Cat

hol
i
cUni
ver
sit
yofMal
awi

Depar
tmentofBi
bli
calandRel
igi
ousSt
udi
es

Cat
hol
icSoci
alTeachi
ng
Semest
erI
:Fundament
alCat
hol
icSoci
alTeachi
ng
(
CST1101)

Lect
ureNot
esf
orYearISt
udent
s

Pr
epar
edBy
:Rev
.Dr
.Geor
geBul
eya
Modi
fi
edBy
:Rev
.Fr
.Bl
aiseZ.Jai
losi

Mont
for
tCampus,
2008-
2009Academi
cYear
 1

I
NTRODUCTI
ON
Thequest i
onaboutt heChur chspar t
ici
pation(
involvement)and
teachi ngi nmat t
ersdeal i
ngwi thsociet
yisacompl exone.I tisa
quest iont hatbr i
ngst othef or etheancientpol
arit
iesofthespi ri
tualand
thet empor al,thesoul andthebody ,thechurchandt hewor ld,Godand
Caesar .Relationsbetweent het wopower shavethroughouthi st
orybeen
defined, redef i
nedandr efi
nedconst antl
y.Yetthetruthofthemat t
eris
thatt heChur chhasal way spr oducedmember sfort hesocietyand,in
return, shehasal waysdr awnmember sfr
om thesoci et
yaswel l
.The
Chur ch, therefore,i
nev it
ablyf ormspar tofsoci
etyandcannotst and
alooff rom t hel i
feandconcer nsofsoci ety.

Thecompl exr eali

ti
esofhumanexi stence( soci al,pol
i
tical,economi c)i n
societycanber efl
ecteduponf r
om differentpoi ntsofv iew.Recogni sing
thecompl ex i
tyofhumanex i
stenceandi nt er actionsinsoci ety,thereisa
gener alrealizati
ont odaythatweneedet hical nor mstof osterpeacef ul
anddi gnifi
edexi st
ence.Nowaday s,mor ethanbef ore,ther eisagener al
sensitiv
ityt ohumanr ightsandhumandi gni t yissuescut ti
ngacr osst he
fronti
ersoft hef ai
th,rel
igi
on,race,sex,andr egion.Inlinewi t
hthis
reali
zation, publicauthorit
ieshavebegunt odr awupgui delineswi t
han
ethicalcomponentt odeal wit
hhumanexi st enceandi nteract i
onsin
society.

TheGoodNewsaboutt heChr istianf aithist hathumanr elationshipwith

Godi sdef inedi nthet er msofsal vation,redempt i
on.Consequent ly
,at
thecent r eofTheol ogy( t
hatsci encet hatseekst ounder standandr e-
arti
cul atet hesal vi
ficGoodNewsofGodt hroughJesusChr ist)have
alway sbeent wodi fferentagendas:
st
1: Anat temptt odiscer nthemeani ngoft hegi f
tofGod, t
hati s,His
l
ov ingwi l
ltosav ehumani ty
nd
2 : Whatt hisgiftmeanf orhumanbehav i
ourandr elat
ionshi psindai l
y
l
ives.
Inot herwor ds, “
theol ogyhasr efl
ect edonGodsr evelat
ionbot hasagi ft
1
toandachal l
engef ort hehumanper son.”Mor al Theology ,then,isthat
theol ogical enterpri
set hatdiscernst heimpl icati
onsofGodsl oveon
humanbei ngs.Thus, inMor alTheol ogy ,west udyt hehumanper sons
appr opriater esponset oGodscal lofl ove.Thequest iont hemor al
theol ogi
anat tempt st oansweri s: howoughtwe, whohav ebeengi fted
andcal l
edbyGodsl ov e,behav eour sel ves?

1
Ti
mot Pr
hyOCONNELL, i
nci
plesf
oraCat
hol
i
cMor
ali
ty,
Har
perCol
l
ins,
NewYor
k,1990.7
 2

Cathol
icSocialEthi
csi
st hatpartoft
heChurchsmoral
theol
ogical
ref
lect
ionont hecomplexreali
ti
esofhumanexist
enceinsoci
ety—
social
,pol
i
tical,
economic-intheli
ghtoff
ait
handtheChurchstradi
ti
on.

Agr eatpar toft hisSoci alEthicsist heSoci al Teachi ngoft heChur ch

whi chist heChur chsOf fi
cial morel theological reflectionont hecompl ex
realiti
esofsoci et y.TheSoci al Teachi ngoft heChur chi soffi
cialinthe
senset hatt her eflecti
oni sdonebyt heMagi sterium i nsuchof f
ici
al
document sas:
(i
)Ency cli
cal s( lettersoft hePopes)
(i
i)theconci liardocument soft heSecondVat icanCounci l
(i
ii)andt hesy nodofbi shops
Althoughsomepeopl ehav ecompl ainedoft hei dent i
ficati
onoft he
Soci alTeachi ngoft heChur chwi tht heSoci al Teachi ngoft hePopeand
theBi shops, thedef actosi t
uat i
onist hataut hor itati
v eanduni versal
Cat holi
ct eachi ngi naChur choper at ingpr i
nci pal lyoutofadomi nant
hierarchical inst ituti
onmodel restsint heency clicals,theaddr essesof
thepopesandbi shops.Hav ingsaidt his,i
tmustber emember ed,
howev er,thatCat holicsocial t
eachi ngar isesf r om t hechur ch
communi tyandt akesf leshal soint hesamecommuni ty.

CatholicSoci alTeachi ng
i snotani deol ogy
i snotabl uepr intforapar ticulareconomi corpol it
icaltheor y
i tisnotahi ddenexer ciseofl ostpoweront hepar toft heChur ch
i snotanabst ractmor alagendaf orsoci ety
CatholicSoci alteachi ng
i sav alidandconcr eteat temptt ointerpr ett hecompl exr eali
ti
es
ofhumanex istencei nsoci et
y, determi ningt hei rconfor mitywi thor
divergencef rom t hel i
nesoft heGodst eachi ngonhumani t
yand
humanv ocat i
on-av ocationwhi chisatonceear t
hilyand
transcendent
i sagui det oChr istianbehav i
ourandassuchbel ongst ot hefield,
notofi deol ogy ,butoft heologyandpar t i
cular lyofmor altheology
orChr istianEt hics.
TheSoci alTeachi ngoft heChur chhasat hreef ol
dt ask:
(i)Announci ngt het ruthabouthumandi gni
t yandhumanr i
ghts
(ii
)denounci ngunj ustsi t
uat i
onsi nsoci ety
(ii
i)cont ri
but i
ngt oposi ti
vechangesi nsoci et yandr eal human
progress
 3

Thusf arfr
om bei
ngasecondar yacti
vi
ty,
theChur
chssocial
teachi
ngis
atthef or
efr
ontofhermission,
eloquentt
esti
monytoheracti
vesal
vif
ic
presencetohumansocieties.

ETHICALASSESSMENTOFHUMANACTI ON
I
ngener al t
erms,mor al
it
ydeal
swi t
hther elationshipbet weenafreel
y
will
edactt oanor m.Inourownlanguage, mor ali
tydealswitht
he
responseoft hehumanper son(Iact
s)toGodscal l
oflove(norm).In
otherwor ds,t
herelati
onshi
pbetweenmansf reedom andGodsl awis
2
manifestedandr eali
zedinhumanacts.I nhi s/ herhumanconduct ,t
he
humanper sonreveal
swhathe/sheisbyhi s/ herv eryconduct,
the
humanper sondeterminesandshapeshi s/herownbei ng.

Thatsavesusf ormor ali

tyofhumanacti
oningeneral
.But,ywhatdoes
humanconductbecomeconcr et
elygoodorevi
l
;inotherwords,
whatis
i
tthattel
lsust hattheactionoft
hehumanpersonqual i
fi
esordoesnot
quali
fyasar esponset oGodscallofl
ove?Thi
sisthequestiont
hatli
es
attheheartofthesear chforwhathastr
adi
ti
onall
ybeencalled“
the
sourcesofmor ali
ty”.

1.
1 TheSour
cesofMor
ali
ty(
Ethi
calAssessmentTheor
ies)
.

Thequest ionaboutt hesour cesofmor ali

tydealswi t
hwhati nconcr ete
determinest hemor al i
tyofhumanact on.Ver
i it
ati
sSpl endorf ormul ates
thi
squest ioninashar ppr eciseway :
Butonwhatdoest hemor al assessmentofmansf reeact sdepend?
Whati sitthatensur est hisorder i
ngofhumanact stoGod?I sitt he
Int
ent i
onoft heactingsubj ect,theci rcumst ances-andi npar t
icularthe
3
consequences-ofhi sact ion,ort heObj ectitsel
fofhisact ?
Int
ent i
on(t hatwhicht heact i
ngsubj ectisaf terindoingsomet hing),
cir
cumst ances( particularssur r
oundi ngt hehumanacti ncr easi ng,
decreasingandmodi fyi
ngt hegoodorev i
lqualit
yofanact ion)and
object(theef f
ectwhi chanact i
onpr i
mar ilyanddi r
ectlycauses—i n
otherwor ds-theobj ectivev aluetowhi chanactbyi tsv erynat urei s
4
ordained)ar eref
erredt oast het resf onts( t
hreesour ces).

2
POPEJOHN PAULI ,TheSpl
I endorofTrut
hShi
nes:
Ver
it
ati
sSpl
endor(
6August
,1993)
,Li
ber
ia
Edi
tr
iceVat
icana,
Vat
icanCi
ty1993,par
.71
3
I
bid.
,74
4
AComprehensi
veanal
ysi
softhese“sour
ces”i
sgiven,amongother
s,byKarlH.PESCHKE,Chr
ist
ian
Et
hicsI
:MoralTheol
ogyintheLightofVati
canIIVol.
I-Gener
alMoralTheol
ogy,C.Goodl
i
ffeNeale,
 4

WhilethetresFontestheoryhasgainedwidespreadaccept anceamong
ethi
cist
spar ti
cul
arl
yfr
om theCatholi
ct r
adit
ion,t
hereisadisagreement
abouttheor deri
nwhichthekeyelement sorsourcesarepresented.In
factdependingonwhichsourceisstressedauniqueethicaltheorycan
5
beformed.

1.
2 Et
hicalTheor
ies

Tradi t
ional ly,theor deroft hesour cesaccor dingt ot heirimpor tancei s
asf oll
ows:
Object—pur pose( end) -circumst ance.Themor ali
tyofhumanact
depends, firstandf or emostont heobj ectoftheact ioni t
self.Human
actsshoul df irstbedescr ibedi ntermsoft robj
hei ect s.Whati sdone!For
exampl e,theobj ectofanactofadul t
er yishav i
ngi nt ercoursewi th
someonewhoi snotonesspouse.I tistheobj ectoft heact i
oni tself
6
whichmustbecapabl eofbei ngorder edt oGod, i
tsul timateend.
Ther eforeanacti sgoodi fitsobjecti sinconf or mitywi ththegoodof
7
theper sonwi threspectt ot hegoodmor all
yrelevantf orhim. St ressi
ng
thecr ucial roleoft heobj ecti ndetermi ningthemor alityofhumanact i
on,
theCat hol icChur chhol dsthatcer tainact sarej ustnotcapabl e—by
reasonoft heirobj ect -ofbei ngorder edt oGodandar eal waysi nconf l
ict
witht hegood.Act ssuchassui cide, mast urbation,cont r
aception,
abor ti
on, ex traandpr e-mar ital
sex, sterili
zati
on, test-tubebabi es,
homosexual i
ty,lesbi anism andar ti
ficialinsemi nationar e,byr easonof
theyobj ect ,intri
nsi callyevilperse.Noi ntenti
onorsetofci rcumst ances
couldev erjust if
ysuchact sbecauset heirmor al qualityisalreadyi nthe
objectoft heact ion.

Certai
ntheori
es, howev
er,donotpl
aceabsol uteimpor t
anceont he
objectofahumanactbutemphasi zet heconformi t
yofhumanact swit
h
theendspursuedbyt heacti
ngsubjectandwi t
ht hev al
uesintendedby
him.Suchtheoriesaresometi
mescal ledt
eleological(f
rom theGreek
tel
os-goal)
.Inthesetheor
iestheobjectofhumanactf orexample,t
he

Al
cest
er,
1993,
247-
285.
5
Iti
sint
erest
ingt
onot ethatthesectionon TheMoralActinVerit
atisSplendorquickl
ydegener
ates
i
ntoacrit
iqueofpr
ev al
entethi
caltheor i
esst
emmingfrom apart
icularunderstandi
ngofthesources
ofmoral
it
y.SeeVeri
tati
ssplendour
, 71-83.
6
Ver
it
ati
sspl
endour
,78.
7
I
bid
 5

objectofabor t
ionwhi chisthefor ci
bleremov alofahumanbei ng-does
noty etconstit
utemor equalif
icationsbut, r
ather,pre-moralones.The
objectofanactonl ydisti
nguishesi tasright,i
ndiff
er entorwrongbut
noty etasgoodorev il!Sothedi sti
ncti
ont heobj ectofanact i
ongi vesis
apr e-moralone,thefinalj
udgmentont hemor ali
tyoft heactispossi bl
e
onlyundersi multaneousconsider ati
onoft heintentionoftheact i
ng
subjectandt hecircumstancessur r
oundingt heaction.

Propor ti
onal i
sm i sonesucht heor ymai nt aini ngt hatt hepr esenceofa
propor ti
onat er easoncanj ust if
yei thert hedi rectort hei ndi r
ectwi ll
ingof
anon- mor al orpr e-mor al “wr ong” .
Bypr opor tionat er eason, whati sr ef er redt oi snotanyki ndofr easonbut
8
aspeci ficv alueatst ake.I nsoci al issues, thev aluemaybe, forexampl e,
proper ty
, freedom, tr
uth, per sonal digni ty .Inmedi cal mat tersi tmi ghtbe
l
ife,healthorbodi l
yintegr ity,whi lsti nsexual mat ter sthev aluemay be
personal digni ty,pr ocreat i
v ecapaci ty, freedom, andpr i
v acy .The
propor ti
oni si nt her elationbet weent hespeci fi
cv al ueatst akeandt he
pre-mor al ev i
lswhi chwi llcomeouti nt ry ingt oachi evet hatv alue.
Thepr incipl eofPr opor ti
onat er easonder iv esf r
om andi sast epf urther
from thepr incipl eofdoubl eef f
ect .Int radi tional f
or m, thepr i
nci pleof
doubleef fecthasf ourcondi tionswhi chshoul dbef ulfi
ll
edwhen
confront edbyapr ospect i
veact iont hathast woef fects, onegoodand
theot herev il
:
t heact ioni tselfmustbegoodori ndi f ferent
t hegoodef fectmustnotbepr oducedbymeansoft heev i
lef fect
t heev ileffectshoul dnotbedi r ect lywi ll
ed
t heremustbeapr opor ti
onat er easonsuppor tingort oler ati
ngt he
evilef fect
Thecl assi cexampl eof tenusedi st heoneofapr egnantwomanwi t
h
canceroft heut erus.Themedi cal assumpt ioni st hati fnot hingi sdone,
botht hemot herandt hechi ldwi l
l diebuti ft heut er usisr emov ed, at
l
eastt hemot herwi lll
ive.I nt hiscase, then, theut er usmay ber emov ed
because:
r emov ingt heut erusi samor allyi ndi ffer entact i
on
 sav i
ngt hel i
feoft hemot heri snotpr oducedbymeansoft he
deat hoft hef oetus, butbyr emov ingt heut er us
t hedi recti ntentioni st osav et hel ifeoft hemot her
t hepr opor tionat er easoni st hemot her sl i
featst ake

