WHAT IS ENCYCLICAL LETTER? This article contains a list of Encyclicals of Pope John Paul II.

Pope John Paul II issued 14 Papal Encyclicals during his reign as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church for over 26 years, from his election on 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005. An encyclical (from Latin encyclia, from the Greek "en kyklo, ", meaning "general" or "encircling") was a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Christian church. For the modern Roman Catholic Church, a Papal Encyclical, in the strictest sense, is a letter sent by the Pope which is explicitly addressed to Roman Catholic bishops of a particular area or to the world, usually treating some aspect of Catholic doctrine. A Papal Encyclical is generally used for significant issues, and is second in importance only to the highest ranking document now issued by popes, an Apostolic Constitution. The title of a Papal Encyclical is usually taken from its first few words. In the Catholic Church the Magisterium is the teaching authority of the Church.[1] This authority is understood to be embodied in the episcopacy, which is the aggregation of the current bishops of the Church in union with the Pope, led by the Bishop of Rome (the Pope), who has authority over the bishops, individually and as a body, as well as over each and every Catholic directly. According to Catholic doctrine, the Magisterium is able to teach or interpret the truths of the Faith, and it does so either non-infallibly or infallibly (see chart below). According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "The task of interpreting the Word of God authentically has been entrusted solely to the Magisterium of the Church, that is, to the Pope and to the bishops in communion with him."[2] The word "magisterium" is derived from Latin magister, which originally meant the office of a president, chief, director, superintendent, etc. (in particular, though rarely, the office of tutor or instructor of youth, tutorship, guardianship) or teaching, instruction, advice.[3] The purpose of the present Encyclical Today, however, it seems necessary to reflect on the whole of the Churchs moral teaching, with the precise goal of recalling certain fundamental truths of Catholic doctrine which, in the present circumstances, risk being distorted or denied. In fact, a new situation has come about within the Christian community itself, which has experienced the spread of numerous doubts and objections of a human and psychological, social and cultural, religious and even properly theological nature, with regard to the Churchs moral teachings. It is no longer a matter of limited and occasional dissent, but of an overall and systematic calling into question of traditional moral doctrine, on the basis of certain anthropological and ethical presuppositions. At the root of these presuppositions is the more or less obvious influence of currents of thought which end by detaching human freedom from its essential and constitutive relationship to truth. Thus the traditional doctrine regarding the natural law, and the universality and the permanent validity of its precepts, is rejected; certain of the Churchs moral teachings are found simply unacceptable; and the Magisterium itself is considered capable of intervening in matters of morality only in order to exhort consciences and to propose values, in the light of which each individual will independently make his or her decisions and life choices.

No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Latin Redemptor Hominis Dives in Misericordia Laborem Exercens Slavorum Apostoli Dominum et Vivificantem

Title English translation

Subject

Date 4 March 1979 30 November 1980 14 September 1981 2 June 1985 18 May 1986

On Jesus' Redemption of the world; the central "The Redeemer of Man" importance of the human person; the Pope's plan of governance "Rich in Mercy" "On Human Work" "The Apostles of the Slavs" "The Lord and Giver of Life" On God's mercy given to the Church and the world On the 90th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII's encyclical Rerum Novarum; the conflict of labour and capital, and the rights of workers In commemoration of Saints Cyril andMethodius On the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church and the world

6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

Redemptoris Mater Sollicitudo Rei Socialis Redemptoris Missio Centesimus Annus Veritatis Splendor Evangelium Vitae Ut Unum Sint Fides et Ratio Ecclesia de Eucharistia

"Mother of the Redeemer" "On Social Concerns" "Mission of the Redeemer" "The Hundredth Year" "The Splendor of Truth" "The Gospel of Life"

On the Blessed Virgin Mary in the life of thePilgrim Church On the 20th anniversary of Pope Paul VI's encyclical Populorum Progressio; on the social concerns and teachings of the Church On the permanent validity of the Church'smissionary mandate On the 100th anniversary of Rerum Novarum; on capital and labour; and on Catholic social teaching On fundamental questions of the Church's moral teaching On the value and inviolability of human life

25 March 1987 30 December 1987 7 December 1990 1 May 1991 6 August 1993 25 March 1995 25 May 1995 14 September 1998 17 April 2003

14.

