Sollicitudo Rei Socialis Research Articles

Solidarity, Praxis, and Discernment: Formation at the Catholic Worker

Although the encyclicals and episcopal documents of Catholic social teaching remain fairly theoretical and address concrete social issues on a general level, the implications of these texts must be lived out to be fully understood. Students of Catholic social teaching require spaces and communities in which they can ‘test out’ concepts such as the common good and the preferential option for the poor for the sake of their own formation and in service to the Church and the world. The Catholic Worker, an anarchist lay movement primarily based in urban centers of the United States, has historically provided a setting for young people and students to reflect on and practice living out the ideals of Catholic social teaching; Worker communities are in this way informal schools of the Catholic social tradition. The following article engages the concept of solidarity as envisioned by Pope John Paul II in Sollicitudo Rei Socialis and by Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudium and addresses how participation in the work of hospitality and peacemaking in the Catholic Worker movement can deepen students’ understanding of CST and build upon the magisterial tradition.

Sobre la formulación del principio de solidaridad de la Doctrina Social de la Iglesia

Abstract: The encyclical Sollicitudo rei socialis conceives the Catholic Social Teaching (CST) as an accurate formulation of a reflexion on the social problems, in the light of faith and the Church’s tradition. This article explores the formulation of the principle of solidarity since it is hard to find a clear or complete definition of the principle itself in magisterial texts. The article harkens back to the complex origins of the principle of solidarity in CST and in the social sciences, and extracts the main contents pointed out by the CST. Next, the importance of counting on an accurate definition of the principle is explained and a definition is proposed in view of previous CST. Given the influence of the social sciences on the formulation of CST, the article finally highlights the convenience of purifying questionable elements when it comes to present and explain solidarity as a principle. Key Words: Principle of solidarity, Catholic Social Teaching, Solidarism, Common good, Unity, Equality

Church’s Response to the Earth’s Healing in the Face of Ecological Crisis

The Roman Catholic Church, thru the Supreme Pontiff, prides herself in her prophetic vocation. Just like the prophets of old, the Church speaks whenever there are social issues that threatens the people of God. Currently, all people are facing the ecological crisis as characterized by unprecedented natural weather patterns (climate change), loss of species of both flora and fauna, desertification and the like. As a crisis, it needs an immediate response. This response is the main focus of this research. Hence, this research aimed to fulfill the following objectives: to describe the current ecological crisis; to identify the Church’s traditional and scriptural basis in responding to the challenges of the ecological crisis; to examine the different Church’s encyclical and teachings as responses to ecological crisis; and to propose recommendations to alleviate the present ecological crisis. The social action cycle of Mater et Magistra was used as framework in identifying the origins of the crisis (context), followed by identifying diachronically the response of the Church drawing from the scripture, tradition (conscience), and examining synchronically the response of the Church’s encyclical with special emphasis on Laudato Si, concluding with concrete recommendations (consciousness) to help alleviate the present ecological crisis. Thus, the result showed that the current ecological crisis is characterized by ‘excessive anthropocentrism’ which is a clear misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the human and nature relationships. Moreover, a clear interpretation of the Biblical truth must be preserved. Lastly, the Catholic Social Teachings, specifically the Laudato Si, indicated that there is a need for a “Dialogue”, among various sciences, to respond effectively to the ecological crisis. References Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9, 27-40.Christiansen, D and Grazer, W, (Eds.). (1996). And God saw that it was good: Catholic Theology and the environment. USA: United States Catholic Conference.Hornsby-Smith, M. P. (2006). An introduction to catholic social thought. New York: Cambridge University Press.Jenkins, Willis. (2008). Ecologies of grace: Environmental ethics and Christian Theology. London: Oxford University Press.Josol, A. M., CSsR. (1991). “What is happening to our beautiful land,” in Responses to the Signs of the Times: Selected Documents: Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. Quezon City: Claretian, pp. 306-320.Leavy, Patricia. (2017). Research Design. New York: The Guilford Press.McDonagh, S. (1987). To care for the earth: A call for a new theology, London: Geoffrey Chapman. O’Murchu, D. (2004). Quantum theology: Spiritual implications of the new physics (Revised Ed.). NY: The Crossroads PublishingCompany.Pope Benedict XVI. (2010). If you want to cultivate peace, protect creation. Message of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace. http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedictxvi/en/messages/peace/documents/hf_benxvi_mes_20091208_xliii-world-day-peace.html Pope Francis. (2015a). Laudato si (On care for our common home). Libreria Editrice Vaticana.Pope Francis. (2015b). Pope Francis I speech to the Filipino audience in the year 2015. University of Sto. Tomas-Manila.Pope John XXIII. (1961). Mater et Magistra (Christianity and Social Progress). Libreria Editrice Vaticana.Pope John Paul II. (1987a). Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (The concern of the church for social order). Libreria Editrice Vaticana.Pope John Paul II. (1990b). Peace with God the creator, peace with all of creation. Message of His Holiness Pope John Paul II for the celebration of the World Day of Peace. http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paulii/en/messages/peace/documents/hf_jp-ii_mes_19891208_x xiii-world-day-for-peace.html.Pope John Paul II. (1979c). Redemptoris Hominis. Libreria Editrice Vaticana.Pope John Paul II. (1991d). Centesimus Annus. Libreria Editrice Vaticana.Pope Leo XIII. (1891). Rerum Novarum (Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor). Libreria Editrice Vaticana.Pope Paul VI. (1971). Octogesima Adveniens (The eightieth anniversary). Libreria Editrice Vaticana.Rozzi, R., et al. (2013). Linking ecology and ethics for a changing world: Values, philosophy, and action, Springer, 1, Switzerland.Rozzi, R., et al. (2015). Earth stewardship: Linking ecology and ethics in theory and practice, Springer, 2, Switzerland.White, Lynn. (1967). The historical roots of our ecological crisis. Science 155: 1203-1207. http://www.cmu.ca/faculty/gmatties/lynnwhiterootsofcrisis.pdfWilliams, C. (2010). Ecology and socialism: Solutions to capitalist ecological crisis. Chicago: Haymarket Books.