8
ReasonI
R.GULA, nfor
medbyFai
th,
272.
 6

Eval
uat i
ngt hecondi tionsoft hepr inci pleandt heirmor al relev ance9,
howev er,“pr opor ti
onal i
st s”not et hat :
 Thef irstcondi tionpr esumest hatwecanspeci f
yt heact -i
n- i
tsel f
asmor al
lygood, bad, ori ndi f
fer enti ndependent lyofot herf act ors.
Thequest i
onwhi choughtt obeaskedi s: whataboutt hei nt ent ion
ort heact ingsubj ectandt heci rcumst ancessur roundi ngt heact ?
Thef irstcondi tion, then, canbesai dt opoi ntonl yt opr e-mor al
featur esoft hehumanact .
 Thesecondcondi tionshar est hesamebasi cpr esupposi tionwi th
thef irstr egardingact si nt hemsel ves.Byt alkingaboutgoodand
ev i
lef fect swet akei tforgr ant edt hatwear eal r
eadyi namor al
realm.
 Thedi ffi
cultywi tht het hirdcondi ti
oni si ndet ermi ningsomebody s
i
nt ent ionandi tsmor al relev ance.Mor eov er,descr ibingt heef fect
ofanact ionasdi r ectlyori ndi r
ect l
yintendedbyt hesubj ectdoes
notr eal lydesignat eamor edi fferencei nt heact ionassuch
becausewear est il
lonapr e-mor al l
ev el,thebestt hedi stinct ion
doesi st odi sclosesomet hingaboutt heact i
ngsubj ect .
 Thef our thcondi t
ioni sr eallyt hemast erpr inciple.Itt akesi nto
consi derationt her elationshi pbet weent hepr e-mor al goodandev i
l
aspect sofanact i
on, andt hei nt entionwi thint het otal cont extof
circumst ances.I not herwor ds, thef our thcondi tioni sconcer ned
wi t
ht her elati
onshi poft hev ar i
ousaspect sofanactt ot het ot al
mor al meani ngoft heact .Mor al actionsar ej udgeddi fferent ly
whent akeni nt hei rtot alit
yr at hert hanwhencer tainaspect sar e
treat edi ni solation.I tist hi scondi tiont hati sultimat elyconcer ned
wi t
ht het ruemor al meani ngofanact i
on.
Thefour thcondi t
ionoft hepr incipl eofdoubl eef fectiswhathas
devel
opedi ntot hepr inci pleofpr opor tionat er eason.Thi spr incipl e, itis

9
Aconci
sesummar yoft
hisevaluat
ionispr
ovi
dedbyRi dGULA,ReasonI
char nfor
medbyFai
th:
For
mul
ati
onsofCat
holi
cMoral
i
ty,Paul
ist
,MahwahN.
J.1989,
270—272.
 7

10
ar
guedensur
esthatmoral
act
ionsar
ejudgedi
nthei
rtot
ali
ty. Mor
al
j
udgmentcanbesaidt
obeajudgmentofthemeanstotheend.

1.
3 Si
tuat
ionEt
hics

Whent heindi vidual uniquenessofev eryper sonandev er ysituat ionis

11
stressedast henor m, thenwehav ewhati scalledsi t
uat i
onet hics.
Whati smor allygoodorbadcannotbedet ermi nedbyuni versal ,abst ract
l
aws, appl i
cabl ewi thoutexcept i
ont oev eryper sonbuti tcanonl ybe
deter mi nedbyt heconcr etesi tuat i
onwi thwhi chaconcr eteper soni s
conf ront edwi thanexi stential cont act.Inf act,theroot sofasi tuati
on
ethicsar epar tlytobef oundi nexi stentiali
sm wi t
hitsemphasi sont he
concr eteuni quesi tuat ion.Thesi tuat i
onmayi ncludesuchi ndiv idual
char acter i
sticsas:
-t hephy sicalandpsy chol ogicalcondi tionsoft heindi vidual :age,
sex, heal th,temper ament ,andchar act er;
-t hepr esentdesposi ti
ons:f at i
gue, relaxationort ensi on, habi t
s, and
tempt at ions.
-t hemor alandspi ri
tuall evel: concept ionofGod, thel awandsi n,
thei nt ensi tyoff ait
h, l
ov eandchar i
ty;
-t hedat aofspaceandt ime: region,cl i
mat e,ti
meoft heday
-t hesoci alel ement s:fami l
y, profession, reli
gion,andeconomi c
situat i
on.
-t hecul tur alelement s:educat ion,intelli
genceet c
Situationet hics, ther efore, consi stsofal lelement sofper sonal ityandal l
theci rcumst ancesi nwhi cht heper soni satagi v
enmoment .These
element sf or mt heuni versepr opert ot hei ndivi
dual—t hecompl exit
y
throughwhi chhe/ shehast omakeadeci sion.Whi letheseel ement sar e
i
dent ical withwhatwecal ltheci rcumst ancesofhumanact ioni nt he
tresf ont est heor y
, situationet hi
csmakest hem theobj ect i
venor m of

10
JohnMahoneyseest hedr i
vet ot otali
tyinmor alanalysi
sasani mpor t
antmar koft her enewali n
mor altheology Thesy
:“ stemat i
ci ntr
oduct i
onoft heconcept ualanalysisandoft heuseofcont r
asting
disti
nctionst or econcil
eopposi ngaut horit
ati
v est at
ement swasamaj orcont r
ibuti
ont ot heology
bytheSchoolmenoft het welft
handsubsequentcent uri
es.Andmuchoft heint
ell
ectualsat i
sfaction
andsuccessoft heScholasticmet hodder ivedfrom t hewayi nwhichi tthusperceiv
edi tselfablet o
packageandpi geonholer eal
ity
,whet hercreatedoruncr eat
ed.Imor alrefl
ecti
onitwast obeseenat
i
tsmostpot entinsuchar easas….Theanal ysi
soft hemor al acti
ntoobj ect,ci
rcumstances, andgoal ;
…Muchofr ecentmor altheologycanbev iewedasabi dtorecoverort oreclai
mt heli
v i
nguni tywhi ch
l
inksandsubsumesal lthisintoani ntel
li
giblewhol ewhichcaneasi lybel osttov i
ew int heshor t
-
sightedpeer ingatt heparts,orwhi chcansl i
pt hrought hecracksbet weent hecomponent s.SeeJohn
MAHONEY,TheMaki ngofMor alTheol ogy :A st udyoft heRomanCat holi
cTr adi
tion,Cl arendon,
Ox f
ord, 1987, 309-310.
11
Foraconci
seexposi
tionofsit
uat
ionet
hics,seeG.LOBO,Gui
det
oChr
ist
ianLi
fe,2004-
210;K.
H.
PESCHKE,Chr
ist
ianEt
hics1,115—117.
 8

humanaction.Theref
or e,
thesit
uati
onbei
nguniquecannotbowdownto
permanentanduniversalrul
es:ever
ymoraldeci
sionbecomesr
elat
ivet
o
thedemandsoft hesituat
ion!

Howcanweev al
uatesit
uati
onethi
cs?Whi l
ethereisasensei nwhich
everyactthatoneperf
ormsi suni
que,i
tisalsotr
uet hathumanact i
on
hasf eatur
escommonwi t
hotheract
ions.Si
tuati
onet hi
csbreedethical
rel
ativi
sm andchaos.Manhasneedf orobject
ivelawstoactasclear
guideli
nes.Moreover
,therei
snosocialethi
csthatcanbebui l
ton
sit
uat i
onethi
cs.

1.4 Concl usion

Thet heoryoft het hreesour cesofmor al
iyt
t resfontest hathasbecome
somuchassoci atedwi t
ht hequest i
onoft hemor ali
tyofhumanact ion
mustbeunder stoodi nthehi storicalsetti
ngofi tsformul ati
on.Theso-
call
edsour cesofmor alit-obj
y ect,i
ntenion,andci rcumst ances-cameto
theforeinthecont ex tofthedi scipli
neofconf ession.Whatt he
confessorwasor iginallylookingf orwasnotawayt oest abli
shwhether
asinwascommi ttedornotbutr athertodet erminegui l
tand
responsibil
i
t y
.Af t
eral l,theSacr amentofReconci li
ati
onoper atesupon
theassumpt i
ont hatt hepeni tenthasal readyj udgedt heev ent
sheorshe
12
i
sr el
atingtobesi ns.

Thest resst hattr adit

ionall
ylai
dont heobjectoft hehumanact-theend
containedi nt hev eryaction,shoul
dnt,however, beunder
mined.
Int
ri
nsi call
yev i
lact s—act sthatcannotbeor deredtoGodswi l
l
-doexist
.
Inconf l
ictsituations, however,onewouldhav et obesensit
ivet
owhat
promot est hei ntegrit
yandt hedignit
yofthehumanper sonandaser i
ous
consider at
ionoft heot hertwosourcesisinevitable.

Finall
y,itcanbearguedt het
hatt r
esfontesisnottheonlywayof
descr i
bingthemor ali
tyofhumanact i
on.Responset ot
hequesti
onwhat
i
samor alactl
argelydependsont hecontextinwhicht
hequesti
onis
raised.Isoneattempt i
ngtoguidepeopleint hemorall
i
fe,tomake
j
udgment swithregardtospecifi
cacti
ons, ortobui
ldatheoryof

12
JOSEPHSELLING,“TheContextandtheArgument
sofVerit
ati
sspl
endour
”inidem &JanJANS
(eds)
,TheSpl
endourofAccur
acy:Anexaminat
ionoft
heAsser
ti
onsmadebyVeri
tat
isspl
endour
,Kok
Pharos,
Kampen1994,53—54.
 9

normativ
eet hi
cs?Dependi
nguponwhichquest
iononeisatt
emptingt
o
address,t
heanswertothequest
ionofthemorali
tyofhumanact
ionwil
l
13
be di ff
erent.

TheFoundat
ionsofCat
hol
i
cSoci
alEt
hics

2.
1Ant
hropol
ogi
calFoundat
ion

Humanbei ngsar esoci albeingsbyt hei rverynat ure.I tisnotfor

nothingthatourf orefatherscamet ot her ealisati
ont hatmut uumodzi
susenzadenga, chalachi modzisi chiswansabwe, ichinchianinkul i
nga
mul iawir
i,kuyendaawi risi
mant ha.I ndeednomani sani sl
and!The
humanper sonsinstinctf orsoci
al fellowshi pissai dtobeoneoft he
str
ongesti mpulsesi nhumannat ure.Onl yt hroughsoci alcompl etion
cant hehumanper sonf ull
ydevelophi s/ herbeingashi snature
14
demands. Gi vent hegr eatimpor tanceofcommuni tyandsoci etyf or
anyper sonslif
e, i
tshoul dber emember edt hatwhi l
eont heonehand
everybodyhast her ightt obehelpedbysoci et y,
ont heot herhand
he/shehasal sot heobl igati
onandt hedut ytogi vesuppor ttosoci ety.
Concer nforsocietyi sconcer nforonesownwel f
are,concer nforones
neighbour,andul t
imat elyconcer nfort hatf i
nal goalwhi cheverybody ,

13
I
bid.
,54.
14
Karl Chr
.H.PESCHKE, isti
anEthi
cs:MoralTheologyintheLightofVati
canII-Vol
umeI ISpeci
: alMor al
Theology(Revi
sedEdi
tion)
,C.Goodli
ff
eNeal e,Alcester1993,517;SeealsoPONTI CALCOUNCI
FI LFOR
JUSTI
CEANDPEACE,Compendium oft
heSocialDoctrineoftheChurch,Paul
i
nines,Kenya2004,ar
ti
cles
13-15.
 10

ever
ycommuni ty,
andthewholemanki ndiscall
edtoserveandtobri
ng
about:God'sKingdom andgl
orywhichist hehumanpersonsful
l
ness
andglorytoo.I ti
sthi
sdimensionthatdisti
ngui
shesChri
sti
ansocial
doctr
inefrom anyothersoci
alt
reat
ise.

Thehumanper soni
satthecentreofanysocial et
hicaldiscourse.Any
ethicalassessmentofhumanact i
onwillhavet odeal wi
tht hereali
tyof
thehumanper sonasasubj ect
.Infact,
mor al
ityispropert ohuman
beingsal onebecauseonl
yhumanbei ngsarecapabl eofsel f-
direct
ion
15
(i
ntention)andenjoyknowledgeandabil
ityt
omakechoi ces(freedom).
Inhis/herhumanconduct ,t
hehumanper sonrev ealswhathe/ sheisand
byhi s/
herv er
yconduct,t
hehumanper sondet erminesandshapes
his/herownbei ng.

Thatsavesusf orthemor al
it
yofhumanact ioningeneral.But,bywhat
doeshumanconductbecomeconcr etel
ygoodorev i
l;i
not herwords,
whatisitthattel
l
sust hattheacti
onoft hehumanper sonqualif
iesor
doesnotqual i
fyasethical
? Thisi
st hequestiont
hatliesattheheartof
thesear
chf orwhathast radi
ti
onal
lybeencalled“t
hesour cesof
morali
ty”.

Thequesti
onaboutthesourcesofmoral
i
tydeal
swi
thwhati
nconcr
ete
det
erminesthemorali
tyofhumanacti
on.

Intention(thatwhi chtheact i
ngsubj ectisafteri
ndoi ngsomet hing),
cir
cumst ances( parti
cularssurroundingthehumanacti ncr
easing,
decr easingandmodi fyingthegoodorev ilquali
tyofanact i
on)andt he
acti nitsel
f(theobj ecti
vedef i
niti
onofanactbywhi chanactbyi t
sver y
16
nat ureisordained)ar ereferr
edt oast hetresfontes( t
hreesources).
Whi lethetresf ontestheor yhasgai nedwidespreadaccept anceamong
ethicistsparti
cularlyfrom theCat holi
ctradit
ion,t
her eisadisagreement
aboutt heorderinwhi chthekeyel ementsorsour cesar epresented.I n

15
Thecent r
alit
yofthehumanper soninmor aldi
scoursehasbeendiscussedatlengthbyanumberof
theologi
ansamongwhom ar e:R.GULA,ReasonInformedbyFai t
h,63-
74;KevinKELLY,NewDirecti
ons
i
nMor alTheologyTheChal
: l
engeofBeingHuman, Geoffr
eyChapman, London/NewYor k1992,27-60;
K.PESCHKE,Chr i
sti
anEthicsI,228-
248;JosephSELLING,“
TheHumanPer son”inBernardHOOSE(ed.),
Christi
anEthics:AnInt
roducti
on,Cassel
l,
London1998, 95-109.
16
Acompr ehensiveanaly
sisofthese“sour
ces”i
sgiv
en,amongother
s,byKarlH.PESCHKE,Chr
ist
ian
Et
hicsI:Mor alTheologyintheLightofVat
icanI
IVol
.I— Gener
alMor
alTheol
ogy,C.Goodli
ffeNeale,
Al
cester,
1993, 247-285.
 11

factdependi chsour
ngonwhi cei
sst
ressedauni
queet
hical
theor
ycan
17
beformed.

