FAITH FACTS
The Answers You Need
The Encyclicals of
Pope John Paul II
Issue: What topics did Pope John
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Paul II examine in his fourteen
encyclicals?
Response: Pope John Paul devot-
ed three encyclicals to the Divine
Persons, three to subjects that
touch upon the truth of the
Catholic faith and morality, three
to the Church’s social doctrine,
two to missionary activity, and
three to other subjects (the Holy
Eucharist, the Blessed Mother, and
ecumenism).
Discussion: Pope John Paul II
issued important and at times
groundbreaking apostolic constitu-
tions, exhortations, and letters dur-
ing his pontificate (1978–2005),
and his audiences contain much
rich theological reflection. Still, for
him, like previous popes, the
encyclical remained “the highest
form of papal teaching document,”1
“a l e t t e r a d d r e s s e d t o a l l
Christendom for the defense and
increase of spiritual life.” 2 Papal
encyclicals are “the richest and most
colorful documents of the Church,
LW March/April 2006
issued primarily as the teaching
authority (magisterium) of the
Church in a manner to clarify the
Church’s position on issues in the
modern world.”3 The Fathers of the
Second Vatican Council alluded to
papal encyclicals in the Dogmatic
Constitution on the Church:
This religious submission of
mind and will must be shown
in a special way to the authen-
tic magisterium of the Roman
Pontiff, even when he is not
speaking ex cathedra; that is,
it must be shown in such a
way that his supreme magis-
terium is acknowledged with
reverence, the judgments
made by him are sincerely
adhered to, according to his
manifest mind and will. His
mind and will in the matter
may be known either from
the character of the docu-
ments, from his frequent
repetition of the same doc-
trine, or from his manner of
speaking.4
Pope John Paul wrote fourteen
encyclicals; this FAITH FACT sum-
marizes their content in the order in
which they were written.5
The Early Years
In the first three years of his
reign, Pope John Paul wrote three
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encyclicals. He issued the first,
R e d e m p t o r Ho m i n i s ( “ T h e
Redeemer of Man”), less than five
months after he was elected the
264th pope.
Redemptor Hominis begins with
the resounding words “ The
Redeemer of man, Jesus Christ, is
the center of the universe and of
March/April 2006 27
history. To him go my thoughts and
my heart in this solemn moment of
the world that the Church and the
whole family of present-day human-
ity are now living.” Describing the
years preceding 2000 as a “new
Advent,” the Pope reflects briefly
upon his election, the heritage left to
the Church by Pope Paul VI, and the
importance of collegiality and
Christian unity. Considering the
mystery of Christ’s redemption, he
examines its divine and human
dimensions, the relation between
Christ the Redeemer and His
Church, and the relation between
the Church’s mission and human
freedom. Turning his attention to
redeemed man in the modern world,
the Holy Father sets forth a Christian
humanism and notes threats to man,
especially violations of human rights.
Pope John Paul then reflects upon
Christians’ participation in the
priestly, prophetic, and kingly office
of our Lord. Participation in Christ’s
prophetic office demands fidelity to
revealed truth; participation in the
kingly office demands a life of ser-
vice to others. The union of the
faithful with Christ the Priest,
Prophet, and King is fostered by
receiving the Sacraments of the
Eucharist and Penance. “Nobody
else,” concludes the Holy Father,
“can bring us as Mary can into the
divine and human dimension of this
mystery” of redemption.
Having devoted his first encycli-
cal to “the truth about man, a truth
that is revealed to us in its fullness
and depth in Christ,” Pope John Paul
noted that “a no less important need
in these critical and difficult times
impels me to draw attention once
again in Christ to the countenance of
the ‘Father of mercies and God of all
comfort’ (2 Cor. 1:3). . . . Man and
man’s lofty calling are revealed in
Christ through the revelation of the
mystery of the Father and His love.”
This theme forms the basis of his sec-
ond encyclical, Dives in Misericordia
(“Rich in Mercy”). The Holy Father
begins by noting that Christ revealed
the Father’s mercy and—even
more—is the incarnation of mercy.
The pontiff then develops a biblical
28 Lay Witness / www.cuf.org
theology of mercy: He considers
mercy in Jesus’ actions and teaching,
mercy in the Old Testament, mercy
in the parable of the prodigal son,
and mercy on Calvary, where one
sees not only divine mercy but also
Mary as Mother of mercy. In the
sixth chapter, the Pope uses a verse
from Mary’s Magnificat—“And his
mercy is on those who fear him
from generation to generation” (Lk.
1:50)—as a foundation for ponder-
ing the ways in which modern man
is particularly in need of mercy.
Pope John Paul concludes by exam-
ining the relation between the
Church and mercy: how the
Church professes God’s mercy, pro-
claims it, seeks to put it into practice,
and finally begs it from God.