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...

Solidarität heißt: Strukturen der Sünde gemeinsam überwinden. Zur Aktualität der Soziallehre Johannes Pauls II

Taking the example of the encyclical letter “Sollicitudo rei socialis”, the author demonstrates the ongoing relevance of the social teaching of the Pope John Paul II. First the multifaceted gap between sub-Saharan Africa and the most affluent countries of the world, which stands even wider now than it was in 1987, is noted. Then the Pope's reflections on the causes of these global differences --- especially his notion of “the structures of sin” --- are elaborated with reference to consumption patterns in rich countries, power structures in poor countries, and global institutions. Finally, and in the light of this, it emerges that a transformation of people’s hearts and of institutions --- one taking as its model the principle of solidarity --- is ever more urgently needed.

Book Review: John Paul II on the Vulnerable

Book Review: John Paul II on the Vulnerable

Pastoralne implikacje encykliki Jana Pawła II Sollicitudo rei socialis

Kanonizacja Jana Pawła II stanowi bardzo dobrą okazję do ponownego odkrycia wartości społecznej myśli papieża. W niniejszym artykule autor podejmuje kwestię duszpasterskich implikacji encykliki Sollicitudo rei socialis wydanej w 1987 roku. W pierwszej części omawia genezę i społeczno-polityczny kontekst papieskiego dokumentu. W drugiej części prezentuje najważniejsze idee zawarte w encyklice. Analizuje panoramę problemów współczesnego świata, przedstawia integralne rozumienie rozwoju człowieka oraz wskazuje na relacje między solidarnością i pokojem. W trzeciej i zarazem ostatniej części artykułu autor podkreśla aktualność wielu aspektów przesłania zawartego w encyklice oraz formułuje konkretne wskazania dla duszpasterstwa parafialnego. Zwraca uwagę na konieczność dowartościowania społecznego aspektu Eucharystii oraz na potrzebę kształtowania u wierzących postawy solidarności i odpowiedzialności za pełny rozwój człowieka zarówno w wymiarze indywidualnym, jak i wspólnotowym.