Tradi ti
onal l
y,theor deroft hesour cesaccor di
ngt ot heirimpor tancei s
asf ollows: actinitself-intent i
on( end)-ci rcumst ances.Themor al
ity
ofthehumanactdepends, fi
rstandf oremostont heacti nitself.
Humanact sshoul dfirstbedescr ibedi nt ermsofwhati sdone!For
exampl e,theactofadul teryishav ingi ntercoursewi thsomeonewhoi s
notonesspouse.I tistheacti nitsel fwhi chmustbecapabl eofbei ng
18
order edt oGod, i
tsultimat eend. St ressingthecr ucialroleoft heacti n
i
tselfi ndet ermi ni
ngt hemor alityofhumanact ion, theCat holicChur ch
holdst hatcertainact sar ejustnotcapabl e-byr easonoft hedef init
ion
oftheactt hemsel ves-ofbei ngor der edt oGodandar ealway sin
conf l
ictwi ththegood.Act ssuchas, f
orexampl e: suici
de, mast urbati
on,
cont raception,abor ti
on, extraandpr e-mar it
alsex, steril
i
sat i
onand
arti
ficialinsemi nati
onar e,byr easonoft heirobject, i
ntri
nsical l
yev i
lper
se.Noi ntentionorsetofci r
cumst ancescoul dev erjustif
ysuchact s
becauset heirmor al qualityisalreadyi nt heobjectoft heact ion.

Certai
nt heori
es,howev er,
donotpl aceabsoluteimportanceontheacts
i
nt hemsel v
esbutemphasi zet heconfor
mityofhumanact swit
ht he
i
ntentions(ends)pur suedbyt heactingsubj
ectandwi t
ht heval
ues
i
ntendedbyhi m.I ntheset heori
es,anactdoesnoty ethav emoral
qualif
icati
onsuntiltheint
ent i
onoft heacti
ngsubjectandt he
ci
rcumst ancessurroundingt heactionareconsider
ed.

Therelationshi
pbetweent heacti nit
sel
fandtheintent
ionoftheacti
ng
subj
ecti sbestspell
edouti nt hepr i
nci
pleofdoubleeff
ect.Thisi
sa
pri
ncipl
et hatregul
atesactionst hatproducebothagoodef f
ectandan
evi
lone.I nit
stradi
tionalf
or m, t
hepr i
ncipl
eofdoubleeff
ecthasfour
conditi
onswhi chshouldbef ulf
il
ledwhenconfrontedbyaprospecti
ve
acti
ont hathast woeffect
s, onegoodandt heotherevi
l
:

t
heact
ionit
selfmustbegoodorindi
ff
erent
t
hegoodeffectmustnotbepr
oducedbymeansoft
heev
ilef
fect
t
heevi
leff
ectshoul
dnotbedirect
lywil
l
ed

17
I
tisi
nterest
ingt
onotethatthesecti
ononTheMor nVer
alActi it
ati
ssplendorquickl
ydegener
ates
i
ntoacri
tiqueofprev
alentet
hicalt
heori
esst
emmingfr
om apar
ti
cul
arunderstandi
ngofthesources
ofmoral
it
y.SeeVer i
tat
isspl
endor,71-
83.
18
Ver
it
ati
sspl
endor
,78.
 12

t
her
emustbeapr
opor
ti
onat
ereasonsuppor
ti
ngort
oler
ati
ngt
heev
il
ef
fect

Theclassi
cexampl eoftenusedistheoneofpr egnantwomanwi t
h
canceroftheuterus.Themedi calassumptionisthati
fnothi
ngisdone,
boththemot herandthechil
dwilldi
ebuti ft
heuterusisremoved,at
l
eastthemot herwill
li
ve.Inthiscase,then,t
heuterusmayber emoved
because:

 Removi
ngt
heuter
usi
samorall
yindi
ff
erentact
ion;
 Savi
ngt
hel
ifeoft
hemot
heri
snotproducedbymeansoft
hedeat
hof
thef oetus, butbyr emov i
ngt heut erus;
 Thedi r
ecti nt entioni st osav et hel i
feoft hemot her ;
 Thepr opor tionat er easoni st hemot her sl i
featst ake.
Withr egar dt ot heci rcumst ances, whent heindi vi
dual uniquenessof
everyper sonandev erysituat i
oni sst ressed` ast henor m, t
henwehav e
19
whati scal ledsi tuat i
onet hics. Whati smor allygoodorbadcannotbe
determi nedbyuni ver sal,abst r
actl aws, applicabl ewi thoutexcept iont o
everyper sonbuti tcanonl ybedet ermi nedbyt heconcr etesi t
uationwi th
whichaconcr eteper soni sconf ront edwi thinanexi stenti
al contact.I n
fact,
ther oot sofsi tuat i
onet hi
csar epar t
lyt obef oundi nexi stential
ism
withitsemphasi sont heconcr eteuni quesi tuat i
on.Thesi tuationmay
i
ncludesuchi ndividual char acteristicsas:
-t hephy sicalandpsy chologicalcondi t
ionsoft heindividual:age, sex,
heal th,temper ament ,andchar acter;
-t hepr esentdi sposi t
ions:fat igue, r
el axationort ension, habit
s, and
tempt ations;
-t hemor alandspi r
ituallevel: concept i
onofGod, t
helawandsi n,the
i
nt ensi t
yoff aith, l
ov eandchar it
y;
-t hedat aofspaceandt i
me: r egion, cli
mat e,timeoft hedayet c;
-t hesoci al el
ement s:fami l
y ,
pr ofessi on, r
el i
gion, andeconomi c
situat i
on;
-t hecul t
ur alelement s:educat ion,intelli
gence, et c.

Sit
uat
ionet hics,theref
ore,consi
stsofallt
heelement
sofper sonal
i
ty
andallt
heci rcumst ancesinwhichthepersonisatagivenmoment .
Theseelement sformtheuni v
ersepropertot
heindi
vidual-t
he
complexit
yt hroughwhi chhe/shehast omakeadecision. Whilet
hese
el
ement sarei denti
calwithwhatwecal lt
hecir
cumstancesofhuman

19
Foraconciseexposi
ti
onofsit
uati
onet
hics,see:G.LOBO,Gui
det
oChr
ist
ianLi
fe,204-
210;K.
H.
Chr
PESCHKE, isti
anEthi
csI,
115-
117.
 13

acti
oninthetresf
ontestheor
y,si
tuat
ionet hicsmakest hem the
object
ivenor
m ofhumanact i
on.Therefore,thesituati
onbeingunique
cannotbowdownt opermanentanduniv ersalrul
es:everymor al
decisi
onbecomesr el
ati
vetothedemandsoft hesituati
on!

Thet heoryofthet hreesour cesofmor ali

tytresfont esthathasbecome
somuchassoci atedwi t
ht hequest i
onoft hemor al
ityofhumanact ion
mustbeunder stoodi nthehi stori
calsetti
ngofi tsfor mulati
on.Theso-
call
edsour cesofmor alit
y—acti nitself
,intenti
on, andci r
cumst ances-
camet ot heforeinthecont extofthedi scipl
ineofconf ession.Whatt he
confessorwasor i
ginallylookingforwasnotawayt oestabli
shwhet her
asinwascommi ttedornotbutr athertodet erminegui ltand
responsibil
i
ty.Af t
eral l,
theSacr amentofReconci l
i
at i
onoper atesupon
theassumpt ionthatt hepeni tenthasalreadyj udgedt heev entsheorshe
20
i
sr el
atingtobesi ns.

Thestr
esst hatistr
aditionall
ylaidontheobj ectofthehumanact-t he
endcont ai
nedi nthev eryaction,shoul
dnt,howev er,beunder
mi ned.
Int
ri
nsi
cal l
yev il
acts-act sthatcannotbeor deredt oGodswill-doexist
.
Inconf
lictsituati
ons,howev er ,
onewoul dhav etobesensiti
vetowhat
promotest heintegri
tyandt hedi gni
tyofthehumanper sonandaser i
ous
consi
der at
ionoft heot hertwosour cesi
si nevit
able.

Fi
nall
y,itcanbear guedt hatthetr
esfontesisnottheonl ywayof
descri
bingt hemor alit
yofhumanaction.Responset othequest ion
whatisamor alactl ar
gel
ydependsont hecontextinwhi cht hequesti
on
i
sr ai
sed.I soneat temptingtogui
depeopl eint
hemor alli
fe,tomake
j
udgement swi thregar dt
ospecifi
cacti
ons, ort
obuildat heor yof
normati
v eet hics?
Dependinguponwhi chquest
iononeisattemptingtoaddr ess, t
he
answert othequest ionofthemorali
tyofhumanact ionwi l
l be
21
di
ffer
ent.

2.
2Bi
bli
calFoundat
ion

20
JosephSELLI
NG “
TheContextandt
heAr sofVer
gument i
tat
isspl
endor
”inidem &JanJANS(eds.
),
TheSplendourofAccur
acy
:AnExaminat
ionoft
heAsser
ti
onsmadebyVerit
ati
sspl
endor
,KokPharos,
Kampen1994, 53-
54.
21
I
bid.
,54.
 14

Risi
ngabov ethepurelyanthropologi
calfoundati
onforourinvol
vement
i
nsoci et
y,concernforsociet
yi sult
imatelyconcernf
orthatfi
nalgoal
whicheverybody,ev
erycommuni ty,andthewhol emankindiscal
ledt
o
serveandtobr i
ngabout:God' sKingdom andGl orywhi
chi sthehuman
personsfull
nessandgl orytoo.

Iti
st hisrel i
gio-theologicaldi
mensi onthatshouldbet hedrivi
ngf orcefor
theChr i
stiansi nmat t
ersofsocial andpoliti
cali
nterest.Cat holi
cSoci al
teachingi sbor noutoft hisreli
gio-theol
ogicalr
eflecti
ononsoci ety,for
“al
lst ructures, whet herpoli
ti
cal,economi c,orcultur
al,aremeantt o
faci
litatehumandev elopment ,
thati sourgrowth,thatis,ourgrowthas
consci ous, fr
ee, relati
onalbeingswhoar emadei nt hei mageand
22
l
ikenessofGod. ” Thi siswhy ,theChr i
sti
ansinvolvementi nsocial
poli
tical wel f
arehas, ofnecessity,toemanat efr
om andbei nspir
edby
Scriptural values.I nfact,
theBibl eistheprimarysour cefortheSoci al
Teachi ngoft heChur ch.

Sociali
ssueshavebeentheconcer nofthepeopleofGodri
ghtf
rom
Bibl
icalt
imes.Amongt hef avouri
tethemesoftheOldTest
amentis
thatofJusti
ce.Godsjustice,fl
owingfrom hi
scovenantwi
thhi
speopl
e,
i
st oberefl
ectedi
ntheIsraeli
tes.

2.
2.1Soci
alEt
hicswi
thi
ntheOl
dTest
ament

From thet imeoft heDeut eronomi cl aws, thecov enant ,

andt heear l
iest
prophets,t her eisaspeci alment i
onoft hepoorandaspeci al placei s
accordedt ot hem.Ther ear especi alprov i
si onsandr el
axat i
onofr ules
forthepoor( see:Dt.15: 1-2;24:6,
10- 15,
17- 18. )Theor aclesoft he
prophetsar eal mostent irelymessagesconcer ni
ngsoci alj
ust i
ce( See
Amos5: 22- 24).Recur rentamongt hejust icet hemesar esuchconcept s
ast heanawi m( Hebrewwor dforthel i
ttl
eones, thepoor—or i
ginall
y
“thoseov er whel medbywant ”).Theanawi m ofYahwehwer et hepoor
andpower lessofsoci ety :widows, orphansandst ranger s(Ex.22: 21-27:
Deut .
10:16- 18; 24:17;27:19) .Thei rspeci al statusr ef
lecteda
combi nationofpower lessness, pov ert
yandsy stematicexcl usionf rom
fullmember shipinsoci ety.Godspeopl ear echal l
engedt oseet oitthat
theanawi m hav ethemeanst omeett heirbasi cneedsandar enot
ex cl
udedf rom t hecommuni tyori
tsdeci sionmaki ngbyt heirlackof
means.

22
Dav
i Cat
dBOHR, hol
i
cMor
alTr
adi
ti
on,
OurSundayVi
sit
or,
Hut
ti
ngt
on—I
ndi
ana1999,
325.
 15

I
nt heirpreaching,t
hepr ophetsseem t
omai nt
ainacertai
npref
erent
ial
optionf orthepoor,thewi dows,t
hewor ker
sandt heweak.Theyare
notf i
rstandf oremostinterest
edint
herightsofthosewhohaveorwho
possessbutt hesmal l
,thepoor,t
hewidow,theorphanandtheworker.

Whatoughtt omarktheJewi shcodeofbehav i

ourwassupposedtobe
thecov enantrel
ati
onshipbet weenYahwehandhi speople.Toi
mitat
e
theGodoft heCovenantistobef ai
thfult
otheCovenant.Yahweh
expectedhischosenpeopl etobewi t sl
nessesofhi ove,
hismercy
(hesed)andhi sj
usti
ceamongt hepeople.
2.2.
1.1ThePoor

Inthei rpreaching,thepr ophet sseem t omai ntainacer t

ainpreferential
optionf orthepoor , t
hewi dows,thewor kersandt heweak.Theyar enot
fi
rstandf oremosti nterestedi nther i
ghtsoft hosewhohav eorwho
possessbutt hesmal l,thepoor ,thewi dow, t
heor phanandt hewor ker.
Car efortheanawi m act ual l
ybecamet hetestf orI
sraelsfai
thfulnesst o
Yahweh.Rat herthant heobj ect
sofopt i
onal chari
tyorpiousgener osit
y,
thepoorbecamet hemeasur eofI sr
aelsfideli
tytoYahweh.Ther ight
treatmentoft hepoorl ayatt heheartoft heconceptofbi bl
i
cal j
ust i
ce
andr i
ghteousness( see: Hosea2: 20-21;Is.58:5-9;1:
11-20;Amos5: 21-
25; 8:4-7)
.Goddemandst hem t
obej ustandt ocar eforthepoor
becauseoft hecov enantal li
ance.Fai l
uretocar eforthepoorandt odo
j
ust iceisinfideli
tytoGod.

TheBi bl
e,though,isnotonl
yint
erestedi
nthesemarginal
isedinsociet
y
butalsorightsregardi
ngthosewhoownpr oper
ty.Forinstance,t
hefact
thatyouar epoordoesnotjusti
fyyourst
eali
ng(Ex.
20:
15-17) .However,
thefocusisont hepoorbecausetheyaretheoneswhoar ev ul
nerabl
ein
societ
y(Deut .24:
12).

2.
2.1.
2Just
iceandAl
li
ance

Anotheret hical
issueintheOldTestamentistherelat
ionshi
pbet ween
thecovenantandj usti
ceorsoci
al i
ssues.TheCov enantwasv er
y
centr
altot heJewssomuchsot hattheycanright
lybereferredtoas
Covenantpeopl e. Whatmar kedoutt heJewishcodeofbehav i
ourwas
theconstantr efer
encet ot
heirr
elati
onshi
pwithYahweh, theGodoft he
23
Covenant. Toi mitat
etheGodoft heCovenantistobef ai
thfult
othe

23
Anaccountoft
hisst
oryf
rom abi
bli
calexper
tspoi
ntofv
iewi
spr
ovi
dedbyBer
nar
dW.ANDERSON,
 16

Covenant.Yahwehexpect edhischosenpeopl et obewi tnessesofhis

l
oveandj usticeamongt hepeopl e(see:I
s.1:11-20;Amos5: 21-25).God
demandst hem t obejustbecauseoft hecovenantal l
iance.Ol d
Testamentpr eceptsaremeantt oindicat
etot heIsraeli
teshowt o
i
mitatetheGodwhodel i
veredthem from sl
averyandoppr ession.The
I
sraeli
tesintur nwouldshowt hesamef i
del
it
y ,mercyandki ndnesst o
24
oneanother.