Following in the footsteps of
Pope Pius XI and Bl. John XXIII,
Pope John Paul II then issued an
encyclical to commemorate the
anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s semi-
nal 1891 social encyclical, Rerum
Novarum (“Of New Things”). Pope
John Paul II devoted Laborem
Exercens (“Engaging in Work”)6 to
human work, because work is a
“perennial and fundamental” aspect
of redeemed man’s existence. After
showing that work has been a key
component of the Church’s social
doctrine since 1891, the pontiff
turns to the question of work and
man: work in the Book of Genesis,
work in its objective sense (technol-
ogy), and work in its subjective
sense (with man being the subject
of work). After considering worker
solidarity, work and personal digni-
ty, work and society, and the threats
posed to the right order of values by
materialism and economism, John
Paul evaluates the conflict between
capital and labor, much as Leo had
ninety years before, and discusses at
length the rights of workers. The
pontiff concludes by discussing the
Church’s duty to develop a spirituali-
ty of work. Elements of this spiritu-
ality include seeing work as a sharing
in the activity of the Creator, seeking
union with Christ—whom the Pope
calls “the man of work”—and con-
sidering work in the light of Christ’s
Cross and Resurrection.
The Mid-1980s
Between 1985 and 1987, Pope
John Paul II wrote four encyclicals.
Like Pope Leo XIII before him,
Pope John Paul devoted an encycli-
cal to Saints Cyril and Methodius,
who were declared co-patrons of
Europe in 1980. In Slavorum
Apostoli (“Apostles of the Slavs”),
which commemorated the eleventh
centenary of St. Methodius’s death,
Pope John Paul sought to “look in
a new way—a more mature and
profound way—at these two holy
figures. . . . And we can read in
their lives and apostolic activity the
elements that the wisdom of divine
Providence placed in them, so that
they might be revealed with fresh
fullness in our own age and might
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bear new fruits.” In writing a bio-
graphical sketch of these two
brothers, John Paul upholds them
as models of missionary activity:
“The effort to learn the language
and to understand the mentality of
the new peoples to whom they
wished to bring the faith was truly
worthy of the missionary spirit.
Exemplary too was their determi-
nation to assimilate and identify
themselves with all the needs and
expectations of the Slav peoples.”
Paying particular attention to how
they planted the Church in
Slavonic culture, the pontiff reflects
upon what they can teach us about
the catholicity of the Church. The
saints’ legacy, he concludes, is an
enduring one, for they are “recog-
nized by the family of Slav peoples
as the fathers of both their
Christianity and their culture.”
Having devoted the topics of his
first two encyclicals to God the Son
and God the Father, Pope John Paul
wished to write about the life of the
Holy Spirit—for faith in the Holy
Spirit, “uninterruptedly professed
by the Church, needs to be con-
stantly reawakened and deepened
in the consciousness of the People
of God.” Dominum et
Vivificantem (“Lord and Giver of
Life”) is largely a biblical reflection:
It examines Jesus’ promise and rev-
elation of the Holy Spirit at the
Last Supper, the Messiah as the one
 anointed with the Holy Spirit,
Christ’s words on Easter evening—
“Receive the Holy Spirit”—and the
Holy Spirit and the era of the
Church, beginning at Pentecost.
Reflecting upon the Holy Spirit as
the one who “convinces the world
concerning sin” (cf. Jn. 16:8), Pope
John Paul considers original sin, the
Holy Spirit’s work in consciences
and in the Paschal Mystery, and the
sin against the Holy Spirit. The
pontiff then considers the Holy
Spirit as the one who gives life: His
role in the Incarnation—which
would be recalled in the Great
Jubilee of the Year 2000—His work
in souls—whereby He strengthens
the inner man for battles against
the flesh—and His action in the
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life of the Church and in the prayer
of believers.
Though thirteen years away, the
year 2000 offered an occasion of
Pope John Paul’s next encyclical,
Redemptoris Mater (“Mother of the
Redeemer”), on the life of the
Blessed Virgin Mary in the pilgrim
Church—for “the Bimillennial
Jubilee of the birth of Jesus Christ at
the same time directs our gaze
towards his Mother.” The pilgrim
Church, writes Pope John Paul,
“proceeds along the path already
trodden by the Virgin Mary.”
Reflecting upon three Marian bibli-
cal texts—“full of grace” (Lk. 1:28),
“blessed is she who believed” (Lk.
1:45), and “behold your mother”
(Jn. 19:27)—Pope John Paul consid-
ers Mary in the mystery of Christ.
Meditating upon the Mother of God
as the one at the center of the pil-
grim Church, the pontiff considers
Mary’s presence at Pentecost, Mary
and Christian unity, and the
Church’s union with Mary in her
Magnificat. Turning to Mary’s
maternal mediation, Pope John Paul
considers her mediation as part of
her service as handmaid of the Lord
and her role in the life of the
Church and of every Christian. He
also discusses the significance of the
Marian Year of 1987–88.