Blessed John Paul II on Social Mortgage: Origins, Questions, and Norms

One of the greatest injustices in the contemporary world consists precisely in this: that the ones who possess much are relatively few and those who possess almost nothing are many. It is an injustice of the poor distribution of the goods and services originally intended for all. This then is the picture: there are some people--the few who possess much--who do not really succeed in being more because through a reversal of the hierarchy of values, they are hindered by the cult of having; and there are others--the many who have little or nothing--who do not succeed in their basic human vocation because they are deprived of essential goods. (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, Blsd. John Paul II, 1987, [section]28). Based upon and justified by the Church's principle that God intended the earth with everything contained in it for the use of all human beings and peoples (Gaudium et Spes, [section]69), John Paul II in Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (hereafter SRS) argues that property is not exclusively in nature, that it has a social function. Adapting language that applies to residential property sales in which the buyer borrows some of the funds necessary to purchase the property and acquires the title conditionally, John Paul asserts in SRS that private property ... is under a social (John Paul 1987, [section]42). Property has a social function in the sense that the property holder is a social being, joined together with others in a network of communities such as family, neighborhood, place of worship, workplace. For Catholics that community is called the Body of Christ. At the same time, property has an individual function in the sense that the person holding that property is an individual human being, unique and apart from all other human beings. Thus the owner of property is accountable for the manner in which the goods produced by means of that property are held for his or her own use or released for the use of others. The social function of property means that ownership confers stewardship. Just as a conventional mortgage binds the homeowner to repay the institution that made ownership of that home possible, a social mortgage obligates the owner of property to give back to the community so that those with no property holdings have access to the same basic services such as health care, education, transportation, and police and fire protection that helped make possible the personal development of that property owner. Homo economicus of the libertarian persuasion recognizes the duty in accepting a conventional mortgage, but not the duty in a social mortgage. The acting person of the personalist persuasion acknowledges both. Writing more than fifty years ago, Thomas Divine supplies three arguments in defense of the individual function of property and three others for its social function. Following Aquinas and fellow Jesuit Duff, Divine asserts that the institution of property provides for the needs of society--the social function--through the greater productivity of property holders, the enhanced order characteristic of a society in which property is managed privately, and the greater peace and harmony that derives from the contentedness of property holders. Private property serves the needs of the individual--the individual function--by endowing the property holder with economic independence, making the holder more secure, and promoting creativity and personal development (Divine, Chap. 27). Drawing on Aquinas, Divine argues that there are two aspects to the common use of property. In the first place it means that the owner of property must be willing to share his wealth with others in time of need. For the right to the necessities of life would take precedence over the right to conveniences or luxuries. To quote again from Aquinas: If the need be so urgent and manifest that it must be remedied by whatever means are at hand . …

Loving the Poor, Saving the Rich: Wealth, Poverty, and Early Christian Formation by Helen Rhee (review)

Ancient Loving Poor, Saving Rich: Wealth, Poverty, and Early Christian Formation. By Helen Rhee. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic Press. 2013. Pp. xx, 279. $29.99 paperback. ISBN 978-0-8010-4824-1.)In Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (par. 42), Pope John Paul II declared that the whole tradition of Church bears witness to a preferential option for poor. Most Christians would agree-but if asked to describe or defend that tradition, we find ourselves facing complex historical questions. A vast body of scholarship has explored tradition's beginnings in community's early memory of Jesus-pondering his words Blessed are you and Woe to you rich-and in canonical New Testament. Another huge corpus of literature has grown around flowering of patristic commentary and great ecumenical councils of post-Constantinian church. In this book Helen Rhee focuses on an in-between period, relatively neglected by historians of social ethics, but crucial to our understanding of issues- second and third centuries, when Christian movement was sorting out what and who it was. Debates over what Church ought to do for poor and what it should expect from rich were not only an important part of movement's growing body of moral teaching, Rhee argues, but also central to ways it defined its identity.There is no tabula rasa in formation of identity, whether of an individual or of a movement. Identity is both positive and negative: not only beliefs, attitudes, and practices that define who we are but also defining differences from beliefs, attitudes, and practices of those around us. Even those differences, however, we perceive through filters created by that larger culture.The language we use to describe our differences is language we share.The identity of a new social movement is thus always being negotiated at its boundaries.Over past century, new evidence and, more important, fresh ways of interpreting evidence have transformed our understanding of social and cultural world within which Jesus movement came of age as Christianity. In her first chapter Rhee provides a succinct, accessible summary of scholarship on social and economic relationships in Roman Empire and way those relationships were construed and evaluated by various groups. A very brief section mentions aspects of Israelite-Jewish tradition of rich and poor (pp. 27-32). In contrast with comprehensive knowledge exhibited elsewhere by Rhee, these paragraphs are disappointingly thin: most of references are to commentaries on Letter of James; no Jewish scholar is cited, and rabbinic sources are ignored. …

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.