2.
2.2NewTest
amentSoci
alEt
hics

NewTest amentwr i
tersseektodescr i
bethelifeandi denti
tyoft heNew
Way-t hebr eak-awaysectf oundedbyJesusChr ist.Thissectwas
supposedt obedi f
ferentfr
om andpossi blysurpasstheJewi shr eli
gion
andcul t
ureont heonehand, andt heRomancul t
ureont heot herhand.
NewTest amentEt hicsshouldt henbeseeni nthecont extofthisnew
i
dentityoft hepeopleofGod.I tshoul
dber emember ed,howev er,that
theNewWayf oundedbyChr istremainedforsomet i
measectwi thin
Judaism.I nthissense, t
hen, i
tcanbesai dthatJesusChr istdidnot
teachany thingreall
ynew-ordi ff
erentfr
om thepr ophetsofol d.

Howev er,JesusChr istHi msel f-hi sperson-i snew; hehi msel fbecomes
theidealandt henor m.Hi st eachi ngisnotaboutt heJewi shr eli
gion,
ratherthathehi msel fist hest andar d. Assuch, bothhisper sonandhi s
teachingar eimpor tant.
LookingatJesusasaper son, wenot et hathissocialandcul tural
situati
onmakest hought-pr ov oki ngr eadi ngforanybodyi nterestedin
25
socialdev el
opmentwor k. Jesusl iv
ednoti nacity,butinasmal l
vil
lageand, ifwegobyMar ksGospel ,henev erentersaci tyatalluntilhe
goesupt oJer usalem forPassov er.Hei saSonofacar penterina
highlyst r
ati
fiedsoci et
ywher eaf ewar istocrats(3-
5%)l i
v i
ngi nciti
es
cont r
olledmostoft heweal th—l ar gelyland.90%ofpeopl einJesus
societyar epeasant satt hebot tom oft hesoci al
ladderandJesusf amily
i
si nthatgr oup.Wi t
hheav ytaxat ionanddr ought,peasantsbasi cally
l
ivedasubsi stenceex istence, justont heedgeofsur v i
val.WhenJesus
beginst otalkaboutsoci al justice, t
hen, hetalksfrom withinhi sown
experience.

24
Dav
i Cat
dBOHR, hol
i
cMor
alTr
adi
ti
on(
Rev
isedEdi
ti
on)
,OurSundayVi
sit
or,
Hunt
ingt
on-
Indi
ana1999,
326.
25
edKAMMER,Doi
SeeFr ngFait
h-Just
ice:AnI
ntr
oduct
iont
oCat
hol
i
cSoci
alThought
,Paul
i
stPr
ess,
NewYork/Mahwah2004,43-
45.
 17

I
nhisteachi
ng,JesusChr
istgoesbey
ondt
heOl
dTest
amentet
hicsi
n
manyaspects:

Fr
om t
hev
erybegi
nni
ngofhi
smi
nist
ry,
Jesusi
sconcer
nedabout
social i
ssues.Her et urnsf rom hi sbapt i
sm f ill
edwi tht heSpi ri
tand
proclaimshi smani f
est o:“ TheSpi ritoft heLor di sonme, forhehas
anointedmet obr inggoodnewst ot heaf f
licted..... ”Lk.4: 16- 21.
 Hei dent i
fiestheSonofManwi tht hel eastofGodspeopl e, an
i
dent i
f i
cationwhi chr eal lyamount st oanewsoci al teachi ng( See:Last
Judgementi nMt .25: 31- 46: t
hest or yaboutLazar usi nLk.16: 19f f
.)
.
Forhi m, t
hepoorar et heoneswhowi l
ldet ermi net hel ev el ofour
communi onwi thChr ist.
 Tot hePhar iseesJesusemphasi sest hatwhati si mpor tanti snott he
l
egal i
sticobser v
ancest hattheyt roubl et hemsel veswi th, rather ,i
tis
suchwei ght i
ermat tersl ikejusticeandmer cy(Mt .23: 23) .
 Tot hepr iestshesay scul ti
cwor shi porl iturgyi susel essi fi tisnot
translatedi ntoconcr etel oveofnei ghbour( Seet heSt oryoft heGood
Samar i
tani nLk.10: 29- 37) .Theant ithesisbet weent heGood
Samar i
tanandt hepr iesti smeantt odr ivehomet hemessageoft he
relati
onshi pwhi chshoul dbet herebet weencul tandl ife.Thedut yofa
priestismor ethanj ustpr eaching, i
thasal soasoci alconnot ationof
reachingoutt ot hepoorandt hosesuf f
ering.

Hav i
ngseenthechar
acteri
sti
cmarksofNewTest
amentSocial
Ethi
cs
anditsrel
ati
onshi
pwiththeOldTest
amentwewil
lnowoutl
ineoneof
thesocialt
hemespreval
entintheNewTest
ament:ThePr
oblem of
Riches.

Atfir
stsight
,Jesusseemst ocondemnt heri
chpeoplethemselves.I n
Mat t
hew19:24,hedirectsoneofhiscondemnat ionst
ot heri
ch:
“ Yes,I
tel
lyouagain,i
tiseasierforacamel topassthroughtheeyeofaneedl e
thanforsomeoner i
cht oentertheKingdom ofHeaven!”Hesuggest s
thatri
chescannotber econcil
edwiththeKingdom ofGod.

Surpri
singl
y ,
healsomakesf r
iendswi t
htheri
chasisthecasewi th
Zaccheus, aseni
ortaxcollect
orandaweal t
hyman( Lk.19:
1-10).The
arr
angementoft hattimewast hattaxcol
lect
orswouldpaytot he
Emper ororCaesaracer t
ainfixedsum ofmoneyf r
om theregion
entr
ustedt othem.Thesur pl
uswhi chwasusuall
yabi gsum ofmoney
wouldt henremainforthemsel ves.Zaccheuswasnotjustat ax
col
lectororapublican,hewasabossamongt hepubli
cans,thepri
nceof
 18

thetaxcol
lectors!ThatChr i
stwentt ohishousewast hereforeabig
scandal.Howev er
,whatisout st
andingaboutZaccheusi sthathegot
convert
ed:“Iam goingtogi v
ehal fmypropertyt
ot hepoor,andi fIhave
cheatedanybodyIwi l
lpayhi m backfourti
mest heamount ”(Lk19:18).
Insuchaway ,
thenotoriousgapt henwouldbedest royed!Thi sti
me
Jesusdoesnotcondemnhi m becauseheiswi l
l
ingtoshar eandgi ve
backwhathehadt akenf r
om thepoor .Thisi
sasi gnoflove,exactly
whatJesusr ecommends.Thesoci aldi
mensionofrichesormoneyi s
whatisservedinsharing!

2.
3Theol
ogi
calBasi
s:t
heI
ncar
nat
ion

Thechallengi
ngt askincompr ehendi
ngther elati
onshipbet weenthe
Churchandt hewor l
d,reli
gionandsoci etyisinestabli
shingat heologi
cal
basi
sf orthi
sr el
ati
onship.Itwoul dnotsuf f
icetoamet hodologi
cal
commi tmentt ofaceandlistent osoci
etyifthiswer enotinsomewayi n
l
inewiththef oundati
onaltheol ogi
calf
ramewor kthatdefinesthe
26
rel
ati
onshipbet weenhumani t
yandGod.

Themy st eryoft heI ncarnat i

onpr ovidesoneoft hemosti nsi ghtf
ul
theological framewor kst hroughwhi chwecanbaset hecor rect
under standingoft her elati
onshipbet weenhumani tyandGod, thewor l
d
andt heChur ch.“I nr eali
ty,iti
sonl yi ntheMy steryoft heWor dmade
27
fl
esht hatt hemy ster yofhumani tybecomescl ear.” Par toft henov elt
y
ofGaudi um etspesl i
esi nthisexcept ionalabil
it
yt oseei nt hemy ster
yof
theIncar nationt hemeani ngandr edempt i
onofbot hhi storyand
humani t
y .Pr iortot heCounci l
,thecl assicalunderst andingwast hatof
ashar pdi stinctonasupernat
i ur
alor der—t hecont extoft hesal vati
onof
humani t
y ,andanat ur alorder—t hel ocusoft hehi storyofhumani t
yand
28
ofsoci al i
nteraction. Acl oseconsi derati
onoft hemy steryof
I
ncar nationhashel pedt obr i
dget hegapbet weent het wo.

26
See,Geor TheConcr
geBULEYA, et
eHumanCondi
ti
on:APr
ivi
l
egedLocusf
orMor
alTr
uth,
(aDoct
oral
Thesis)
,Tipogr
afi
caLeberi
t,Roma1999,
77-
78.
27
CONCI UM VATI
LI CANUM I
I,“Constit
uti
oPast oral
i
sdeEccl esiainMundoHui usTempor isGaudium et
spes7December1965i nAct aApostolicaeSedis58(1966) ,1025-1120hereatPar agraphNumber
22. AllEngli
shquot ati
onsher eaft
erwillbefrom Austi
nFLANNERY( ed.)“
PastoralConsti
tuti
onont he
Churchi ntheModer nWor ldGaudi um etspes”i nTheBasi cSixteenDocument sVat i
canCouncilII
:
Consti
tutions Decrees Declarati
ons (A Compl etel
y Revised Translat
ion i
ni nclusi
vel anguage)
,
Costel
lo,NewYor k1996, 163-282.
28
SeeEnr
icoCHI ,“LaTeol
AVACCI ogi aGaudi
adel
l um etspes”quot nG.BULEYA,TheConcr
edi ete
HumanCondit
ion,99.
 19

Thef actt hatint heIncar nationGodassumedourhumannat ure,wor king

withhumanhands, thi
nki ngwi thahumanmi ndhasr est oredand
29
under scoredt hedi gnityofhumannat ureandact iv
ity. TheI ncarnat i
on
oftheSonofGodi sapeakev entwi thintheeconomyofsal vation
throughwhi chGodopenedhi msel ftot hepoi ntofbecomi ngonewi th
them.Thr ought heI ncarnation, Godent eredintot hev eryhi storyof
humani ty(thedescendi ngdi mensi on)andt hehumancondi ti
onwas
30
assumedi ntodi vi
nity(theascendi ngdi mensi on). Onaccountoft he
I
ncar nat i
on, humanbei ngscannol ongerconsi derGodast rangert ot he
organi sati
onoft heirli
v es.I tisint hehi stor
yofhumani t
yt hatt he
my ster yofsalv ati
oni scompl etedandt hi
siswhyt hehi stor yofhumani t
y
31
andt hehi storyofsal vati
onar ei nt
er connect ed. I not herwor ds, t
he
historyofSal vati
oni st hehistoryofhumani ty-t heologyi sant hropology !

29
TheConcr
G.BULEYA, eteHumanCondi
ti
on,
81-
82.
30
I
bid.
,100.
31
I
bid.
,84-
85.
 20

Soci
alConcer
nint
heChr
ist
ianTr
adi
ti
on

3.
1TheSoci
alTeachi
ngoft
heFat
her
soft
heChur
ch

Acl oselookatt heFat hersoftheChur chisveryimpor t

antbecauset hei
r
teachingisanef f
ortt
omakesenseoft heOl dandt heNewTest ament .
Theyal sogi v
eusi ndicati
onsofhowt heearl
yChur choper atedi
ni t
s
i
ni t
ialbeginnings.Fort hepurposesoft hi
sst udy,theSocialTeachingof
theFat herswi l
lbegroupedi ntwotimecat egories:bef
oreConst antine
(thatis,beforeChrist
ianit
ywasof fi
ciall
yrecognised)andaf ter
Const anti
ne( thati
s,afterChri
sti
anit
ywasof fi
ciall
yrecognised)
.

3.
1.1Soci
alConcer
nint
hePr
e-Const
ant
ineEr
a

TheperiodbeforeConstantine,t
hatistheperiodupunt i
l313AD,wasa
peri
odinwhi chthefoll
owersofChr i
stwereami nor
ity
.Ont heonehand,
theChurchhadt odefendher sel
ffr
om theRomanaut hori
ti
esand,onthe
otherhand,shehadt odefendherselff
rom tendenciesofthepagan
worldofthatti
me.I twasbyandl ar
geaper iodofpersecuti
onandalso
ofheresi
es.

Onaposi ti
venote,thi
swasal soaper i
odofr apidexpansi onoft he
Church.Thi sexpansioni sat tri
butedt othest r
ongsenseofcommuni ty
thatwaspor t
rayedbyt heear lyChr i
stians.Becauseoft hel ovet hatthey
showedt ooneanot herandt hespi ritofsharingt hattheydi splayed, t
he
carethatt heygavetopr isoner s,t
heneedyandev enstranger s,many
peoplebecameat tr
actedt ot heirwayofl i
fe.Ev idenceoft hi sattit
ude
amongChr i
sti
ansisgivenbyJust i
nt heMar t
y randTer tull
ian( AD150-
220).Ter tull
i
anemphasi sedt heneedt ogiveupexcessr i
chesand
putti
ngi tinacommonf und.Ter tul
li
anr eportsthatev erySundaygi f
ts
werepr esentedtotheBi shopwhi chdeaconsl aterdistri
but edtot hepoor
especiallywidowsandor phans.Oneofhi sobser vati
onswast hatthe
caretheChr i
sti
ansgav et othepoorandt heneedybecamet heir
dist
inctivesignbeforet heenemy:...see, t
heysay ,howt heyl ov eone
anotherandhowr eadyt heyar et odief oreachot her!

Accordi
ngtothehi st
orianEusebi
us,deaconsalsovisi
tedprisoners
bri
ngi
nggif
tstot hem andwor ki
ngforthei
rli
berati
onbymobi li
sing
Chri
sti
anstobailthem outandsomet i
mesev enbybr i
bingthej ail
ers.
Loveandcarealsoex tendedtovi
cti
msofpl aguesanddi sasters,
 21

tr
avel
ler
s,andt
hedead. Just
inhi
mselfissai
dtohav
ebeenconv er
ted
havi
ngseenthecommuni
tyspir
itt
hatr
eignedamongtheChr
ist
ians.

TheChr i
stianit
yoft hePr e-Const antineer awasaChr i
sti
anitythatasked
foraconcr etesty
leofl i
fe-asoci alordert hatprovidedforev ery
body
andnev erall
owedany bodyt obei nneed. TheFat hersoftheChur ch
werenotonl yconcer nedwi tht hef ormul ati
onandt hepassingonof
doctri
ne; t
heywer ealsoi nterestedi nthepr acti
calelementst hatwould
i
nstit
uteanewwayofl i
feandbearwi tnesst other edemptionbr ought
aboutbyJesus.Notonl ywer et heyconcer nedwi t
ht hesocial
conditi
onsoft hei
rcont empor ari
esbutt heyal so,i
nsodoi ngand
perhapsunconsci ously,begant ot oucht heessent i
al r
equir
ementf or
someki ndofsoci aldoctrine: j
ust i
ceandequal i
tyintheeconomi cfi
eld
andsoci alpromotionoft heoppr essedanddest it
uteclasses—notasa
theorybutasamat erofpr
t act i
ce!

Howev er,thei
rweaknessatt hi
sstagelayintheirinabi
l
itytospeak
againstslaveryandtheirr
ejecti
onofi nt
eresttaking.Infair
nesstothem,
though,itmustbesai dthattheywer emenoft heirowntimeandi nany
caseatt hisearl
ystageitwoul dbewr ongtolookf oracompr ehensi
ve
andsy st
emat icsocial
doctrinefrom theFathers.

3.
1.2Af
tert
heEdi
ctofConst
ant
ine(
313+)t
otheendoft
hePat
ri
sti
c
Er
a

Const anti
newast heRomanEmper orwhochangedt hewholecoursefor
thest atusofChr i
sti
ani t
y.Attr
ibuti
nghi svi
ctor
yt othepowerofthe
32
ChristianGod, hei ssuedanedi ctofr el
igi
oustolerance.Ashisreign
progressed, Constantinesupportedt heChri
sti
ansmor eandmore
maki ngChr i
stiani
tytheof f
ici
alreli
gionoftheRomanEmpi r
e.Hehimself
wasev enbapt i
sedbef orehisdeath.Thus, heinauguratedanewerain
whichChr i
sti
anityenjoyedanewst atus.