Later in 1987, Pope John Paul
wrote his second encyclical on the
Church’s social doctrine. Sollicitudo
Rei Socialis (“Solicitude for the
Social Condition”)7 commemorates
the twentieth anniversary of Pope
Paul VI’s social encyclical,
Populorum Progressio (“The Progress
of Peoples”), and highlights “the
continuity of the social doctrine as
well as its constant renewal.” Pope
John Paul pays tribute to the three-
fold originality of Populorum
Progressio, which is original in its
theme of evaluating economic and
social development in light of God’s
word, in its broad recognition of
development as an international
concern, and in its description of
development as “the new name for
peace.” John Paul then offers a large-
ly negative survey of development in
the contemporary world and in
doing so discusses the gap between
North and South, unemployment,
international debt, international
relations, arms production, and
demography. After noting some pos-
itive contemporary trends, the pon-
tiff examines authentic human
development before offering “a theo-
logical reading of modern problems”
and some particular guidelines.
Although “the Church well knows
that no temporal achievement is to
be identified with the Kingdom of
God . . . that expectation can never
be an excuse for lack of concern for
people in their concrete personal
situations and in their social,
national and international life.”
The Early 1990s
Pope John Paul II wrote three
encyclicals in the early 1990s. The
first, Redemptoris Missio (“The
Mission of the Redeemer”), affirms
the permanent validity of the
Church’s missionary mandate and
highlights the “urgency of mission-
ary activity.” After teaching that
Jesus Christ is the only Savior and
that the Church is the sign and
instrument of salvation, the pontiff
examines the Kingdom of God, the
Holy Spirit as the principal agent
of mission, the vast horizon of mis-
sionary activity, and how such
activity takes place. The Pope then
turns his attention to the leaders
and workers in the missionary
apostolate, the mutual cooperation
of all Catholics in missionary activ-
ity, and the components of mis-
sionary spirituality.
The pontiff ’s final social encycli-
cal, Centesimus Annus (“The
Hundredth Year”), commemorates
the centenary of Pope Leo XIII’s
groundbreaking Rerum Novarum.
In Centesimus Annus, Pope John
Paul proposes a “rereading” of
Rerum Novarum, in which he
“looks back” at its fundamental
principles, “looks around” at con-
temporary society, and “looks to the
future.” After considering the histor-
ical context and doctrinal content of
Rerum Novarum, the Pope examines
at length the contemporary histori-
cal context—particularly the fall of
Communism in Eastern Europe in
1989—and applies to the modern
world Pope Leo’s teachings on pri-
vate property and the universal des-
tination of material goods. The
pontiff then considers the state and
culture, including its economic
component, and urges Christians to
act in accordance with the Church’s
social doctrine so as to promote
man’s good.
Two years later, Pope John Paul
issued Veritatis Splendor (“The
Splendor of Truth”) to recall “certain
fundamental truths of Catholic
doctrine which, in the present cir-
cumstances, risk being distorted or
denied.” The pontiff examines these
truths in light of the conversation
between Christ and the rich young
man (Mt. 19:16–22) and in doing
so affirms the link between eternal
life and obedience to the command-
ments. The Pope then evaluates
trends in moral theology in light of
Catholic doctrine; issues examined
include freedom and law, conscience
and truth, the “fundamental option”
and specific kinds of behavior, and
moral acts—certain acts, he empha-
sizes, are intrinsically evil. He then
turns to false dichotomies between
freedom and truth and between
faith and morality. Obedience to
the commandments, even unto
martyrdom, is possible through
divine grace and the cooperation of
human freedom.
March/April 2006 29
 The Last Decade
Pope John Paul II wrote four
encyclicals in the last decade of his
pontificate. Evangelium Vitae (“The
Gospel of Life”) begins:
The Gospel of life is at the
heart of Jesus’ message. . . .
Jesus says: “I came that they
may have life, and have it
abundantly” (Jn. 10:10). In
truth, he is referring to that
“new” and “eternal” life
which consists in commu-
nion with the Father, to
which every person is freely
called in the Son by the
power of the Sanctifying
Spirit. It is precisely in this
“life” that all the aspects and
stages of human life achieve
their full significance.
Proclaiming the “incomparable
worth of the human person” the
pontiff uses the biblical passage
about Cain’s murder of Abel (Gen.
4:1–16) as a prism through which
to examine “the extraordinar y
increase and gravity of threats to
the life of individuals and peoples.”
The Pope then discusses at great
length the content of the Gospel of
life and the demands of the divine
commandment “Thou shalt not
kill.” After offering guidance for
building a culture of life, Pope
John Paul uses texts from St. John’s
Apocalypse to reflect upon Mary
and life.