Solidarity from the Point of View of European Catholic Experts

In n. 38 of Sollicitudo Rei Socialis Pope John Paul II calls solidarity a virtue for the fi rst time. Previously in his speeches and writtings he had referred to solidarity as an attitude, duty or principle. Thanks to the Pope in 1987 the Church articulated a new concept of social teaching where it looks at the power of virtue and the power of solidarity as virtues capable of tearing down unjust structrues that hold millions in poverty and abuse, and build up structures of virtue that will form us into one human family. Solidarity is key to an understanding of John Paul II’s thought on social questions. The innovative dimensions of the Pope’s teaching were an inspiration for the international conference on the topic of solidarity under the auspices of the Department of Applied and Pastoral Theology at the Faculty of Theology in Ljubljana in Slovenia on 13 April 2011. Nineteen international experts in the fi eld from Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Serbia and Slovenia lectured on this topic. In this paper we are going to present some of their refl ections and draw some inferences from them.

Papal Encyclicals: the social teaching of the Catholic Church

PHILOSOPHY OF TRADE UNIONRIGHTS□ NATURAL LAWANDRELIGIOUSINSPIRATION Papal Encyclicals: the social teaching of the Catholic Church FortheCatholicChurcha Papal encyclical is a letter, usuallytreating some aspectof Catholic doctrine, sentbythePopeand addressed either to bishops (ofa region orthroughout theworld)or more generally toa wider audience. TheThe based social oldest upon teaching a specific corpus ofthe encyclical of Catholic papal encyclicals. is Church Rerum is based upon a corpusof papal encyclicals. The oldest specificencyclicalis Rerum novarum (1891).Theencyclicals canbe classified atfirst sight on thebasisofan often explicit linkage either to Rerum Novarumor to Populorum progressio(1967). Whereas Rerum novarum assessesthe'socialquestion' atthemicro levelof the employment relationin a Nation State, Populorum progressio tacklestheissue of social justice atthemacroleveloftherelation between Nation States, constituting the'human family', The latest encyclical (Cantasinveritate , 2009)continues thetradition started byPopulorum Progressio. Bothapproachesneed to be construed as complementary , rather thanas twodistinct, letalone conflicting 'actionprogrammes'. Theofficial socialteaching oftheChurch does notcoincide withCatholic SocialThought orwith the Social Tradition of the Church.The papal encyclicals do constitute the mostauthoritative sourcefrom a hierarchical pointofview.Noneof theencyclicals has everbeen 'repealed'.In fact, thesubsequent Pontiffs havefrequently referred to previousencyclicals. For a moresystematic overview oftheSocialTeaching, tworecent documentsproduced by the Vatican'sPontifical Council for Justice andPeace,canbe very useful. A Compendium of the Social Doctrineof the Church (2004)provides a 'synthetic', but'exhaustive 'overview of thesocialteaching. It has not yetbeen updatedtointegrate theideasincluded inthelatest encyclical. Another useful tool,isthe Dizionariodidottrina socialedellachiesa(2005), an authorised dictionary whichhelpsto understandsomeoftheconcepts oftheCompendium. In countries markedby tradeunionpluralism based uponreligious, philosophical and political convictions,the encycical Rerum novarum (1891)is generally believedtohaveconstituted a starting pointfora Catholicor Christian labour movement. SincetheCatholic Church consistentlyrejected mostoftheideologies that marked the 19thand 20thCenturies, ittendsto contribute to maintaining identities based upon theseconvictions .Ever since otherEncyclicals