questões de desenvolvimento social no Concílio Vaticano II. Redigiu, pouco antes de falecer (1966), a encíclica Populorum Progressio.

Caritas in Veritate: Good News for Society

Introduction (1) ANNOUNCED FOR 2007 to mark fortieth anniversary of Populorum Progressio (1967) of Pope Paul VI and twentieth of Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (1987) of Blessed John Paul II, Caritas Veritate (2) was originally intended to celebrate memory of these two encyclicals, especially for their treatment of human development. It would turn take up issue of development new and changed situation of a globalized world, for social issues that beset humanity days of Popes Paul and John Paul had now become global. The economic crisis of 2008-09 prompted Pope Benedict XVI to treat ethics of economics greater detail context of human development. somewhat delayed promulgation of encyclical; but on feast of Sts. Peter and Paul (June 29, 2009), Pope signed new social encyclical, and month of St. Benedict (on July 7, 2009) it was promulgated just before meeting of G-8 L'Aquila, Italy. Like many others beginning with Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum of 1891, Caritas Veritate is a social encyclical. (3) In it insights of theology, philosophy, economics, ecology, and politics have been harnessed to formulate a coherent social teaching that places human person with his total and integral development at center of all world systems of thought and activity. Man and his salvation were at center of mission and ministry of Jesus Christ as revelation of love of Father (Jn 3:16) and truth of man's creation God's image and of his transcendent vocation to holiness and to happiness with God. is setting of two concepts, love and truth, (4) which drive encyclical. Lying at heart of mission and ministry of Jesus, love and truth correspond with and describe essential character of life and activity of man on earth. The human person receives God's love as a gift and is furthermore endowed with a vocation to become a gift and a source of love return. This dynamic of charity received and given is what gives rise to Church's social teaching, which is caritas veritate re sociale: proclamation of truth of Christ's love society (Civ 5). The res socialis (human society) forms contextual reference of Church's social teaching, and it has evolved dramatically over past 120 years. Pope Leo XIII was concerned about misery of workers days after industrial revolution and influence of Marxism; Pope Pius XI addressed crisis of 1929; Popes John XXIII and Paul VI dealt with decolonization and emergence of third worldism; Pope John Paul II faced issues stemming from fall of Berlin Wall and political changes Eastern Europe; and now Pope Benedict XVI is addressing globalization, underdevelopment, and recent financial, economic, moral, and anthropological crises (cf. Civ 75). To these changing situations, social encyclicals steadily reapply basic principles of Church's social teaching. So the Church's social doctrine illuminates with an unchanging light new problems that are constantly emerging. (5) It was this sense that Pope Pius XII believed that papal encyclicals, even when they are not ex cathedra, can nonetheless be sufficiently authoritative to end theological debate on a particular question. (6) The issuing of encyclicals indicates a high papal priority for an issue at a given time; but they are not only means available to popes to teach on social issues. It is pontiff who decides under what circumstances an encyclical should be issued (7) in order to shed light of Gospel on social questions of his time. (8) And this is precisely what Caritas Veritate seeks to do our day. Thus Caritas Veritate continues tradition of popes exercising their prophetic and teaching office order to provide guidance for way Church lives accord with Gospel's message and virtues. …

La Encíclica Sollicitudo rei socialis y la preocupación de Juan Pablo II por el desarrollo de los pueblos. Reflexión en el 25 aniversario de la encíclica Sollicitudo rei socialis

The Catholic Church’s teaching on the development of the nations is generally included in two documents: Populorum Progressio by Pope Paul VI and Sollicitudo rei socialis by John Paul II. This year marks the 25th anniversary of publishing the Encyclical Sollicitudo rei socialis, hence the motive for writing this article. A characteristic feature of the teaching of John Paul II, which we fi nd in this Encyclical, is the ethical dimension of development. The Pope repeatedly drew attention to the inequitable distribution of material goods in the world. He stressed that “True development, in keeping with the speci fi c needs of the human being – man or woman, child, adult or old person implies, especially for those who actively share in this process and are responsible for it, a lively awareness of the value of the rights of all and of each person. It likewise implies a lively awareness of the need to respect the right of every individual to the full use of the benefits offered by science and technology” Sollicitudo rei socialis 33. This article consists of the four following issues: 1. Populorum Progressio and a new analysis on the development of the nations; 2. The main motive for the publication of Sollicitudo rei socialis; 3. The concept of development in the teaching of John Paul II; 4. Topicality of the papal document – 25 years later.