Butthisinsti
tutionofChr i
sti
anityasast at
eRel igionhaditsown
advantagesanddi sadvantages.Suddenl y,therewasf reedom of
worshipandpr eachingandt heStatestart
edf undi ngt
heChur ch.The
Churchacqui redal otofpropertyandtherewasagener aleconomic
boom int heRomanEmpi r
e.Manygoodsconf iscatedbeforeunder
Diocl
etianwer egivenbackt ot heChurchandl ar gefort
uneshadbeen
donatedt otheChur chbyconv er
ts.Howev er,somepeopl ewer el
efti
n

32
J.
M. AHi
C.WAND, stor
yoft
heEar
lyChur
cht
oA.
D.500,
Ment
huen,
London/
NewYor
k1937.
 22

thei
rpover
tyuntouchedbyt hi
sboom.TheChur chandtheStat
e
becamealmostoneandi tstart
edbecomi ngincr
easi
ngl
ydif
fi
cultt
o
i
dentif
yonefrom theothereveninsocial
areas.Insomecasessecul
ar
powersevenbegant oi
nterveneinrel
i
giousspheres.

Inthefaceofsuchacl oser elati

onshi pbet weent heChur chandt he
Stateandi nthecont extofagener aleconomi cboom t hatfai
ledtot ouch
everybody,thefathersoft hechur chat t
empt edt oaddr essthesoci al
i
ssuesatst ake.Ont hel eveloftheor y,someFat hersoft heChur ch
begant oadv ocatefort hesepar ationofpower sbet weent heChur chand
theStateinanef forttof reetheChur chf r
om excessi vesecularinf l
uence.
Ont helevelofpractice, theChur chbegant hent obei nvolvedin
charit
ablewor kbybui ldinghousesf orthesi ck,fortravell
ersand
orphans.St .Basil(
379d. )dedicatedmuchofhi st i
mei nthiswor k.The
l
ocal bi
shopwasr esponsi bl
ef orsuchchar it
yinstit
utions.Thi swasnot
akindofapr i
vatedut yf orthebishopbuti tconst i
tutedthepr i
ori
tyf or
hisoffi
ce.Thi swast hebegi nningoft hei nvolvementoft heChur chi n
thesocialwel f
areoft hepeopl e.

Theedi ctofConstantinechangedt herel

ati
onshipbetweenchur chand
secularpower sbri
ngingwi thi
tnewchal l
engesandnewoppor tuni
ties.
Alt
hought hereweresomeweaknessesi nhowt heearlyChur chhandl ed
someoft hesociali
ssuesoft hetimewehav et
ounder standt hatthe
Churchwasj ustdi
scov eri
nginpracti
ceitssoci
almission;therewer eno
syst
emat i
cet hi
cal
principl
estoguidet hedi
rect
ionofitssocial mission.

3.
2TheWr
it
ingsoft
heFat
her
sonSomeSoci
alI
ssues

Thef ather soft heChur chdidnotdev elopanyor ganisedsoci altheor y

butwedohav esomei mpor tanti ndicat i
onsi nthei
rwr it
ingst hatgi veus
achancet oexami net hesoci al orderoft hatti
me.I nthissense, i
tcan
besai dt hatpat ri
stict eachingcont ainedsomedoct ri
neont henat ureof
privat
eowner ship,thesoci alf unct i
onofweal t
h,andpar ti
cularlythe
questionofi nterestandusur y ,andt hequest i
onofsl averyandwor k.
3.2.1Pr i
v ateOwner shi pofPr oper t
y
Thequest ionofpr ivateowner shi porpr i
vatepropertyreceivesal otof
attenti
onbyt heFat her s.Accor dingt omostoft heFat hers-par t
icular
ly
Ambr ose, int hepr i
mi t
ivest ate, thatis, thestatebeforetheFal lofMan,
everythingwascr eat edf orthecommonuseofev erybody .Pr ivate
propertyi sbutt heconsequenceofor iginalsi
nbecausei tintr
oduces
i
nequal ityamongpeopl e.Pr iv ateproper tyi
snott heoriginalideaofGod
 23

becausei
nreal
i
tymandoesnotownanyt
hingatal
l
;ever
ythi
nghasbeen
creat
edbyGodandever
ythi
ngbel
ongst
oHi m(Chr
ysost
om).

Tospeakpr operl
yonproper
tyistospeakabouttheuseand
administ
rationofthegoodsgivenbyGod.Mostoft heFat
hersdonot
condemnpr iv
ateownershi
passuchbutt heabuseofit.St.Basi
l
speaksoft hecommondest inati
onofthegoodscreatedbyGodandSt .
ClementofAl exandr
iaseeswealthasameansf ormakingoffell
owship
andsharing.Amancanownt hi
ngspri
vatel
ybuthispri
vat
eowner shi
p
shouldbelimi t
edbyneedsoft hepoorandtheneedy.

Att hetimeofwor seningeconomiccondit

ions,
aswast hecaseatthe
endoft hef our thcentury,t
heFathersar
emuchmor ev i
gorousi
ntheir
attackont heex cessiveaccumulati
onofri
chesinthehandsoff ew.In
theirhomili
est heydenouncet heloveofmoneyandt helackofconcern
33
fort hepoor. Howev er,
ther
eisnocompul sor
ysharing;pri
vat
e
proper t
yremai nsprivate!

3.2.2TheFunct i
onofProper
ty
Whatt heFathersst
ressi
stheSocialFunctionofPr
opert
y.Whiletaki
ng
priv
atepropertyasareal
it
yaftert
hefall
,theybri
ngt taf
oi undamental
l
y
newsoci aldi
mension.Inwhichsense?

Romanl awv iewedowner shipasahumanr ightwithoutr estricti

onsor
socialobl
igat i
ons.TheFat hers,ont hecont rary,t
ransformt hesenseof
ownership: wear enotowner sbutst ewards! Ourat t
itudet opr operty
shouldbei nspiredbyt heex ampl eofChr i
stwhowasdet achedt oearthl
y
goodsandi dentifi
edhi msel fwi t
ht hepoor .Al msgi vi
ngi sanecessar y
condit
ionofbei ngaChr isti
an.Thosewhoar er i
chshoul dimi t
ateGod' s
benefi
cenceandgener ositybyshar i
ngt heirmat eri
algoodswi ththe
needy.Ambr osegoest otheext entofsay i
ng“ Godor der edt hatthere
shouldbef oodi ncommonf orallandt hattheear thshoul dbet he
commonpossessi onforal l”(DeOf f
icii
sI,132).Al msgi vingi snot hi
ng
butresti
tutionofst ol
engoods.I nalmsgi vi
ng“ youar enotmaki ngagi f
t
ofyourpossessi onst othepoorper son;youar ehandi ngov ertohi m
whatishis”( DeNabut ha, 12,53).St .JohnChr ysostom di stinguishes
betweenweal thwhi chi sGodsgi ftandr uthlessgreedwhi chmakes
ownershipsi nful.St .August i
ne, onhispar t,al
sodenouncest hemi suse
ofproperty.Ther ei sonewaywhi challtheFat hersthinksol idarit
ywi t
h
thepoorcanbeshown: almsgi ving.

33
Cat
D.BOHR, hol
i
cMor
alTr
adi
ti
on,
330.
 24

3.2.3Freedom andEqual ity

Anot herimpor
tantfactisthattheChur chandt heFathersdef i
nitel
y
affi
rmedandpr oclai
medt hebasicequal i
tyandfreedom ofal lhuman
beings.Thebasi softhispr ocl
amat i
onwast heGospel i
tself:ever
y
humanbei ngi
sthechildofGod, menandwomen.TheFat herswer e
unani mousinthei
rbeliefthathumanbei ngsar efreebynatur eandt hat
sl
av eryiscont
rarytothehumandi gni
ty .GregoryofNy ssa( 335-394)
boldlyspokeagainstslavery:

Tel
lmehow muchi syourli
fewor th? Whathaveyoufound
amongthecr
eatur
esthati
sasv aluabl
easyourhumannatur
e?
Howmanycentsdidyoupayforreason? Howmanypencedid
youthi
nkGodsimageisworth? ...Now t el
lmewhoi sthe
onewhobuys,whoistheonewhosel l
stheonewhoisGods
34
i
mage?

Onsl aver
y,themaj ori
tyoftheFat hersconcentr
atedont ryi
ngt oimprove
theconditi
onofsl avesrecogni singtheirf
undament alri
ghtsand
freedom,andcondemnedsl av er
yasanev ili
nst
it
ution.Byandl arge,t
he
reali
tyofthepresenceofsl av eswasunder st
oodas( i)economi c
necessity
;(i
i)productofwar ; (i
ii
)consequenceofdi sharmony-si n!In
factthecler
gyandr el
igi
ousi nstitut
ionsthemselveshadsl aves!

3.
2.4Concl
udi
ngRemar
ks

Ashasbeenpoi nt
edout ,theFat hersoftheChurchdidnotdevelopa
complet
eandsy stemati
cSoci aldoctri
neoftheChurch. Howev er,we
cansti
ll
sayt hattheybuiltsolidfoundationsfort
heSocialdoctr
ineof
theChurchthrought hei
rpr acti
cal i
nvol
vementandbasicdirecti
ves.
Thei
rsocial
t eachingwasf undament al
lythatoft
heScript
ure,whichthey
appl
iedanddev elopedint helightofthenewhi st
ori
calcir
cumstances.

Thequestionmanypeopleaskist his:Howr el
evantar etheSocial
Teachi
ngoft heFather
softheChur chgiventhatmor et hanathousand
year
shav epassedsincet
helastgr oupofthosereferredt oasFather
sof
theChurchandalsoconsider
ingther api
dchangesi nthewor ldoftoday
?
I
tiswiththisquest
ioninmindthatweshoul doutli
ne,oncemor e,t
he

34
om Homi
Fr l
yonEccl
esi
ast
es4,
cit
edi
nJ. TheWor
F.KELLY, ld,
146.
 25

rel
evanceofPat
ri
sti
cSoci
alt
eachi
ngbyhi
ghl
i
ght
ingt
heposi
ti
veaspect
s
andthedarksi
de.

Ont heposi tivesi de, wenot e:

 Th esoci alandeconomi crelat i
onsar esubj ect
edt onor msofj ustice
andchar it
y.I not herwor ds, almsgi vi
ngshoul dnotonl ybeseenasan
optional actofchar i
tybutadut yinjusti
ceaswel l,forpr iortot he
wor ksofchar i
t yar ethedemandsofj ustice!Ther ei stheobl i
gationof
shar i
ngwi t
handpl acingintheser v
iceofot hersal li
ndi vi-dual
super f
luousandper sonal gi
ft s.I tshouldber emember edt hat
mat erialgoodsar edest i
nedbyGodf ortheuseofal lhumanbei ngs
forthei rbasicneeds.
 Th ecommongoodhaspr i
macyov erindivi
dual i
nter est.I ti
sunj ustt
o
uset imesofnat i
onal cal
ami tiesasoppor tunit
iest omakeand
i
ncr easei ndividual profit
.
 Allhumanbei ngsar eessent iallyequal what ev
ert heirsoci al
condi t
ions.
 Th enecessi tyf ort heconv ersi onofhear tanddet achmentf rom
earthil
ypossessi ons;
 Th eident i
fi
cat i
onofChr i
stwi ththepoori sanov eltyt hatr emainsa
challengingmodel inanyeconomi csoci aljust
iceendeav our .

Thesearepoi
ntsinthewri
ti
ngsoftheFathersoft
heChurchwhichl
ay
goodfoundat
ionsunder
lyi
ngthesoci
alteachi
ngoftheChurcht
oday.

Whenev eryt
hingi
ssai d,though,weshouldnotforgetthoughthatwhat
wecal lt
heSocialTeachingoft heFat
hersoftheChur chisbuta
reconstr
ucti
onoftheirteachingbasedonaf ewr ecoveredsour
ces:
Therefor
e,wecannotcapt ur
efull
ywhattheirt
eachingwas.
35
3.3TheMi ddleAgesandSchol ast
icSynthesi
s

The Chur ch conti

nued to accumul ate more and mor e civ
ilpower
36
especiall
yduet othecoll
apseoft heRomanEmpi re. I nfact,unti
lthe
emer genceoft hefeudalst
ateint heTwel ft
hCent ury,t
heChur chwas
theonlyv i
ablesoci
alorgani
sati
onr emaini
ngintacti
nt heWesternhalfof
thethendef unctRomanEmpi re. Ast heChurchfoundher sel
fmov ing
closert othe centre ofthe civ
ilor der,she began toimagi ne the

35
I
nthi
ssect
ion,
wear
eindebt
edt
oDav
i Cat
dBOHR, hol
i
cMor
alTr
adi
ti
on,
330-
332.
36
AConci
T.BOKENKOTTER, seHi
stor
y,99f
f.
 26

i
nsti
tuti
onofaunif
iedChrist
ianci
vi
li
sati
onwhosespi
ri
twoul
dpenet
rat
e
andrenewthewholefabr
icofsoci
ety.

Thi snewsi tuati

oncal ledf oranewt heol ogical visionorr atheranew
pol i
ticaltheor ywi that heol ogical basis.TheMedi ev altheologians, not
fi
ndi ngadequat ebasi sf orpol i
ti
cal theor yint heScr iptures, t
urnedt o
classi cal Greekphi losophyasanaddi tional sour ce.ForThomas
Aqui nas, theSt atewasani nstit
ut ionofnat ur alor derandt heChur ch,
i
nst ead, bel ongedt ot hesuper nat uralor derofgr ace.Fol lowingf rom
thisor der ,then, t
empor alpower sar esubj ectt ospi r
itualpower s.I nfact
,
theSt atewasnecessi tatedbyt hef allofman; bef oret hef allt
herewas
har monyandt herewoul dbenoneedf ort heexi stenceoft heSt ate.
Wi thr egar dt otheact ual f
or m ofpol it
ical author i
ty,Thomasf avour eda
const i
tutional governmentbasedupont heconsentoft hegov erned,
ex pressedt hrought hepr i
ncipleofr epr esent ation.Thi spr i
ncipledi dnot
takei tsf ullforceint het i
meoff eudal ism —asy st em basedonsoci al
dut i
esandnotr ights.Soci al dutiesandobl igat i
onsat t
achedt oones
soci al r
ole( tenantorf eudal Lord)t ookpr i
orit
yov eri ndividualdesires
andwant s.Thest ressonsoci al dut i
esandobl i
gat i
onswasbasedon
thebel i
eft hatoncet hesear efollowedt hent otal domest i
ct r
anqui l
lity
woul dbeensur ed.

3.
4TheI
mpactoft
heMaki
ngoft
heModer
nWor
ld

From theFif
teent
hCent ur
y,anumberofimport
antdevel
opment sbegan
totakeplacewhosecombi nedeff
ectfor
cedtheCathol
icChurch,asit
were,towakeupf rom hersl
umbersandoff
ici
all
ybeginteachi
ngon
social
issues:

I
nt heFourteenthandFi f
teent hCenturi
es,ther
ediscoveryofcl assical
GreekandRomanl i
terat
ureint hevari
ousmonast icli
brari
esusher edina
peri
odofRenai ssance-r ebi
rthofknowl edge.TheRenai ssancef uell
ed
i
npeopl ethedesi ret ofi
nd,readandanal yseori
ginaltextswhi chi nturn
begantoposeser iousquest ionsaboutexisti
ngtranslati
onsandor ders.
Aspiri
tofcr i
ti
cal judgementwassl owlybeingcreatedwhi ch,assome
37
hist
ori
ansar gue, wasdi r
ectl
yr esponsibl
efortheRef ormation. I
nfact,
theRenaissanceper iodi
sof tenregardedasabr i
dgebet weent he
Medievalandt heModer nwor l
d.