have been adopted,whichhave shapedwhatis calledthe Social Teachingof the CatholicChurch.Ever sinceRerum Novarum ,theChurch hasdevoteda lotof attention to theroleof workers' associations ,especiallytradeunion and to industrial relationsand collectivelabour law in these encyclicals. In orderto highlight this, thiscontributionis focusing on threeintertwined workers' rights (rightto organise,freedomof collective bargaining and the rightto strike).For trade unionsofa catholic denomination, theyareconsideredto havebeen and to a lesserextent continuetobe a sourceofinspiration. The Churchand labour law Sincelabourlaw was primarily developedatthe leveloftheNationStates, theencyclicals which sprangfromRerumnovarumand subsequent encyclicalscontainmultiplereferences to the development ofdomestic labourlaw:freedom of association,collectivebargaining, the rightto strike, theright towork, right totheprotection of healthand safety, including theissueofworking time,theright to fairremuneration. Explicit referencesto labourlaw intheencyclicals arerare. In viewoftheobjectofsocialjusticewithin the 'humanfamily', itseemsobviousnevertheless to relatetheir messageto therecognition offundamentalworkers 'rights in international human rights cataloguesand to thegrowing awareness ofsomemulti-national (corporate) companiesof their social responsibility in a globalisedeconomy .These humanrights cataloguesare relevant fortheemployment relations within theNation States as well.In sum,itis essential nottodisregardthePopulorum progressio lineofencyclicals whilestudying issuesoftheemployment relation at microlevel;justas itis essential notto disregard the Rerumnovarumline of encyclicals while studying the issue of social justiceat a global level. Thus, 'caritasin veritate' is being construed as a generalprinciple underlying the entire SocialDoctrine oftheCatholic Church. In Sollicitudorei socialis John Paul II has definedthesocial teaching in a 'negative' way, disqualifying itas an ideology. Itsmainaimis to interpret theserealities, determining their conformitywithor divergence fromthe lines of the Gospel teachingon man and his vocation,a vocationwhichis at once earthly and transcendent ;itsaimis thustoguideChristian behaviour. Ittherefore belongstothefield, notofideology, butoftheology and particularly ofmoraltheology . However,the Churchhas not been very reluctant tocondemnideologies, especially liberal capitalism, socialism, andMarxist collectivism. Trade unions and trade unionfreedom Freedomofassociation is an essential condition for the developmentof industrialrelations. Rerumnovarumconsiders'thespirit of revolutionary change'as a disturbance ofa political and economicnature'. Paradoxically, trade unionsare notseenas a cause ofsuchdisturbance, butas a keyto the solutionof theproblemsprovoking sucha disturbance. Collectivelabour ■ has been a I recurring issue in I papal encyclicals. ■ Pontiffs have fl stressed the I crucial roleof I trade unionsand I have recognized I freedomof I association I FILIP D0RSSEM0NT is Professor of Labour Law in the Centre Droit, Entreprise et Société Jean Renauld at the Université Catholique de Louvain Page 3Volume 18Issue 4201 2 INTERNATIONAL union rights PHILOSOPHY OF TRADE UNIONRIGHTS□ NATURAL LAWANDRELIGIOUSINSPIRATION The stance adopted bythe Churchinrespect ofstrikeshas evolved from initialrepression to a fairly timid and heavily restricted recognition In line with its predecessorQuanta Cura (1864),Rerum novarum primarily contains a negativemessage ,id est the veryrejectionof res novae , such as the remediesproposedby 'the socialists'. Itthusrejects theresnovaeto which itstitlerefers. It ends witha moreconstructive approachto thesolutionofthesocialquestion. Leo XIII...

