Catholic Social Teaching Part Four

St. Pope John XXIII wrote another encyclical on social justice in 1963, 2 years after he wrote his first one “Christianity and Social Progress.” The second one is titled “Peace on Earth” or “Pacem in Terri.”

In “Peace on Earth” St. Pope John XXIII wants us to know that “peace can be established only if the social order set down by God is fully observed.” (1) He laid out a list of things to be followed by everyone, not only the Church, but governments, communities, and individuals. St. Pope John XXIII said that peace should be “founded on truth, built according to justice, vivified (animated) and integrated by charity, and put into practice in freedom.” (1)

He wrote “Peace on Earth” during the 1st year of Vatican II. And it was published right after the Cuban Missile Crisis and the construction of the Berlin Wall. This encyclical spoke to a world that knew all too clearly the dangers of a nuclear war. Since the world knew the dangers, “the optimistic tone and the development of a philosophy of rights” had a significant impact on not only Catholics but non-Catholics as well. (1)

Section 9 in the encyclical says, “Every human is a person, endowed with intelligence and free will, who has universal and inviolable rights and duties.” This tells us we are equal to one another and in being equal comes the rights due to all, but also we have the duty to make sure the rights are upheld and everyone is included. This means not just our next door neighbor but our brothers and sisters around the world.

Saint Pope John XXIII reiterates in this encyclical what the other “Social Justice” encyclicals have said. Everyone has the right to life, a good standard of living, freedom of speech, the right to work for a just and sufficient wage and the right to choose what one wants to do in life whether it be pursuing a vocation, raising a family, etc. Along with these expressed rights Saint Pope John XXIII also wrote we have the right to religion and conscience. In other words, no one can tell us we can’t believe in God and they cannot force us to do something we believe is wrong. Along with these rights come the duties as well. We need to respect the rights of others, work collaboratively with each other, to act responsibly for others and to preserve life.

To complete the quote used at the beginning from section 167 of the document which sums it up like this: “Peace will be but an empty sounding word unless it is founded on the order which the present document has outlined…an order founded on truth, built according to justice, vivified (animated) and integrated by charity, and put into practice in freedom.”
(1) Catholic Social Teaching Our Best Kept Secret, 1995

Catholic Social Teaching Part Three

In 1961, thirty years after Pope Pius XI’s encyclical The Reconstruction of the Social Order, Pope John the XXIII wrote Mater et Magistra or Christianity and Social Progress. He reviews Pope Pius XI’s and Pope Leo XIII’s encyclicals and then goes on to tell us that new political, social and economic advancements caused him to write this new encyclical on social justice. Pope John XXIII felt the need to write this to address the drastic imbalances between the rich and poor throughout the world and the importance of the laity in working to bring the Church’s social teaching to those in the world around us.

Pope John XXIII addressed several key areas that he felt needed attention. One in particular was that families need to have a just wage so they can live with dignity. He felt that there was too much imbalance between what was spent on arms and “national prestige,” and what wages were given to the everyday workers. Does this sound familiar? His thoughts could very well have been written yesterday. We are still struggling over the just distribution of goods and services.

John XXIII also felt that the more imbalance that exists between countries the more difficult it becomes to have peace. He believed to help with this it was the duty of all countries to take care of the poor and to “establish effective programs of emergency assistance” as a way of carrying that out. Another way he offered to aid the poor was for “industrial countries to respect the culture of developing countries,” and to offer aid when needed without putting restrictions on that aid. That imbalance is still in existence today, right? We wouldn’t be seeing the news of war breaking out in the Middle East and the upheaval in Iran today if everyone felt equal to one another. At least in my humble opinion that would go a long way in helping.

Pope John XXIII also wanted the Church and individual Christians to “foster a unity between peoples and advance human dignity.” This is so hard for all of us to take on when we look at the worldwide picture but if we look closer to home and do what we can in our own families, neighborhoods and communities it becomes more doable. Instead of berating a spouse or child for something they did wrong, help them to see what is they did in a loving way and how they can grow from it. As I have said before a smile can work wonders for someone who is feeling down whether from joblessness, depression, etc., so rather than ignore those around you, smile and say hello. It is the seeds we plant that will grow into the “flowers and vegetables” of tomorrow’s world.

(Catholic Social Teaching, Out Best Kept Secret, 1995)