Two months later, the pontiff
renewed the Church’s commitment
to ecumenism in the encyclical Ut
Unum Sint (“That They May Be
One”). Because “Christ calls all his
disciples to unity . . . how could
[believers] refuse to do everything
possible, with God’s help, to break
down the walls of division and dis-
trust, to overcome obstacles and
prejudices which thwart the procla-
mation of the Gospel of salvation in
the Cross of Jesus, the one
Redeemer of man, of every individ-
ual?” Emphasizing renewal, conver-
sion, the importance of doctrine, the
primacy of prayer, dialogue, and
practical cooperation, Pope John
30 Lay Witness / www.cuf.org
Paul affirms the Church’s commit-
ment to ecumenism and discusses at
length the fruits of ecumenical dia-
logue since the Second Vatican
Council. After discussing the future
of ecumenism, he states that “as the
Church turns her gaze to the new
millennium, she asks the Spirit for
the grace to strengthen her own
unity and to make it grow towards
full communion with other
Christians.” The Church can obtain
this grace through prayer, thanksgiv-
ing, and hope in the Spirit.
Having drawn attention in
Veritatis Splendor to “certain funda-
mental truths of Catholic doctrine
which, in the present circumstances,
risk being distorted or denied,” Pope
John Paul wished “to pursue that
reflection by concentrating on the
theme of truth itself and on its foun-
dation in relation to faith.” This
theme forms the basis of Fides et
Ratio (“Faith and Reason”), which
was issued “because of the Second
Vatican Council’s insistence that the
Bishops are ‘witnesses of divine and
catholic truth,’” and because of “the
patent inadequacy of perspectives in
which the ephemeral is affirmed as a
value and the possibility of discover-
ing the real meaning of life is cast
into doubt. This is why many people
stumble through life to the very edge
of the abyss without knowing where
they are going.” Discussing at length
divine revelation, human under-
standing, and their mutual relation,
Pope John Paul reviews the history
of Christian philosophy, pays tribute
to “the enduring originality of the
thought of St. Thomas Aquinas,”
recalls the magisterium’s interven-
tions in philosophical matters, and
explores the relation between phi-
losophy and theology. 8 He then
outlines the “current requirements
and tasks” in this area, including
“the indispensable requirements of
the word of God” and “current
tasks for theology.”
Pope John Paul wrote his final
encyclical to rekindle “Eucharistic
amazement” in the Church, in
accord with his post-Jubilee “pro-
gram”—outlined in two apostolic
letters—of contemplating with
Mary the face of Christ. In Ecclesia
de Eucharistia (“The Church from
the Eucharist”), the pontiff empha-
sizes that “the Church draws her life
from the Eucharist”; he examines the
content of the Church’s Eucharistic
faith and explores how the Eucharist
builds the Church. Reflecting upon
how the Church and the Eucharist
are both apostolic, he explores the
relation between Holy Communion
and ecclesial communion. In light of
lamentable liturgical abuses, Pope
John Paul turns to sacred music and
architecture and stresses the impor-
tance of following liturgical norms.
Reflecting upon the relation
between Mary and the Eucharist,
he writes that “the Eucharist has
been given to us so that our life,
like that of Mary, may become
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completely a Magnificat.” The
Eucharistic mystery, he concludes,
“does not allow for reduction or
exploitation; it must be experienced
and lived in its integrity, both in its
celebration and in the intimate con-
verse with Jesus which takes place
after receiving communion or in a
prayerful moment of Eucharistic
adoration apart from Mass. These
are times when the Church is firmly
built up and it becomes clear what
she truly is.”
1 Matthew E. Bunson, gen. ed., Our Sunday
Visitor’s Catholic Almanac 2006 (Huntington, Ind.:
Our Sunday Visitor, 2005), p. 140.
2 James-Charles Noonan, Jr., The Church Visible
(New York: Viking Penguin, 1996), p. 403.
3 Noonan, p. 408.
4 Lumen Gentium (November 21, 1964), n. 25.
The documents of the Second Vatican Council are
available online at http://www.vatican.va/archive/
hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/.
5 All of Pope John Paul’s encyclicals are available
online at http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_
paul_ii/encyclicals/index.htm. Excerpts of encycli-
cals quoted in this FAITH FACT come from the
translations on the Vatican Web site; italics in the
original (when used for emphasis) have been
removed.
6 The English title of this encyclical is often ren-
dered On Human Work.
7 The English title of this encyclical is often ren-
dered On Social Concern.
8 In doing so, he pays tribute to nine modern
thinkers: Ven. John Henry Newman, Antonio
Rosmini, Jacques Maritain, Etienne Gilson, St.
Edith Stein, Vladimir S. Soloviev, Pavel A.
Florensky, Petr Chaadaev, and Vladimir N.
Lossky.
FAITH FACTS
The Answers You Need