Catholic Social Teaching On the Development of Peoples ~ 1967 Populorum Progression and On Social Concerns ~ 1987 Sollicitudo Rei Socialis Loyola University

Catholic Social Teaching

On the Development of Peoples ~ 1967Populorum Progression

andOn Social Concerns ~ 1987

Sollicitudo Rei Socialis

Loyola University New OrleansSchool of LawFebruary 20, 2004

Facts on Hunger & PovertyInternational

840 million are malnourished - 799 million arefrom developing world. More than 153 million are under

the age of 5

6 million children under the age of 5 die every year asa result of hunger.

Of the 6.2 billion people in today’s world,1.2 billion live on less than $1 per day.

The richest 5% of the world’s people have incomes 114 timesthat of the poorest 5%.

Hunger and Health

91 children out of 1,000 die before their 5th birthday.

In the U.S., 8 children out of 1,000 will die before age 5.

30,000 children die from mostly preventable and

treatable causes such as, diarrhea, acute respiratory

infections, measles and malaria.

12 million people die each year from lack of water,

including 3 million children from waterborne diseases

1.1 billion lack access to clean water,

2.4 billion live without decent sanitation

The overall percentage of people living below the

poverty line increased from 11.7% in 2001

to 12.1% in 2002.

Poverty Rate

Children - 16.7%

African Americans - 24%

Hispanics - 21.8%

Female headed families - 27%

“…the problem of world hunger is rooted

in the inequitable structures of the world’s

social, political and economic systems.”

Dr. Martin McLaughlin - former vice-president of the Overseas Development Council

where he specialized in world hunger problems.

Bedrock Principle of Catholic Social Teaching

Every person - regardless of race, sex, age, national origin,

religion, sexual orientation, employment, economic status,

health, intelligence, achievement or any other

differentiating characteristic - is worthy of respect.

It is not what I do or what I have that gives me a

claim on respect; it is simply being human

that establishes my dignity.

Given this dignity,

THE HUMAN PERSON IS NEVER A MEANS,

ALWAYS AN END.

Vision Statement, Millennium Forum

United Nations, New York, May 2000

We are one human family, in all our diversity,

living on one common homeland and sharing

a just, sustainable and peaceful world,

guided by universal principles of democracy,

equality, inclusion, voluntarism, non-

discrimination and participation by all persons,

men and women, young and old,

regardless of race, faith, disability, sexual

orientation, ethnicity or nationality.

ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF PEOPLESPopulorum Progressio

Three Major Duties

Mutual Solidarity - aid to developing nations.St. James, “…faith that does nothing in practice is

throughly lifeless.” (2:17) #45

Social Justice - the rectification of trade relations betweenstrong and weak nations.

Universal Charity - the effort to build a more humane worldcommunity, where all can give and receive, and where the

progress of some is not bought at the expense of others.

#50 On the Development of Peoples

The times call for coordinated

planning of projects and programs,

which are much more effective than

occasional efforts promoted

by individual goodwill.

United Nations Millennium Development Goals

Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Achieve universal primary education

Promote gender equality and empower women

Reduce child mortality

Improve maternal health

Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

Ensure environmental sustainability

Develop a global partnership for development

How do you build peacewhen warring tribeslay down their guns?

We know 3 outstanding keys in peace building are:~ role women play in decision making.~ peace education for youth.~ economic development.

“Development is thenew name for

Peace.”-Pope Paul VI, 1967

“Development is theengine that drives

Economies.”- Bush Administration, 2001


It is not just a question of eliminating hunger

and poverty. It involves building a human

community where men can live truly human lives,

free from discrimination on account of race,

religion or nationality, free from servitude to other

men or to natural forces which they cannot

yet control satisfactorily.


The duty of promoting human solidarity

also falls upon the shoulders of nations.

It is very important duty of the advanced

nations to help the developing nations.


We asked world leaders to set aside

part of their military expenditures for

a world fund to relieve the needs

of impoverished peoples.


Such agreements would be free of all

suspicion if they were integrated into

an overall policy of worldwide cooperation.


Efforts are being made to help the developing nations

financially and technologically. Yet all these efforts

will prove to be vain and useless, if their results are

nullified to a large extent by the unstable trade

relations between rich and poor nations. The latter

will have no grounds for hope or trust if they fear that

what is being given them with one hand is being taken

away with the other.


It is evident that the principle of free trade, by itself,is no longer adequate for regulating international agreements. It certainly can work when both parties are about equal economically; in such cases it stimulates progress and rewards efforts. That is why industrially developed nations see an element of justice in this principle.

But the case is quite different when the nations involved are far from equal. Market prices that are freely agreed upon can turn out to be most unfair.


The teaching set forth by Leo XIII in Rerum Novarum

is still valid today: when 2 parties are in very unequal

positions, their mutual consent does not guarantee a

fair contract; the rule of free consent remains

subservient to the demands of the natural law.