Manual Labor in the Life and Thought of St. Basil the Great

Manual Labor in the Life and Thought of St. Basil the Great Andrew Dinan (bio) In keeping with the initiative of the Second Vatican Council, the late Pope John Paul II often looked back to the patristic period in order to develop and to articulate the teachings of the magisterium. The new catechism, for example, is replete with citations from the Fathers, as are several of the late pontiff’s encyclicals and other communications.1 Yet his social encyclicals—Laborem exercens (1981), Sollicitudo rei socialis (1987), Centesimus annus (1991)—contain few patristic references.2 In these works, in addition to frequent citations of Gaudium et spes and Scripture, John Paul consistently draws from, commemorates, and develops the teachings of the social encyclicals of his predecessors, notably Rerum novarum (1891), Quadragesimo anno (1931), Mater et magistra (1961), Pacem in terris (1963), and Populorum progressio (1967). But the relative infrequency of patristic citations in the social encyclicals—whether those of John Paul or indeed those of his predecessors—should not lead one to conclude that such teaching is a recent phenomenon.3 Rather, as John Paul acknowledges in Laborem exercens, there is a long-standing tradition of vibrant social thought within the Church, one that stretches well beyond St. Thomas Aquinas—who is cited in all but [End Page 133] one of the encyclicals just mentioned—to the very first centuries of Christianity, a time of extraordinary theological fecundity when Christians distinguished themselves by fervent charity and the development of a robust approach to social issues.4 This article explores one aspect of this social teaching: the role of manual labor in the life and thought of St. Basil the Great (329–79), the bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, a staunch defender of Nicene orthodoxy, and a central figure in the development of monasticism.5 Far from being an insignificant issue, work lies “at the very centre of the ‘social question’” according to John Paul, and while labor certainly implies much more than working with one’s hands, manual labor might justifiably be considered the primary form of work, and it has special significance in the growth of Christianity.6 Furthermore, during the pontificate of a pope whose name evokes the famous imperative ora et labora, it is especially appropriate to take up this subject. If Pope Benedict XVI’s choice of a name reflects, at least in part, a desire to look to the approach of Benedictine monasticism in early sixth-century southern Italy as an inspiration for missionary activity and for the preservation and revitalization of Western culture, it is worthwhile pondering anew the role of manual labor in human life and society. I have chosen to focus on Basil for several reasons. It is significant that he is one of the few patristic authors mentioned in the social encyclicals of John Paul.7 This is not surprising, for Basil’s writings reveal how deeply he had reflected on social questions in general and in particular on the role of labor within the life of committed Christians. His counsels to ascetic communities, which influenced St. Benedict, comprise one of the most extended early discussions of the role of manual labor in Christian life, and they contain fundamental principles that are relevant to recent papal teaching.8 Moreover, Basil’s counsels regarding labor have proved useful not only to scholars who have sought to highlight the ways in which Christianity led to a revision of Greco-Roman social and ethical norms,9 but also to those who have probed the extent to which the economic [End Page 134] organization of early medieval monasteries was the impetus for the complex economies and technological innovations that marked the early modern period.10 But easily overlooked is the pivotal role of manual labor in Basil’s own conversion. In fact, if we are to believe the account of his brother Gregory, such labor was of fundamental importance for the life of asceticism adopted by Basil and several other members of his family. I suggest that Basil’s later teachings on labor should not be seen as the distant, patronizing approbation of an intellectual. The consistency between Basil’s personal life and his public proclamation...

Państwo a problem sprawiedliwości społecznej

Marxism accepted the notion of social justice, but realized it through liquidation of private property and violence of the totalitarian state. Liberalism and neoliberalism, in the name of maximal economic liberalism, reject the idea of social justice and postulate a minimal state. Republicanism and communitarianism accept ideas of common good and social justice. The social teaching of the Church proposes a subsidiary state which is not a protective one. Contemporary popes – Pius XI (Quadragesimo anno), John XXIII (Mater et Magistra), Paul VI (Populorum progressio), John Paul II (Sollicitudo rei socialis, Centesimus annus) – postulate participation of the state in social justice. The main of its obligations are: protection and financial aid for key sectors of economic life (including agriculture), profamily policy, fighting against unemployment and providing fair salary, limited economic intervention (while respecting the rules of the free market economy at the same time), medical and social care.

Poglądy bioetyczne i ekofilozoficzne w społecznym nauczaniu Jana Pawła II (na przykładzie wybranych encyklik)

John Paul II has left behind a huge legacy of social teaching which retain its value till the present days therefore it is worth to remind the readers his significant ideas. In my article I familiarized readers with stances of John Paul II related to specific issues on medical ethicists and ecological aspects of human life protection based upon papal encyclicals, the article consists of two main parts: first refers to pope’s bioethical stances existed in encyclical Evangelium vitae (1995); the second one presented pope’s thoughts on environmental protection which could be find in the following encyclicals: Redemptor hominis (1979); Sollicitudo rei socialis (1987); Centesimus annus (1991) - and again in - Evangelium vitae (1995).