"That They May Be One" On commitment to ecumenism On the relationship between faith and reason; condemning both atheism and faith unsupported by "Faith and Reason" reason; affirming the place of reason andphilosophy in religion "The Church of the On the Eucharist in its relationship to the Church Eucharist"

VERITATIS SPLENDOR Truth has a variety of meanings, such as the state of being in accord with fact or reality.[1] It can also mean having fidelity to an original or to a standard or ideal. In a common usage, it also means constancy or sincerity in action or character.[1] The direct opposite of truth is falsehood, which can correspondingly take logical, factual or ethical meanings. However, language and words are essentially "tools" by which humans convey information to one another. As such, "truth" must have a beneficial use in order to be retained within language. Defining this potency and applicability can be looked upon as "criteria", and the method used to recognize a "truth" is termed a criterion of truth. Since there is no single accepted criterion, they can all be considered "theories". Various theories and views of truth continue to be debated among scholars and philosophers. There are differing claims on such questions as what constitutes truth; what things are truthbearers capable of being true or false; how to define and identify truth; the roles that revealed and acquired knowledge play; and whether truth is subjective or objective, relative or absolute. Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth) The Pope addressed this encyclical (letter) to all the bishops of the Catholic Church, but the content of the letter is accessible to everyone with a basic understanding of Christianity and moral action. 2. To say that a statement is objectively true means that it is true for people of all cultures, times, etc., even if they do not know it or recognize it to be true. 3. To say that something is subjectively true means that it is true for the person(s) making the judgement, even though it may not be true for others. An absolute truth, sometimes called a universal truth, is an unalterable and permanent fact. The concept of absolute truths - what they are and whether they exist - has been debated among many different groups of people. Philosophers have waded in the muck of defining absolute truthfor millennia. For example, Plato believed that absolute truth existed, but that truth on earth was merely a shadow of great forms of absolutetruth existing in the universe. Alternatively, many believe in relative truths, where facts may vary depending on the circumstances. A truth that applies specifically to a certain situation, but not necessarily to anything else. It can be your perception or just have a general significance to the situation in general. And something can be good for you like a kind and loving parent, friend or teacher, but not improve your life if they're always invading your privacy, etc.

4.

5.

6. Moral relativism may be any of several descriptive, meta-ethical, or normative positions. Each of them is
concerned with the differences in moral judgments across different people and cultures:

Descriptive relativism describes the way things are, without suggesting a way they ought to be. It seeks only to point out that people frequently disagree over what is the most 'moral' course of action. Meta-ethical relativism is the meta-ethical position that the truth or falsity of moral judgments is not objective. Justifications for moral judgments are not universal, but are instead relative to the traditions, convictions, or practices of an individual or a group of people. The meta-ethical relativist might say "It's moral to me, because I believe it is". Normative relativism is the prescriptive or normative position that, because there is no universal moral standard by which to judge others, we ought to tolerate the behavior of others - even when it runs counter to our personal or cultural moral standards. Most philosophers find that this position is incoherent, or at least that it is unclear how meta-ethical relativism can lead to 'ought' statements. by nature and is thus universal. As classically used, natural law refers to the use of reason to analyze human nature and deduce binding rules of moral behavior. The phrase natural law is opposed to the positive law (meaning "man-made law", not "good law"; cf. posit) of a given political community,society, or nation-state, and thus can function as a standard by which to criticize that law

7. Natural law or the law of nature (Latin: lex naturalis) has been described as a law whose content is set

8.

Divine law is any law (or rule) that in the opinion of believers, comes directly from the will of God (or a god). Like natural law (which may be seen as a manifestation of divine law) it is independent of the will of man, who cannot change it. However it may be revealed or not, so it may change in human perception in time through new revelation. 9. Conscience is an aptitude, faculty, intuition or judgment of the intellect that distinguishes right from wrong. Moraljudgement may derive from values or norms (principles and rules). In psychological terms conscience is often described as leading to feelings of remorse when a human commits actions that go against his/her moral values and to feelings of rectitude or integrity when actions conform to such norms. The extent to which conscience informs moral judgment before an action and whether such moral judgments are or should be based in reason has occasioned debate through much of the history of Western philosophy. 10. The current individual moral conscience is based on the current family, social, national, and religious conscience, Systemic, transgenerational moral conscience naturally corrects whatever injures: - the systemic principles; - the higher fields of force courage, empathy, commitment, acceptance, understanding, love, joy, peace, realisation, and liberation. - any of the noble qualities love, respect, charity, compassion, reconciliation, uprightness, brotherhood, generosity, hospitality, humility, forgiveness, patience, perseverance, politeness, gratitude, service, and sincerity, and the Higher moral conscience, which has two names: Love and Wisdom. 11. An intrinsically evil act is a type of act that is, by its very nature, immoral. Intrinsically evil acts are inherently incompatible with the love of God and neighbor. What makes an act intrinsically evil is its moral object, that is, the end in terms of morality toward which that act is inherently ordered. By its very nature, independent of the intention of the person who chooses the act and independent of the circumstances, an intrinsically evil act is ordered toward an evil end, toward an end incompatible with God as our highest good and final end.