• Urbanization brings a lot of difficult challenges in order to survive the demanding world. (24) Should the Church in its turn contest the proceedings of the human sciences, and condemn their pretentions? How in fact could they escape the materialism, egoism or constraint which inevitably go with them? On another side, we are witnessing a renewal of the liberal ideology. 4. Finally, it draws upon its rich experience of many centuries which enables it, while continuing its permanent preoccupations, to undertake the daring and creative innovations which the present state of the world requires. 269-270. In this he follows Pius XI, who issued the 1931 social encyclical Quadragesimo anno (Forty years). 41. In other places they are a weak minority whose voice makes itself heard with difficulty. Now this historical current takes on, under the same name, different forms according to different continents and cultures, even if it drew its inspiration, and still does in many cases, from ideologies incompatible with faith. In fact, human rights are still too often disregarded, if not scoffed at, or else they receive only formal recognition. The encyclicals Quadragesimo Anno (2) and Mater et Magistra (3) already noted this fact. Nevertheless, these distinctions must not lead one to consider such levels as completely separate and independent. 34. 21) Cf. It may also be a more accentuated sliding towards a new positivism: universalized technology as the dominant form of activity, as the overwhelming pattern of existence, even as a language, without the question of its meaning being really asked. According to the vocation proper to is, the political power must know how to stand aside from particular interests in order to view its responsibility with regard to the good of all men, even going beyond national limits. 22. Too often Christians attracted by socialism tend to idealize it in terms which, apart from anything else, are very general: a will for justice, solidarity and equality. 51. The excessive concentration of means and powers that Pope Pius XI already condemned on the fortieth anniversary of Rerum Novarum is taking on a new and very real image. In this renewed encounter of the various ideologies, the Christian will draw from the sources of his faith and the Church's teaching the necessary principles and suitable criteria to avoid permitting himself to be first attracted by and then imprisoned within a system whose limitations and totalitarianism may well become evident to him too late, if he does nor perceive them in their roots. Among the major changes of our times, we do not wish to forget to emphasize the growing role being assumed by the media of social communication and their influence on the transformation of mentalities of knowledge, of organizations and of society itself. 10. justice, solidarity and equality’, but, he said that it would be "illusory and dangerous" to accept Marxist analysis "while failing to note the kind of totalitarian and violent society to which this process leads". Progress, spread by the modern media of information and by the demand for wider knowledge and greater consumption, has become an omnipresent ideology. Pope Paul discusses the role of individual Christians and local churches in responding to situations of injustices. 47. It would be dangerous to disregard this. Because the teachings, once they are drawn up and defined, remain always the same, while the movements, being concerned with historical situations in constant evolution, cannot but be influenced by these latter and cannot avoid, therefore, being subject to changes, even of a profound nature. It is for cultural and religious groupings, in the freedom of acceptance which they presume, to develop in the social body, disinterestedly and in their own ways, those ultimate convictions on the nature, origin and end of man and society. Political power, which is the natural and necessary link for ensuring the cohesion of the social body, must have as its aim the achievement of the common good. It is true that man; people, in the midst of modern structures and conditioning circumstances, are determined by their habits of thought and their functions, even apart from the safeguarding of material interests. 1095-1096. Its inspiration, enriched by the living experience of Christian tradition over the centuries, remains ever new for converting men: end for advancing the life of society. But the anniversary of Rerum Novarum, venerable brother, gives us the opportunity today to confide our preoccupations and thoughts in the face of this problem to you as President of the Pontifical Commission Justice and Peace and of the Council of Laity. In concrete situations, and taking account of solidarity in each person's life, one must recognize a legitimate variety of possible options. This scientific reduction betrays a dangerous presupposition. The concrete link which, according to circumstances, exists between them must be clearly marked out. Christians Face to Face with These New Problems. 1. 1089-1090 1097. They feel that they are part of that historical current and wish to play a part within it. a departure fromOctogésima adveniens, which held that Catholic so­ cial teachings had been worked out in history, i.e., that Catholic social teachings are historically constituted, that the local Christian commu­ nity contributed to the development of Catholic social teachings, and that a single universal message is not the papal mission. Advantages and limitations of juridical recognition. These are truths which are certainly greater than man but, if he so wills, he can himself find their traces (6). 11. Relationships based on force have never in fact established justice in a true and lasting manner, even if at certain times the alteration of positions can often make it possible to find easier conditions for dialogue. Greater efforts are needed for justice and peace because of the glaring inequalities that still exist in the economic, cultural and political development in many countries. 1095-1100. Octogesima Adveniens Reminds Christians that "the Gospel instructs us in the preferential respect due to the poor and the special situation they have in society preferential respect for the poor cannot be realized without changes in the basic systems and structures of society that can only come about through political endeavors. Pope Paul discusses the role of individual Christians and local churches in responding to situations of injustices. They would like a new model, more adapted to present-day conditions, while easily forgetting that at the very root of philosophical liberalism is an erroneous affirmation of the autonomy of the individual in his activity, his motivation and the exercise of his liberty. The Spirit of the Lord, who animates man renewed in Christ, continually breaks down the horizons within which his understanding likes to find security and the limits to which his activity would willingly restrict itself; ;here dwells within him a power which urges him to go beyond every system and every ideology. 