37
Der
ekHOLMES &Ber
nar
dBI
CKERS,AShor
tHi
stor
yoft
heCat
hol
i
cChur
ch,Bur
nsandOat
es,Kent
1983,
119-
122.
 27

Thebi ggestdi rectchal lenget ot heaut horit

yoftheChur chcamef rom
38
thePr ot estantRef ormat ion. Whi leCatholicmendi cantandreli
gious
ordersgav ewi t
nesst ot heinsi gnificanceofwor ldlypossessions,
Protest ant i
sm r ejectedt hisot her -
wor l
dlystanddemandi nginstead
39
acti
ver eligiousi nvolv ementi nt hemar ketplace. Wi thregardtowork,
whilemedi evalCat hol icism consi deredeachper sonascal l
edt oa
dist
inctt askt obeunder takenwi thoutper sonalgainorsat i
sfacti
on,
Calvinist“ wor ket hicst resseddi ligenceandcel ebratedsuccessasa
40
signofGodsf av our. Ont hesoci alscene, theProtestantsanti-
papal
doctrinesandmor al posi ti
onspr ovedmor econduci vetocapitali
st
expansi ont hanCat hol i
cdoct rine.

38
Fortheimpactoft
heRefor
mat
iononCat
hol
i
cSoci
alThought
,see,
amongot
her Cat
s:D.BOHR, hol
i
c
MoralTr
adit
ion,
333-
334.
39
I
bid.
,333.
40
I
bid.
 28

Soci
alTeachi
ngoft
heChur
chi
nModer
nTi
mes

4.
1Immedi
ateHi
stor
ical
Cont
ext

Theencycli
calRerum nov ar
um byPopeLeoXI I
Imarkedt hebeginni
ngof
41
anewer aintheSocialteachingoftheCat hol
icChurch. I nordert
o
appr
eciatetheimportanceoft hi
sency cl
ical
,iti
snecessar ytoexamine
thei
mmedi atecontextwithi
nwhi chtheChur chunderLeof el
ttheneed,
fort
hefir
sttime,todeal wit
hsocialissuesonanof fi
cialanda
syst
ematiclevel
.

Whenwet al
kabouttheper
iodbef
oreLeoXI IIwearel
argel
ytal
king
t
h th
abouttheperi
odaftert
heRefor
mation(the17 and18 centuri
es).
Thisperi
odformstheimmediat
ehistor
ical oundofRer
backgr um
novarum.

Byt he17thCent ury,thev igouroft heRef ormat ionwassl owl ybei ng

spent .Howev er,t
hei ntellect ual fermentoft heRenai ssanceandt he
l
iber ati
ngef fectoft heRef or mat ionusher edi nanepochofnewi deas.
Disgust edbyt hecont inuousconf li
ctbetweent het hroneandt heAl t
ara
hostofEur opeanmi nds,someoft hem qui teal i
enat edf rom t heChur ch,
begant osket chanewwor l
dv iewandsoci al orderbasedonr easonand
science.Thei rgoal wast her econst i
tuti
onofpol i
ti
cal andi ntellectual
l
ifet otal
lyundert hesuper visionofphi losophyandsci ence.The
thi
nker sint hismov ement—cal l
edt heEnl i
ght enment—cov ereda
whol ef i
eldofknowl edge: thecosmos, philosophy ,sociology ,
anthr opology, moralsandr eli
gi on.Thesewer ear easofknowl edgeand
realitywhoseexpl anat i
onwashi thert
oconsi der edt heexcl usivedomai n
oftheChur ch.Not ableamongt hesemi ndswer eMachi avelli(1546-
1627)wi thhissecul arpol itical theory ;Coper nicuswi thhi sreject ionof
thei deaoft heear thast hecent reoft heuni verse; Gal i
leowho
adv ocatedf orscient if
icobser v ationbef oremaki nganyst atement s
aboutnat ure;andt hephi losopherDescar t
eswhocameupwi thhi s
“met hodicaldoubt ”asawayofar ri
vingatt ruth.Thewor ldpictur et hat
thi
smov ementcr eat edwasonet hatweakenedt heposi tionoft he

41
Thereisampl eli
terat
ureont heSocialTeachingoftheChur chsinceRer um novarum. Ourmai n
sourcesintheanal ysi
soft hi
sper i
odwi lbe:DonalDORR,Opt
l ionforthePoor :AHundredYear sof
Vati
canSoci alTeaching(RevisedEdi ti
on),Gi
llandMacmi l
l
an,Dublin1992;JosephGREMI ON,
LLI The
GospelofPeaceandJust ice:Cat holi
cSocialTeachingSincePopeJohn,Or bisBooks,Mar y
knoll—
New Yor k1976;Geor geLOBO,Chur chandSoci alJust
ice,GujaratSahi
tiyaPrakash,Anand— I ndi
a
1993;PaulVALLELY(ed.)
,TheNewPol i
ti
cs:Catholi
cSocialTeachingfortheTwenty-f
it
stCentury,
SCM
Press,London1998.
 29

Churchasthesourceofal
lknowledgeandl
oosenedt
hebondbet
ween
theStat
e/Soci
etyandtheChurch.

TheEnl i
ght enmentgav ebirtht opol i
ticalandeconomi crev oluti
ons.I n
thespher eofpol iti
cs, therev oluti
onbegani nFrancei n1789.Thi s
FrenchRev olutionwasanat tempt ,ont hepar tofpeopl etot ranslatethe
theoriesoft heEnl i
ghtenmenti ntor eal i
ty.TheFr enchRev oluti
onbegan
asamov ementt or eformt heFr enchgov erningregimebutendedup
askingf ort her eplacementoft heanci entr egime.Fort hepr oponent sof
thisrevol uti
on, theonl ywayt oi mpl ementt heirfr
eedom wast oremov e
theanci entr egimewhi cht heysawasahi ndrancetoper sonal freedom.
Theywant edt or eplacei twi thademocr aticall
yelectedr egime.Si nce
theChur chandSt atewer ecl oselyr elatedt oeachot her ,fort hi
schange
totakepl acei twasf eltthatChur chhadal sot ounder gor efor m.Thi s
didnotgowel lwi t
ht hechur ch, andsoshebecamehost i
leandopposed
therev olut i
on.Thepr ivil
egesoft hecl ergysuchasl andandmoneywer e
takenawayf rom t hem.Ef fortst omar ginalizetheChur chwentonunt i
l
PopePi usI Xcoul dntt akeitanyl ongerandi n1864emphat i
cal l
ysaid
“NO”t ot hewhol eideol ogyofl iber ali
sm.TheChur chwasi nef fectin“a
stateofsi ege”andi tcl osedi tsdoor st othewor l
dandi t
schangi ng
theories.

Ont heeconomi csi

de, t
heI ndustri
alRev ol
utiont hatbegani nEnglandin
1800poseddi ffi
cul
tsoci alquesti
ons.Ast echnol ogyimpr oved,
sophisti
cat
edmachi nerybegant obeusedi nf actoriesparti
cularl
ythe
clot
h-makingfactori
es.Thei ncreaseinproduct ion,inturn,i
ncreased
thedemandf orlabourers.Manypeopl emov edf rom ruralareastothe
fact
orytownar easinsear chforwor k.Asmanpowerwasnoti nshort
supply,t
helabourerswer emi str
eated.80%oft hem wer eunder -
aged
boysandgi r
lsandlotsofwomenaswel l.Al thought heywor kedfor
l
onghour s,t
heirwageswer ev er
ylowandt heyl i
vedi npoorhouses.
Slumsbegant odev el
opandpeopl el i
vedunderv eryunhygienic
conditi
ons.Inshor t,
thesoci alconditi
onswer everypathetic.

4.
2Ini
ti
alReact
ions

TheChurchwasslowt orecognisethedet er
iorat
ingstat
eofaffai
rsand
asaresul
tofthisi
twasal soslowinr espondingtothesoci
alcondit
ion.
ManyChurchfigur
esconfusedt heIndustri
alRevolut
ionwit
hthe
l
iber
ali
sm oft
heFr enchr
ev ol
ution.
 30

Onlysomef ewindividualswithintheChur ch,howev er,begunt oseethe

pli
ghtofwor ker
s.Thi swast houghani solat
edi ndivi
dual init
iati
ve.The
Churchasawhol ewashost i
l
et oanydi st
urbancesassoci atedwi tht
he
Industr
ialRevol
ution.Theonet hingthatwascl earfortheChur chwas
thatinordertohav et hingsundercontroltherewasneedt or estoret
he
oldorderemphasi singt hecrucialrol
eofleader shipandaut horit
y.How
muchoft hi
swasapr oductofnost al
gicfeeli
ngsi samat t
erof
speculati
on.

Asregardsthepeopl e,therewasagener alhost

il
it
yt owardstheChurch.
Manyoft hewor kerslostint
erestintheChurchperceivi
ngitasan
i
rrel
evantinst
it
ut i
onbecauseofi tsinabi
li
tytoaddresstheirprobl
ems.
Theyturnedtosecul arideasandembr acedothert
heor i
essuchas
Marxism astheset ouchedthepr act
ical
li
feofthepeopl e.

4.
4PopeLeoXII sRer
Iandhi um Novar
um
(
OntheCondi
ti
onoftheWorki
ngclasses)

Fort hef irsttime, i

nt hepersonofPopeLeoXI I
I,theChur chspoke
official
lyont he“ socialquesti
onoft hatt imepr otestingst rongl yagai nst
thehar shcondi ti
onswhi chtheindust ri
al wor kerswer eendur ing.Thi s
prot estwascont ainedinthePopesency cli
cal Rer um nov arum ( OfNew
Things)i ssuedi n1891.Al thoughhi thertoi ndiv i
dual represent ati
v es
andgr oupswi thintheCat holi
cChur chandt heChr i
stianSoci al
mov ement shadmadeef fortstoaddr esst hesoci alquest ionoft he
wor kers, itwasonaccountoft heency clical ofPopeLeoXI I
It hat
attent i
onofl argear easofthepubl icwi thint heChur chwasdr awnt othe
wor kersquest ion.Sogr ound-breakingwast hisency cl
ical thatonl ya
fewday saf t
eri twasr el
eased,translationswer einci rculational lov er
thewor ldandi tsex tr
actsfoundt heirwayev eni nPr otestant ,Soci ali
st
andl i
beral Jour nal
s.PopeLeoXI I
Iwast hef ir
stPopet ospeaki na
syst emat i
candof fici
alwayont hepr oblemsoft hewor kers.

BeforehebecamePope, Leowasadi pl
omatandpeopl enev erthought
hewoul dchanget hings.Inhi st r
avels,i
twasincreasinglybecomi ng
evidentthatt
herewasadown- sidetot hemassiveweal thwhi chthe
Industri
alRevoluti
onwascr eatingfortheruler
sandowner sofEurope.
Theabj ectworkingandl i
vi
ngcondi t
ionsofthelabourersr eveal
edt he
exploit
ativ
eunder -
bellyofcapitali
sm therebypromptingal sother i
seof
 31

42
communi sm andthemat eri
ali
sticatheism whichaccompani edi t
. In
fact
,sinceConst anti
nest imewhenRomani nsti
tuti
onswer eplacedat
theserviceofChr i
sti
anityandv icev ersa,
theChur chhadal mostal way s
43
i
nsti
nct i
velytakenthesi deofaut horit
yandt herich. Nowt hatthe
Churchwasr el
ativ
elyfreef r
om itscloseinvolvementi nt
empor alaf fai
rs,
LeoXIIIsetoutt oaddresst hesoci alquesti
onoft het ime:asmall group
ofextravagantlyri
chpeopl ehadl aidupont hegr eatmul t
it
udeof
44
unpropertiedworkersay okeli
tt
lebet tert
hant hatofsl av
eryi
tself.

Fi
rst
,thePopebegi nswi thanaccur atedescr ipti
onoft hesoci al
pr
oblem athand( RN1- 4):
-t her evol uti
onar y( poli
ti
cal)changeoft heti
me( i
.e.the
FrenchRev oluti
on)hasgi v
enbi r
tht oeconomi cr evol uti
on
(i
.e.theI ndustrialRev ol
ut i
on);
-t heneweconomi cclimateandt henewt echniquesar e
stri
kingoutnewpat hs:
( i
) r elati
onsbet weenempl oyeeandempl oy erhav e
beenchanged;
( i
i
) t herei saboundi ngweal thamongasmal l number
ofpeopl eanddest i
tut
ionamongt hemasses;
( i
i
i) acl oserbondofuni onamongt hewor ker s;
( i
v) adecl inei nmor als
-t hesoci alquest ionar i
singf r
om thiscl i
mateisbot hdi ff
icult
toresol v eandnotf reefrom danger s:dif
fi
cultbecauset he
boundar iesoft her i
ghtsanddut ieswi thi
nwhi cht her ich
owner sandt hepoorwor kerscanoper at
ear enoteasyt o
define; anddanger ousbecauset urbulentandcr aftymencan
hij
ackt hesi tuationandi ncitethemassest ot aket hel awi nt
o
theirownhands( RN4) .

Secondl
y,heexami
nest
hesol
uti
onsgi
vent
othewor
ker
spr
obl
em.

Thesol
uti
onoft hesoci
ali
stswascontai
nedintheirsociali
sti
deology:
doi
ngawaywi thpri
vat
eowner shi
pofgoods;giv
ingpowert othest at
eto
betheadmini
strat
orofthesegoods;
and, adv
ocati
ngf oraclassstruggl
e
bet
weentherichandthepoor.Againstthesesoci
alisttheori
esthe

42
TheNewPol
P.VALLELY, i
tics,
3.
43
I
bid.
,4.
44
LEO XI
I,Ont
I heCondit
ionoft
heWor
kingCl
asses-Rer
um Nov
arum,6her
eaf
terr
efer
redt
oasRN
f
ollowedbythepar
agraphnumber.
 32

ency cl
ical i
nsist
sonpr i
vatepr opertyasanat uralri
ght( RN14- 18)
: “
God
assignednopar toftheear thtoany onei nowner ship,leavi
ngt heli
mi ts
ofpr i
vat epossessionst obef i
xedbyi ndust ryofmenandt heinst
itut
ions
ofpeopl es”( RN14);thef ami l
yasapr imar ysocialunit(RN19- 22)and
“f
ort hatr easonitmusthav ecertainri
ghtsanddut iesofitsownent i
rely
i
ndependentoft hestate”( RN19) ;andr ejectsclassst r
uggleandl abour
versuscapi t
alasani nevitablenecessi t
ies( RN27- 28).Mor eover
,in
urgingt hattheconditionsofwor ker sbeimpr ovedandt heclass
quest i
onbesor tedout,hei scar efulnottogi vetheSt atetoomuch
power .

nstLi
Agai beralCapit
ali
sm, t
hePopeemphasi zest
hedignityofhuman
l
abour(RN27ff.
),t
herightsofwor kersi
ngeneral(
RN31- 32),ther
ightof
thewor
kertoajustwage( RN32) ,toorgani
seandprotecthis/her
i
nter
ests(
RN35f f.
).Humanl abourshouldneverbeconsideredasa
commodityt
obedet erminedbyt helawsofsupplyanddemand!