Rozwój człowieka – rozwój świata – refleksja w rocznicę wielkich papieskich encyklik społecznych

The problem of the development of a human person and the whole mankind has a significant place in the post Vaticanum Secundum social teaching of the Catholic church. This year’s anniversary of two social encyclicals: Paul VI’s Populorum progressio (1967) and John Paul II’s Sollicitudo rei socialis (1987) indicates the need of undertaking theological and anthropological reflection upon the process of development. The Catholic social teaching placing a human person in the center of all social, political and economic processes evaluates the quality of development from the perspective of respecting human dignity and rights. Although the development issues have originated from social teaching of local churches of Africa and Latin America, thanks to the social encyclicals it took on a global dimension. The social teaching of the Catholic church by indicating the need of the integral development of a human person and the whole mankind, points out the problems of material, spiritual poverty and violation of human rights. Therefore, the teaching about development is an integral element of the preferential option for the poor in the ministry of the Catholic church.

The Influence of Changes in Socio-Economic Thinking on the Development of Post-Vatican II Catholic Social Teaching

As Gaudium et spes (1965), Octogesima adveniens (1971), Justitia in mundo (1971) and Evangelii nuntiandi (1975) demonstrate, the emphasis of official Catholic teaching on social and political economy changed within a decade from optimism about aid-giving to suspicion of donor intentions and a pleading for a loosening of economic dependency. The optimism of modernization theory helped to shape the arguments of Gaudium et spes and Populorum progressio. Dependency theory helped to shape the visions of Octogesima adveniens, Justitia in mundo and Evangelii nuntiandi. The subsequent papal documents of John Paul II on Catholic social teaching, such as Sollicitudo rei socialis (1987), fall under another influence: namely the shift from a purely economic and political analysis of the problem of development to a cultural analysis.

Work Ownership Implications of Recent Papal Social Thought

This paper examines a particular employment inference of recent Papal social thought, for a Western developed economy context. The Papal documents studied are Centesimus Annus (1991), Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (1987), and Laborem Exercens (1981). The first and shortest section of the paper outlines a number of principles from the encyclicals aiming to guide employment organisation and policy relevant to Western and all economies. To permit their full consideration, an illustration is given how implications affecting forms of employment organization might be drawn from just one of the principles--the right to private property ownership. Private property ownership rights are argued to be constrained in specific ways, to relate instrinsically to employment organization, and to underpin other principles emphasized in the encyclicals, such as the priority of labor over capital. A selection of recent non-official-Church Catholic Social Thought is compared with the approach here. Since the encyclicals deal with issues only at the level of principle, the paper notes cases where attempts have been made to apply some of the employment organizational implications in practice.

The Catholic Church in Hungary: A Case of Remodernisation?

The title of my paper contains a question mark against the word remodernisation. The word implies that the Catholic Church in Hungary is moving towards a more modern status, and that in so doing it is reviving a former status which was modem in some way. But in an age of postmodernism this concept is a question mark in itself. If we may take the ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council as modernity within the Church, the aggiomamento it represented was overwhelmed by the revolution of western society in the later 1960s, to the extent that the Church necessarily failed to keep pace with contemporary orientations and disorientations in those societies. From a global point of view the aggiomamento was perhaps part of the 1960s revolution since it aimed at nothing less than making monolithic structures flexible and focusing on the impact of the individual and local groups on social life. But in the eyes of these individuals the Church lost much of its authority, along with all such structures which claimed objective power. If there had not been the social commitment of the Church, the option for the poor, it would probably have lost any reason for existence in the eyes of large parts of the laity. What remained of the Church as a positive incitement was the quasi-existentialist 'engagement' which became the main or even only source of meaning in society. I myself am not quite sure what 'postmodern' means, but I think it has something to do with the delusion of 1968 commitment to battle for a renewed society 'from below', from an individualistic and sometimes utopian social point of view. This led to an eclectic looking back to tradition: premodern values and forms were interpreted from a personal perspective. This combination is what gave the postmodern attitude its aesthetic and spiritual, even mystical shape. To be sure, when all this happened the communist bloc was never included. Of course the Universal Church was concerned with what happened in the communist countries, as demonstrated by the visits to these countries by Cardinal K6nig, as well as by the Vatican's Ostpolitik.' But inside these countries there was no possibility of taking part in the changes in ecclesiology and society. A Czech intellectual told me shortly after the demonstrations in Prague in February 1988 that 'We are not striving for socialism with a human face (the Dubcek formula) but rather for capitalism with a human face'; but this was at a time when capitalism had already begun to be questioned in the West, not least in the papal encyclical letter Sollicitudo rei socialis of 1988.