8. This legitimate aspiration becomes more evident as the cultural level rises, as the sense of freedom develops and as man becomes more aware of how, in a world facing an uncertain future, the choices of today already condition the life of tomorrow. It is not however to be utilized for the profit of particular temporal options, to the neglect of its universal and eternal message (1). 36. Pacem in Terris: AAS 55 (1963), p. 261 ff. Is sufficient attention being devoted to the arrangement and improvement of the life of the country people, whose inferior and at times miserable economic situation provokes the flight to the unhappy crowded conditions of the city outskirts, where neither employment nor housing awaits them? The recent Council for its part took care to point them out, in particular in the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes. In our encyclical on the Development of Peoples we urged that all should set themselves to the task: "Laymen should take up as their own proper task the renewal of the temporal order. Going beyond every system, without however failing to commit himself concretely to serving his brothers, he will assert, in the very midst of his options, the specific character of the Christian contribution for a positive transformation of society (21). Today more than ever the World of God will be unable to be proclaimed and heard unless it is accompanied by the witness of the power of the Holy Spirit, working within the action of Christian in the service of their brothers, at the points in which their existence and their future are at stake. An attitude of encroachment which would tend to set up politics as an absolute value would bring serious danger. The appeal to a utopia is often a convenient excuse for those who wish to escape from concrete tasks in order to take refuge in an imaginary world. As the Church solemnly reaffirmed in the recent Council, "the beginning, the subject and the goal of all social institutions is and must be the human person" (9). Télécharg­er (DOCX, 260KB) Pope Paul VI begins this let­ter by urg­ing greater efforts for jus­tice and not­ing the duties of local church­es to re- spond to spe­cif­ic sit­u­a­tions. If man lets himself rush ahead without foreseeing in good time the emergence of new social problems, they will become too grave for a peaceful solution to be hoped for. While the horizon of man is thus being modified according to the images that are chosen for him, another transformation is making itself felt, one which is the dramatic and unexpected consequence of human activity. Yet it runs the risk of taking up too much strength and freedom (29). Gaudium et Spes, 74: -AAS 58 (1966), pp. The inordinate growth of these centers accompanies industrial expansion, without being identified with it. The Christian must turn to these new perceptions in order to take on responsibility, together with the rest of men, for a destiny which from now on is shared by all. It is too easy to throw back on others responsibility for injustice, if at the same time one does not realize how each one shares in it personally, and how personal conversion is needed first. 29) Gaudium et Spes, 63: AAS 58 (1966), p. 1085. 38) Lumen Gentium, 31: AAS 57 (1965), pp. No longer did Paul refer to obedience to the decisions of the hierarchy as the required action, or stress applying principles from the social teaching to concrete situations. The dynamism of Christian faith here triumphs over the narrow calculations of egoism. It is true that in the term "politics" many confusions are possible and must be clarified, but each man feels that in the social and economic field, both national and international, the ultimate decision rests with political power. The Church directs her attention to those new "poor" - the handicapped and the maladjusted, the old, different groups of those on the fringe of society, and so on - in order to recognize them, help them; defend their place and dignity in a society hardened by competition and the attraction of success. Reluctant to gather the lessons of a past that he considers over and done with and too different from the present, man nevertheless needs to have light shed upon his future - a future which he perceives to be as uncertain as it is changing - by permanent eternal truths. This is the source of a protest which is springing up more or less everywhere, as a sign of a deep-seated sickness, while at the same time we are witnessing the rebirth of what it is agreed to call "utopias". Certainly they have many positive aspects. 3. It will moreover be for the forthcoming Synod of Bishops itself to study more closely and to examine in greater detail the Church's mission in the face of grave issues raised today by the question of justice in the world. The Christian must bring a message of hope to the city. The desire remains but it allows itself to be consumed by an ideology which, even if it suggests certain paths to man's liberation, ends up by making him a slave. What place, for example, in this world being brought to birth, should be given to youth? 52. 40. 235 ff. In the case of television, moreover, what is coming into being is an original mode of knowledge and a new civilization: that of the image. 414, 428; Gaudium et Spes, 74-76: AAS 58 (1966), pp. Since the nineteenth century, western societies and, as a result, many others have put their hopes in ceaselessly renewed and indefinite progress. Behind the facades much misery is hidden, unsuspected even by the closest neighbors; other forms of misery spread where human dignity founders: delinquency, criminality, abuse of drugs and eroticism. The domain of politics is wide and comprehensive, but it is not exclusive. 