#59 continued

In Rerum Novarum this principle was set down with

regard to a just wage for the individual worker; but

it should be applied with equal force to contracts

made between nations: trade relations can no longer

be based solely on the principle of free, unchecked

competition, for it very often creates an economic

dictatorship. Free trade can be called just only when

it conforms to the demands of social justice.


What applies to national economies and to high

developed nations must also apply to trade relations

between rich and poor nations. Indeed, competition

should not be eliminated from trade transactions;

but it must be kept within limits so that it operates

justly and fairly, and thus becomes a truly human

endeavor.


In order that international trade be human and

moral, social justice requires that it restore to the

participants a certain equality of opportunity. To be

sure, this equality will not be attained at once, but we

must begin to work toward it now by injecting a

certain amount of equality into discussions and price

talks.


Human society is sorely ill. The cause is not

so much the depletion of natural resources,

nor their monopolistic control by a

privileged few; it is rather the

weakening of brotherly ties between

individuals and nations.


Sincere dialogue between cultures, as between

individuals, paves the way for ties of brotherhood.

This dialogue will be fruitful if it shows the

participants how to make economic progress and how

to achieve spiritual growth as well; if the technicians

take the role of teachers and educators; if the training

provided is characterized by a concern for spiritual

and moral values, so that it ensures human betterment

as well as economic growth.


When we fight poverty and oppose the unfair

conditions of the present, we are not just promoting

human well-being; we are also furthering man’s

spiritual and moral development, and hence we are

benefiting the whole human race. For peace is not

simply the absence of warfare, based on a precarious

balance of power; it is fashioned by efforts directed

day after day toward the establishment of the

ordered universe willed by God, with a more perfect

form of justice among men.


Nations are the architects of their own development,

and they must bear the burden of this work;

but they cannot accomplish it if they live in

isolation from others.


As we told the United Nations General Assembly

In New York: “Your vocation is to bring

not just some peoples but all peoples

together as brothers…Who can fail to see

the need and importance of thus gradually

coming to the establishment of a world

authority capable of taking effective action

on the juridical and political planes.”


Finally, we look to all men of good will,

reminding them that civil progress and economic

development are the only road to peace.

On Social ConcernsConsiderations

First ~ document issued by the highest authority

Of the Catholic Church addressed to Church

And “to all people of good will.”

Second ~ worldwide dimension of social question

Third ~ contributes to the social doctrine of the

Church in its totality and to the concept of

development.

#7 On Social Concerns

…the encyclical presents itself as an application

of the Council’s teaching in social matters

to the specific problem of the development

and the underdevelopment of peoples.

Economic development must…not be left to the

sole judgment of a few individuals or groups,

possessing excessive economic power, or of the

political community alone, or of certain powerful

nations. It is proper, on the contrary, that at every

level the largest number of people have an active

share in directing that development.

The Church in the Modern World, #65


In continuity with the Encyclical of Leo XIII, it must

be recognized that the document of Paul VI possesses

the merit of having emphasized the ethical and

cultural character of the problems connected with

development, and likewise the legitimacy and

necessity of the Church’s intervention in this field.

#8 continued

The social doctrine of the Church has once more

demonstrated its character as an application of the

word of God to people’s lives and the life of society

as well as to the earthly realities connected with

them, offering “principles for reflection,” “criteria

of judgment” and “directives for action.” Here,

in the document of Paul IV, one finds these

three elements with a prevalently practical

orientation, that is, directed towards moral conduct.


The encyclical provides a very original contribution

to the social doctrine of the Church in its totality

and to the very concept of development.

If the social question has acquired a worldwide

dimension, this is because the demand for

justice can only be satisfied on that level.

#42 On Human Concerns

The option or love of preference for the poor. This

is an option, or a special form of primacy in the

exercise of Christian charity, to which the whole

tradition of the Church bears witness. It affects

the life of each Christian inasmuch as he or she

seeks to imitate the life of Christ, but it applies

equally to our social responsibilities and hence

to our manner of living, and to the logical decisions

to be made concerning the ownership and use

of goods.


Development which is merely economic is incapable

Of setting man free, on the contrary, it will end by

Enslaving him further…Human beings are totally

Free only when they are completely themselves,

In the fullness of their rights and duties. The same

Can be said about society as a whole.

The principle obstacle to be overcome on the way

To authentic liberation is sin and the structures

Produced by sin as it multiplies and spreads.

It is not just individuals who are called

to practice justice. Every society must

also practice it. Justice must find formal

embodiment in the institutional structures

of society. The failure of society to embody

justice is social sin.

Social sin is present when there are:

Growing economic disparities,

Increasing concentrations of economic power,

Accelerating environmental abuse.

Documents

Catholic Social Teaching On the Development of Peoples ~ 1967 Populorum Progression and On Social Concerns ~ 1987 Sollicitudo Rei Socialis Loyola University