Leoscondemnat ionofsocial
ism gavehimr oom tocri
ti
cisetheabuses
oftheex i
sti
ngcapital
istsy
stem thatwasresponsiblefordreadf
ul
conditi
onsofthewor kerswit
houtrunningtheriskofbeingaccusedof
favouri
ngsocial
ism.Heconcl udestheency cl
i
calbyspeakingofthe
dutiesoftheri
ch,thepoorandt hecler
gy.

Leosinter
v enti
ononthesideoft hepoorisunprecedented. Becauseof
theimportanceofLeosunpr ecedentedmove,wewi llnowanalysesome
oftheimpor tantt
hemesthisency cl
i
calcontai
ns.

4.
3.1TheChur
chandt
he“
Soci
alQuest
ion”

Itwasthei nt
enti
onofLeoXI I
IthatRerum novarum shouldbeamaj or
i
nterv
entionindefenceoft hepoor .Atthehear tofhisencycli
calwas
themiseryandwr etchednesspr essi
ngsounj ustl
yont hemajorit
yofthe
worki
ngcl asses;i
not herwords,theencycli
calwasclear l
ypro-
poor(RN
5).TheChur chhasadut ytohelpthepoorandensur et hatt
heirvoi
ces
areheard.

TheChur chappr oachedthesocialquestionoft heti

mewi thconfi
dence
i
nherownr ightbecauseitwasconv incedt hatthequesti
onunder
considerat
ionwasonef orwhichnosat i
sf actor
ysoluti
onwoul dbefound
withoutherinvolvementanditalsofeltthatthequestionfell
withi
nthe
realm ofsafeguardi
ngreli
gion(RN24) .Assuch, t
hePopeunder st
ood
 33

cl
earl
ythatsi
l
enceonhi
spar
twoul
dhav
ebeenr
egar
dedasaf
ail
ureof
dut
y!(RN24)

PopeLeoaf fi
rmst hatmouldi
ngsociet
yisnotapr iv
ateenter pri
seand
thereforet heChur chshouldplayamajorroleinsoci ety(RN24- 26,33).
I
nt his,hechal lengest heassumpti
onofli
beral capital
ism whi chsaw
reli
gionasl ar
gel yapr i
vat
eaffai
r. Heseesr el
igionasani nt ermediary
betweent herichandt hepoor,t
heworker
sandt heempl oy
er s(RN29) .
Religi
oncanhel pt heworkertocar
ryouttheagr eement sfreelyentered
i
nt o(RN30)andt heemployerandtheri
chtor ealisethatwor kersarenot
theirslavesandassucht heyhavetobetreatedaccor dingt otheir
dignityaschi l
dr enofGod( RN31)

4.
3.2TheChur
chasanAgentofChange

Onecanask, howcant heChurchpr omot ebot hcooper ati

onandr espect
i
nsuchawayt hatjust i
ceisensur edbet weent herichandt hepoor ? In
45
Donal Dorr
sv iews , thePopehadt woopt ons.Thef
i i
rstoptionwast o
cal
lther i
chandpower fult
oconv ersionwhi leexhor t
ingthepoorand
powerlesstobepat ient.Patiencewoul dbei mpor tanther einthe
i
nter
estofpeaceandpubl i
cor der.Thei deawast hati ftherich
convertedtheywoul dbegi ntoadmi nisterjustice. Thesecondopt ion
wast oanimat et hepoornotj usttowai tpatientl
ybutt oconf rontther i
ch
anddemandt hei rri
ght s.Int hisapproach, stabil
i
tywoul dber i
skedf or
somet i
mei nthei nter estofjusti
ce.

Conv i
ncedoftheimpor tanceofst abi
lit
yinsociet
y,Leosappr oachwas
closetothefi
rstoption.Heexal tedthepoortodot heirdutywhile
46
call
ingthepeoplewitheconomi cpowert oconversi
on( RN30- 31).
Howev er,t
heconv er
siont hathehadi nmi ndwasnotjustar eligi
ous
changeofhear tbutsignif
icantchangesi nbusi
nesspr acti
cesand
standardsofbehav i
ourint heeconomi cworld.Thischangef r
om the
topbrassofsocietywoul dt henimprovetheconditi
onsoft hosedown
theladder.

Inkeepi
ngwithhi
sconvi
cti
onont heimportanceofstabi
l
ityi
nsoci et
y,
Leowasnotenthusi
ast
icaboutworkersengaginginanactiv
est r
uggle
fort
heirr
ight
s.Theworkersshouldneverdamaget hepropert
ynor

45
Opt
D.DORR, ionf
ort
hePoor
,22-
23.
46
Thi
sispr
obabl
ythestandtheCathol
icChurchofMalawigener
all
yadopt
edbef
orecomi
ngouti
n
t
heopenin1992wit
htheBishopsunpr
ecedent
edlet
terLi
vi
ngourfai
th.
 34

outraget
hepersonoftheemployer,nev
erresor
ttoviol
enceindefendi
ng
thei
rowncausenort oengageinri
otordisor
der(RN16).I ft
hewor st
comest otheworst
,Leoacknowledgedthepossi
bil
it
yofast r
ikebuthe
defendedthei
nvocati
onofthepoweroft hel
awintheev entt
hatpubli
c
orderist
hreat
ened(RN29,31).

Mostpr obabl
y ,
Leof earedthatanact i
veprotestbythewor kersinthe
economi cspherewoul dquickl yspi
llovertothepolit
icalareaand
thr
eatenpublicorder .Hewant edt
opr eserv
eacl earlineofdemar cat
ion
betweent hesocio-economicspher eandt hepol i
ti
calspher esothathi
s
encycl
icalwouldnotbemi stakenf oradocumenti ncitingpeopleto
47
confr
ontt hepoli
ticalsetup. Thebur ni
ngquest i
ont hattroubl
edLeo
andconf r
ontsallproponentsofchangei sthecloser elat
ionship
betweeneconomi cchangeandpol it
icalchange:Caneconomi cchange
bedivorcedfrom politi
calchange?

Giventhatt
heChurchofLeost i
mewascl osetothetemporalor
derwe
canunderstandwhythePopet r
iedt
oli
mi tanychangestotheeconomi
c
sphere.Takingi
tfr
om anotherangl
e,t
heChur chisbynatur
e
hier
archi
calandauthor
it
ari
anandwouldt heref
orenotbekeenon
anythi
ngundermini
ngauthori
tyandpubli
corder.

4.
3.4TheRel
evanceofLeosRer
um novar
um

Themostimpor t
antthi
ngaboutLeosency cl
ical
isthatt
hroughhimt he
48
Churchhadbegunt ospeakauthori
tati
vel
yonsocialmatt
ers. Wi t
h
LeosRerum Novarum,theideathattheChur
chhasasoci aldoctr
ineis
fi
rmlyest
abl
ished.

WithLeo, theideathatthereisabodyofsoci alpri

nci
plesr
oot edin
Christi
antraditi
onanddev elopedthroughrefl
ecti
onuponthe
experiencesoft hepersonandsoci etyi
sinaugurat
ed.Byaddr essi
ng
realquestionsofhi sday,Leodemonst rat
edthat“theChurchssocial
teachingisindeedabodyofpr inci
ples,
foundedonv al
uest hathave
emer gedthrought heChurchsexper i
enceinli
vingtheGospel andit
s

47
Opt
D.DORR, ionf
ort
hePoor
,26.
48
See,also:Geor
geWEI GEL&Ro bertROYAL(
eds.,Bui
) ldi
ngtheFreeSociet
y:Democracy,Capi
tal
ism
andCat holi
cSocialTeaching,Eer
dmans,Michigan1993,25f
f;T.BOKENKOTTER,AConciseHist
ory,
300ff
.
 35

r
efl
ect
ionont hatexper
ience,
butt
hatpr
inci
plesar
eincompl
etei
n
49
t
hemselves.
”

Leosi nt
ervent
iononbehalfofthepoorandexpl oitedworkers
chall
engedpeopl et
orecognisetheexcepti
onalgr avit
yofthesocial
problemsathand.Thechal l
engebeforethem was“ t
heneedt otal
kno
l
ongeroft hepoorbutofpov er
tyandtounder t
akecol lect
iveact
ionfor
50
refor
mr atherthant
rust
ingtoindiv
idualchari
ty.
”

Leoshoul dbecommendedf orstr

ikingabal ancebetween
communal i
sm andcapi tal
ism alt
houghhedi dnotcomeupwi tha
conv i
nci
ngal t
ernati
ve.Thi sweakness, i
fi ti
sone, characterisesev en
theChur choftoday.Weof t
encri
t i
ciseeconomi candpol i
t i
calsy st
ems
withoutidenti
fyi
ngour selv
eswi thapar t
icularsy st
em andof f er
inga
clearalt
ernati
ve.Ont hesi deoftheChur ch, t
hough,thisisnota
weaknessbutst rength.TheChur chi si
ndependentofandabov eany
system andassuchcannotsi dewi t
hanysy st em wholesale.

LeoXIIIurgedthewor ker stobepat ientandperformthei rduti

eswhil
e
theri
chandempl oyerswer ebei ngconv er
ted.Thi sstrategyrai
sesan
i
mpor tantquesti
onf orus: aretheret i
meswhenpeopl ear ecall
edto
endurei nj
ust
ice?Indeed, therear ecaseswher eyouhav etoendur
e
i
njusti
ceandwher epatiencepay s.Inanyi nt
erventi
oni tisgoodtoask
oursel
v es:I
sitworthdoi ngit?

Anybodyr eadingRer um Nov arum todaymaybej usti

fi
edinthi
nkingthat
thechangescal l
edf orbyt hePopewer enotradi
calenough.
Nev er
theless,Rerum Nov arum representsapowerfulcr
yofprotest
againsttheexpl oi
tationofpoorwor ker
s—acr ythatlai
dsol
id
foundati
onsonwhi chlatersoci alencycl
ical
scouldbuil
d.Infair
nesst o
PopeLeoXI II
,therefore,hisency cli
calshoul
dbejudgedinthecontextof
hisownt imeswi t
hgr eatappr eciati
onfortheremarkabl
econtri
buti
on
thathemade.

4.
4PI
USXI
:OnSoci
alReconst
ruct
ionQuadr
agesi
moanno

Theency
cli
cal
comesdur
ingt
hef
ort
iet
hanni
ver yofRer
sar um nov
arum
i
n1931.

49
WI AM MURPHY,
LLI “
IntheBeginni
ng-Rer
um Nov
arum 1891”i
nGeor
geWEI
GEL&Rober
tROYAL(
eds.
),
Buil
dingtheFreeSociet
y,26.
50
AConci
T.BOKENKOTTER, seHi
stor
y,300.
 36

Thesoci alscenehadsomewhatchanged.Wor ldWarIhadshatter

ed
peoplesconf i
denceinl i
beralt
heor i
es.Democr acydidnotworkasa
resultpeoplelosti
nterestinli
beraltheories.Quadr agesmoannowas
writ
tenaf t
ertheWal lStreetcr
ashandt hewor l
dwidecoll
apseofmoney
mar ketsin1929.Pol iti
calandeconomi calpowerwasi nfewbutstrong
hands( QA105- 108)
.Theency cl
icalwas, therefor
e,wri
tt
eninthe
contextofeconomi crecessionwi thit
si nevitabl
egrowthof
unempl oymentandt hepoorbecomi ngpoor er(QA59,74).

Quadragesi
moannoi ssimi
lartoRerum Nov ar
um inthati
thasthesame
senseofmor al
outr
ageatthesuf f
eri
ngoft hepoor(QA59,112)
.Pi usXI
,
j
ustli
keLeoXI I
Icr
it
ici
sesli
beralcapi
tal
ism (QA10,88)andrej
ects
soci
ali
sm andcommuni sm (
QA112, 117-120)i
nsist
ingonthemi ddl
e
wayast hewayfor
war d.

Contraryt oRerum Nov arum,wherethefocuswasonl yonwor kers,Pi

us
XIbroadenshi sconcer nt ot
hewhol esoci
o-economicorderofsociety
(pol
it
ical andeconomi cpower ,unemployment,pover
ty)
.Wr iti
ngata
ti
mewhenmaj ordepr essionwasshakingtheeconomi candsoci al
foundationsinsoci ety,PiusXI,concent
rat
esont hereconstr
uctionof
thesocialor derandshowst herel
ati
onshipbetweenpoli
ti
cs,economi c
powerandsoci alorder.

I
tisinthi
scont extt
hatPiusXIseesthei
mportanceofcor porat
e
associ
ati
onasopposedt oclassst
ruggl
e.Heal soadvocates,fort
he
fi
rstt
imeintheSoci al
teachi
ngofthepri
nci
pleofsubsidiarit
y.The
Popeisconvincedthat:Chur
ch,

Justasitisgravel
ywrongtot akef r
om indi
vidualswhat
theycanaccompl i
shbytheirowni nit
iati
veandi ndustry
andgiveittothecommuni t
y,soal soitisaninjusti
ce
andatthesamet i
meagr aveev i
landdi st
urbanceof
ri
ghtordertoassignt
oagr eaterandhi gherassociation
51
whatlesserandsubordi
nateor ganisati
onscando.

51
Quadr
agesi
moanno,
80.
 37

Althoughheseesthisasprimari
lyther
esponsi
bil
it
yoftheState(
QA78),
realsocial
reconst
ructi
onwill
happenonlywhenpeopleretur
nto
Chr i
sti
anspiri
tofl
ov eandchari
tyandGospelpr
inci
ples(QA136-
137)
.

MajorAr
easofQudr agesimoanno
1.TheRoleoft heChur ch
2.ResponsibleOwner shi
p
3.LabourandCapi tal
4.Publi
cAut hori
ty
5.JustSocialOrder
6.Capit
ali
sm andSoci ali
sm

4.
5PopeJohnXXI
IIOpenst
heDoor
soft
heChur
cht
otheWor
ld

4.
5.1TheI
mmedi
ateCont
ext

PopeJohnXXI I
Icameont hescenei n1958(already76yearsold!)when
thewor ldwasjustemergingfrom theSecondWor ldWar(1939-1945).
Althoughthewarhadended, thereweredivi
sionsamongt hepeopl e,
and
amongnat i
ons(theWestf rom theEast)i
ntoaCol dWarthatenhanced
disunity
.Mor eoveratthi
spar ti
cularti
me,theCol dWarseemedt obe
ent er
inganewer aasrecurrentmi l
it
arycr
isesoccur r
edatlonger
i
nt erval
sincomparisonwiththepr ecedi
ngper i
od.

Anotheri
mpor tanteventshapingt hewor l
dscenearoundthi
st i
mewas
thenewwav eofdecoloni
sationi nAfri
caandAsiawhi chsawthe
majori
tyofthecountriesreceivetheiri
ndependence.Whi l
ethef i
ghtf
or
i
ndependencewasatt imesbr utal,
itwasasy mbolofawor l
d-widemove
towardsfr
eedom.Theemer genceoft hesenewstateswastopose
bothapoli
ticalandaneconomi cchal l
enge.
 38

Sci
enti
fi
candt echnologi
caladv ancesal
sochangedt hesceneoft he
worl
d. Ther econst
ructi
onaf terthedev
astationoft heSecondWor l
d
Warwentmor equicklythanhadbeenant i
cipatedandi ndustr
ial
i
sat
ion
began totake defini
te precedence overt he stable orderoft he
agri
cul
tur
alworl
d.