12. "Love for man, the prime value of the earthly order" ensures the conditions for peace, both social peace and international peace, by affirming our universal brotherhood (17). Men rightly consider unjustifiable and reject as inadmissible the tendency to maintain or introduce legislation or behavior systematically inspired by racialist prejudice. Not only is the material environment becoming a permanent menace - pollution and refuse, new illness and absolute destructive capacity - but the human framework is no longer under man's control, thus creating an environment for tomorrow which may well be intolerable. This feeling sometimes leads to Malthusian solutions inculcated by active propaganda for contraception and abortion. After a seven-paragraph introduction, Octogesima adveniens turns to a reading of the signs of the times, which highlight the challenges faced by particular groups of people (e. g. workers and women), world-wide issues (e.. media influence and environment) and aspirations (e. g. participation and equality). It is disquieting in this regard to note a kind of fatalism which is gaining a hold even on people in positions of responsibility. The members of mankind share the same basic rights and duties, as well as the same supernatural destiny. Octogesima adveniens commemorates the eightieth anniversary of Rerum novarum. 19) Dignitatis Humanae, 1: AAS 58 (1966), p. 930. 48. In the present changes, which are so profound and so rapid, each day man discovers himself anew, and he questions himself about the meaning of his own being and of his collective survival. It is obvious to all that here we have a source of serious conflicts, division and opting out, even within the family, and a questioning of modes of authority, education for freedom and the handing on of values and beliefs, which strikes at the deep roots of society. Catholic Charities 1200 2nd Ave. South Minneapolis, MN 55403 (612) 204-8500 info@cctwincities.org While recognizing the autonomy of the reality of politics, Christians who are invited to take up political activity should try to make their choices consistent with the Gospel and, in the framework of a legitimate plurality, to give both personal collective witness to the seriousness of their faith by effective and disinterested service of men. Nevertheless various forms of discrimination continually reappear - ethnic cultural, religious, political and so on. Without doubt, there has been just condemnation of the limits and even the misdeeds of a merely quantitative economic growth; there is a desire to attain objectives of a qualitative order also. Prezi. However, although limits are sometimes called for, these obstacles must not slow down the giving of wider participation in working out decisions, making choices and putting them into practice. It lends itself to new forms of exploitation and of domination whereby some people in speculating on the needs of others derive inadmissible profits. This social teaching has been worked out in the course of history and notably, in this industrial era, since the historic date of the message of Pope Leo XIII on "the condition of the workers", and it is an honor and joy for us to celebrate today the anniversary of that message. The men who hold this power have a grave moral responsibility with respect to the truth of the information that they spread, the needs and the reactions that they generate and the values which they put forward. Unlimited competition utilizing the modern means of publicity incessantly launches new products and tries to attract the consumer, while earlier industrial installations which are still capable of functioning become useless. For others, it is first and foremost the collective exercise of political and economic power under the direction of a single party, which would be the sole expression and guarantee of the welfare of all, and would deprive individuals and other groups of any possibility of initiative and choice. They saw this progress as man's effort to free himself in face of the demands of nature and of social constraints; progress was the condition for and the yardstick of human freedom. It also develops with the sensitivity proper to the Church which is characterized by a disinterested will to serve and by attention to the poorest. Political activity - need one remark that we are dealing primarily with an activity, not an ideology? OCTOGESIMA ADVENIENS Nuevos problemas sociales Urbanización: Hay una gran disminución por parte de la sociedad agraria, las ciudades industrializadas crecen, las renovaciones son todos los días y las personas siguen viviendo en medio de la inseguridad, la marginación, la miseria, 16) Cf. Our venerated predecessor Pope John XXIII in Pacem in Terris already showed that it is possible to make a distinction: "Neither can false philosophical teachings regarding the nature, origin and destiny of the universe and of man be identified with historical movements that have economic, social. Having rationally endeavored to control nature, (7) is he not now becoming the slave of the objects which he makes? Admittedly, it is true that the choices proposed for a decision are more and more complex; the considerations that must be borne in mind are numerous and foreseeing of the consequences involves risk, even if new sciences strive to enlighten freedom at these important moments. The "human sciences" are today enjoying a significant flowering. 27. 27) Populorum Progressio, 56 95.: AAS 59 (1967), pp. One cannot but ask about those who really hold this power, the aims that they pursue and the means they use, and finally, about the effect of their activity on the exercise of individual liberty, both in the political and ideological spheres and in social, economic and cultural life. 4. Egoism and domination are permanent temptations for men. But, as we have often stated, the most important duty in the realm of justice is to allow each country to promote its own development, within the framework of a cooperation free from any spirit of domination, whether economic or political. 28. It is in this regard too that Christian organizations, under their different forms, have a responsibility for collective action. We do not have in mind that false equality which would deny the distinction with woman's proper role, which is of such capital importance, at the heart of the family as well as within society. cultural or political ends, not even when these movements have originated from those teachings and have drawn and still draw inspiration therefrom. The death of Christ and his resurrection and the outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord help man to place his freedom, in creativity and gratitude, within the context of the truth of all progress and the only hope which does not deceive (26). ("New poor" includes the elderly, the handicapped, and the cities' marginalized—people disadvantaged because of … In 2012 Pope Benedict XVI … In teaching us charity, the Gospel instructs us in the preferential respect due to the poor and the special situation they have in society: the more fortunate should renounce some of their rights so as to place their goods more generously at the service of others. This is a wide-ranging social problem which concerns the entire human family. 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