Suchdev elopmentsseemedt osuggestt osomet hatnotonl ywast he

hopeofal ast
ingwor l
dpeacespr i
ngingupagai n,despiteannoy i
nglocal
confl
icts,buttoitt
her ewasj oinedthehopef orthepr osperi
tyforallthe
i
nhabitantsoft heearth.Inasense, therewasacer t
ainoptimism for
theusheringinofpr ogressivehumani sm basedoncommi tmentto
peaceandhumandi gnitythatthewor ldwast houghttohav eentered
i
ntoaf t
ert hewar.Howev ert hi
sgener alsenseofopt i
mi sm wast oned
downbymasspov er t
yintheso- call
ed“ Thi
rdWor ld”countri
esinthe
Southernhemi sphereandt heemer gi
ngnewconf l
ictsespeciall
ythe
Cubancr i
si st
hatalmostbr oughtthewor l
dtoabr inkofadi rectUSA-
USSRcl ash.

4.
5.2TheConv
ocat
ionoft
heSecondVat
icanCounci
l

Thef ir
stmar kofthemuch- needednewer abythePopewast he
announcementonJanuar y25, 1959ofhi sbolddecisiont oconvoke
52
(groupofpeopl einaformal meeting)anewCounci l
. The
announcementf r
om thesev ent
y-sevenyearold,thoughtt obeonlya
transit
ory(shortper
iod)Pope, wassuddenandunexpect ed.Comi ngat
at i
mewhent hewor l
dscenewasdomi natedbythecol dwarcli
mat e,
manypeopl efoundtheideaofaChur chrendered(make)i mmobi le(st
il
l)
byi t
scertaint
iescomfortableandanecumeni calCounci lwasjust
unex pect
ed.

ThePopedi dnotsharei
nt hepessimism (
doubt)ofthetime.Looki ng
atthiscondit
ionofhumanityandoftheworld,
thePopewasconv i
nced
thattheChurchwasont hethreshol
dofanextraordi
naril
yimportant
histor
ical
junctur
einwhi
chi twouldbenecessarytodisti
nguishthe
signsofthetimesandsee,inthemidstofsomuchdar kness,t
he

52
Tounderstandthewor ldofPopeJohnXXI II
,seemyownt hesi
s:GeorgeBULEYA,TheConcr ete
HumanCondi ti
on— APr i
vi
legedLocusf orMoralTrut
h:TheImpli
cat
ionsofGaudi um etspes4-10i n
ShapingMoralProposals,Tipograf
icaLeberi
t,Rome1999,23ff. Anotherindi
spensableandwor l
d-
known source i
s Giuseppe ALBERIGO & Joseph KOMONCHAK (
eds.
),HistoryofVat ican I
I:Vol.I:
Announci
ngandPr epari
ngVat icanCouncilII— TowardaNew Er ai nCatholi
cism,Or bi
s/Peet
ers,
Maryknol
l/
Leuven1995.
 39

i
ndicationswhichwouldoffernewhopes.Hewasconv i
ncedthatatt
his
hi
stori
cal j
unctur
e( poi
nti
nt i
me)t her
ewasneedf ort
heChur chto
undertakethenecessaryaggiornamento(
bri
ngingupt odat
e)thatwoul
d
enablehert obeamor eeffecti
vechannel
ofredemptioninachanged
andchangi ngworld.

4.5.3OnChr i
st i
ani tyandSoci alPr ogr ess:MATERetMAGI STRA
(Mot herandMi stress/ Teacher )
Itwasi ssuedi n1961byPopeJohnXXI II.Cont inuingt het raditi
on
establishedbyt hechur ch, PopeJohnXXI I
Iconf irmedt hepr eviouspapal
teachingont hev alueofpr ivatei niti
ative, j
ustr emuner ation( payment )
forwor kandt hesoci al funct ionofpr i
vatepr oper ty.
 Het reat st hequest i
onsofagr icultureandai dt odev el
opi ng
count ries.
- Hewr it
esaboutt heagr i
cultural sect orbecausehef eelsthati t
hasbeennegl ect ed.Hecal lsf orchur chest ohel pinanor der ly
economi cdev elopmenti nthatchur chesshoul dhel pin
prov idingsoci al ser vicesi nt her ural ar eas.Hei salsocal l
ingf or
appr opr iateeconomi cpr i
ceswhi chmayi ncl udesui tablepr ices
andsoci al secur i
t y.Thepr i
ncipleagent sf ori mpr ovement
shoul dber ural wor ker swhohav ebeenequat edbyGod.
- ForAi dt odev elopi ngcount ri
est obedoneappr eciatedt her e
shoul dbecompet entadmi nistrationandgoodeconomi c
policies.Ci ti
zensi nl essdev elopedar easar er esponsi bleof
theirownar eas.Andt herei sneedt or espectt hedigni tyandt he
princi pl
eofsubsi diar i
ty.(Ateachl ev el ther ei sneedt oknow
theirdut i
esandr esponsi bil
iti
esandcar ryt hef orwar d).
 Heur gesar econst ruct ionofsoci al relationshi psaccor dingt ot he
principlesofCat hol icSoci al Teachi ng
- Hesay st hatsoci al relationsshoul dbecar ri
edoutwi thsound
philosophy( Looksatcompl etenoti ncompl etephi l
osophy ).He
alsost ressedt hatsoci alrelationsshoul dt akeGodi n
per spect ive.Thei ndiv i
dual mustbeunder stoodast he
foundat ion, cause, andendofal lsoci al inst i
tutions.Chr istians
mustbet aughtCat hol icSoci al Teachi ng.
 St atest her esponsi bilityofi ndiv i
dual Chr istianst owor kf oramor e
j
ustwor ld.Hesay st hatChr i
stiansshoul dbet aughtt obej ustso
l
eadaj ustl if
e.

4.
5.3.1.Hi
stor
icalCont
ext
 40

a)The1960sbr ingpr omi singpr ospect s: r

ecov er yaf terthedev astation
ofthewar ,thebegi nni ngofdecol onisation,andt hef irstti
mi dsi gnsofa
thaw( cold)i nther elationsbet weent heAmer i
canandt heSov i
etbl ocs.
Thisist hecont ex twi t
hi nwhi chPopeJohnXXI IIr eadsdeepl yint othe
signsoft het imes.
i.Wi thJohnXXI II,weseet hatt hesoci alquest ioni sbecomi ng
universal andi nv olv esal lcount r
ies.
ii.Toget herwi tht hel abourquest ionandt heI ndust r
ialRev olution,
therecomet ot hef or et hepr oblemsofagr i
cultur e,ofdev elopingr egions,
ofincreasi ngpopul at i
onsandt hoseconcer ningt heneedf orglobal
economi ccooper at i
on.
iii
.Inequal i
tiest hati nt hepastwer eexperiencedwi t
hinnat i
onsar e
nowbecomi ng
int ernat ional andmaket hedr amat i
csi tuat ionsoft heThi rd
Wor l
dev ermor eev i
dent .(Obv ious)
b)ThusMat eretMagi straofPopeJohnXXI II
,isar esponset ot he
severei mbal ancesbet weent her ichandt hepoor .
i)theency clical commemor ates( honours)t hesev entiet
h
anniversar yofRer um Nov arum.
ii)Wi thMat eretMagi stra,JohnXXI I
I,i
nter nat i
onal i
sest heCat holi
c
SocialTeachi ng
byt reat ing, fort hef irsttime, thesituationofcount ri
eswhi ch
arenotf ul l
y
indust rial ised.
iii
)Hear t
icul at esani mpor tantr oleforthel aity( member soft he
church)i nappl y i
ngt heChur chssoci al
teachi ngi nt hewor ld.

c)Aim ofMat eretMagi stra

-Heai msatupdat ingt heal readyknowndocument sofsoci
al
teachingandt akingaf urtherstepf orwar
di ntheprocessofinv
olvi
ngthe
wholeChr isti
ancommuni ty.
-TheKeywor dsint heEncy cli
calarecommuni tyandsocial
i
sati
on.
-Hecal lstheChur chi nt r
uth, j
usti
ceandl ovetocooperat
ein
buil
dingwi thallmenandwomenandaut hent
iccommuni onasawayof
ensuringthateconomi cgr owthwi l
lnotbel i
mitedtosati
sfyi
ngmens
needs, butwillal
sopr omot etheirdignit
y.

d)
.Maj
orAr
easofconcer
ninMat
eretMagi
str
a.

1.NewDevelopments
A.EconomicandSci
ent
if
ic
 41

i
.DiscoveryofAtomicenergy.
i
i
.Sy nt
heticproductsandautomat i
on.
i
i
i.Conquestofout erspace
i
v.NewSpeedofTr ansport
ati
on
v
.Impr ovementsincommuni cat
ions.

B.Soci
al
i.Insuranceandsoci alsecurit
y.
ii
.Impr ovementsineducat ion.
ii
i.Increasedsocialmobi l
i
ty
iv.Pronouncedimbal ancesbet weenmor
edev
elopedand
l
essdevel
opedar eas
C.Poli
ti
cal
i.Increasedpart
icipati
on
ii
.Lesscol oni
sation
ii
i.Mor epubli
cinterventi
on

I
I.Dev
elopmentofSoci
alTeachi
ng

A.Pri
vat eIniti
at ive
i
.Firstpr ioritytopr i
vat einitiative
i
i.Suppor tspr incipleof“ subsi diar
it
y”
i
ii
.Publ icaut horit
iescani nter venetoreduceeconomi c
i
mbal ances
i
v.Bal ancebet weenpubl icandpr iv
ateinit
iat
ive
v.“Socialisat i
on” :inter dependentsoci alr
elat
ionshipswith
posit
iveandnegat i
v econsequencescr eat edbynewdev elopment s.
B.JustRemuner ationf orWor k
i
.Fami l
iesneedappr opriatewaget ol i
veindignit
y
i
i.Wor ldimbal ance: toomuchmoneyspentonnat i
onal
prest
igeandar mament s.
i
ii
.Economi cdev elopmentmustcor respondtosoci al
devel
opment
i
v.Economi cPr osper ity:thej ustandpr operdistr
ibuti
onof
goods
v.Wor ker sshoul dshar ei nrunni ngofcompani es
(management ,profits, owner shi p) .
vi
.Requi r
ement sf orcommongoodoft henat i
ons
a.cr eateempl oy ment
b.car ef orthel esspr i
v i
leged
c.pr ov i
def ort hef ut ure
C.JusticeandPr oduct iv eI nstit
ut ions
 42

i
.Fost ersmal landi nt er medi ar yhol dings
i
i.Encour agef ami ly-typeowner shi p
i
ii.Allev i
at eimbal ances
i
v .All shoul dwor kf ort hecommongood
D.Pri
v atePr oper ty
i
.Conf irmsr ight st opr ivatepr oper ty
i
i.Encour ageswi despr eadowner ship
i
ii.St at ecanownmeansofpr oduct ion( butaf f
irms
subsidi
ari
ty)
i
v .Soci al responsi bili
ty :af unct ionofpr i
vatepr oper ty
II
I.NewAspect soft heSoci alQuest ion
A.Agr i
cul tur e
a.Agr icul t
ur ei sdepr essedf act or: i
mbal ancebet ween
agr i
cul t
ureandi ndust ryexi st
b.Chur chcal l
sf orser v i
cesf orr ur al areasandor derly
economi cdev elopment
c.Appr opr i
at eeconomi cpol i
cyi ncludescapi talatsui t
abl e
pr ices, pricepr otect ion, soci al secur it
y ,andst r
engtheni ng
far mi ncome
d.Pr inci pal agentf ori mpr ov ementshoul dber uralwor kers,
whohav edi gni tyf rom God.
B.Aidt ol essdev elopedAr eas
a.Needf orcompet entadmi ni strat i
onandeconomi cpol icies
b.Ci tizensi nl essdev el opedar easar echi eflyresponsi ble
fort hei rowndev el
opmentandneedt or espectdi gnityand
subsi diarity
C.Just i
cebet weenNat ionsDi ffer i
ngi nDev elopment
a.Peacei smor edi f f
icul tasi mbal ancesper sist
b.Dut yofcount riest ohel pt hepoorandunf ortunat e
c.Needt oest abl i
shanef fect ivepr ogr am ofemer gency
assi st ance
d.Pr ivat eent erpr isesandsoci et i
esneedt obemor e
gener ousi ncooper ation
e.I ndust ri
al count riesneedt or espectt hecul t
ureof
dev elopi ngcount ri
es, andshoul dbeof feredwi t
houtt he
intentt odomi nat e
D.Roleoft heChur ch
a.I ndi v i
dual Chr ist i
ansmustadv anceci v i
l i
nstituti
onsand
humandi gni tyandf ost erauni t ybet weenpeopl es
b.ManyCat hol icsar eal readyi nv olvedi nt heseef f
or t
s
E.Popul at ionI ncreaseandDev elopment
a.Humanki ndhasi nexhaust iblepr oduct ivecapaci t
y
 43

b.Humanshoul dnotr esor ttomeansofpopul ationcont r

ol
beneat hhumandi gni ty
F.International Cooper at i
on
a.Rel ationshi psar ei nterdependent :cooper at
ionandmut ual
assi stancear eneeded.
b.Causeofdi strusti sf ailuret oagr eeonl awsofj usti
ce;
armament sar easy mpt om oft hi
sdi strust.
I
V.ReconstructionofSoci alRel at i
onshi ps
A.Incompl etePhi l
osophi esofLi f
e
a.Manyphi l
osophi esdonotencompasst heent ir
ehuman
per sonorr especthumandi gnity
b.I tisf ollytoest abl i
shat empor alorderwi thoutGodasa
foundat ion
B.Cat holicSoci alTeachi ng
a.I ndiv i
dual sar et hef oundat i
on, cause, andendofal lsocial
i
nst itutions
b.CSTcannotbesepar atedf rom Chur chteachingsonl i
fe
andshoul dbet aughtatal llevelsandi nthemedi a
c.Cat hol i
csshoul dber earedonCSTandconf or mt hei
r
soci al andeconomi cbehav iourt oCSTpr i
nciples
d.Appl y i
ngCSTi nt hewor l
di sdi ffi
cult
e.Howt oappl yCST( t
askf ort helaity)
i.Ex ami nesi tuat ion( OBSERVE-SEE)
ii.Ev al
uat ei twi thr espectt oCST( JUDGE)
iii.Deci dehowt oact( ACT)
C.Concl usion
a.I ndust rialli
f ecandef or mv aluesanddepar tfrom human
digni ty
b.Chur chneedst or enewi tsdedi cationi nseeki ngt o
est ablisht heKi ngdom i nt empor al aff
airs.
4.
5.4PEACEONEARTH :Pacem i nTer r
is

A)PreliminaryRemar ks
Thissecondency cli
cal ofJohnXXI I
I,wasissuedi n1963.Wi t
hthis
ency
clical,PopeJohnXXI I
I,bri
ngstothef oref
rontthepr obl
em ofpeace
i
naner amar kedbynucl earpr ol
if
erati
on(product i
on).Pacem inTerri
s
cont
ainsoneoft hefi
rsti n-depthrefl
ecti
onsonr ightsont hepartofthe
Chur
ch, iti
sanency clical ofpeaceandhumandi gnit
y.
I
tcont i
nuesandcompl et
esthediscussionsinMat eretMagi st
ra.I
t
al
sofol l
owswi t
hint
het radi t
ionofLeoXI I
Ibyemphasi zi
ngthe
i
mpor tanceoft hecooper ationofallmenandwomen.
 44

Itisthef i
rstti
meaChur chdocumenti saddr essedt o“ al
lmenof
goodwi ll,
”
Hecal l
ssuchpeopl et oagr eatt askofest abli
shingwi tht ruth,justi
ce,
l
ov eandf reedom newmet hodsofr elati
onshipsinhumansoci ety.
Pacem i nTer r
isdwel l
sont hepubl icaut horit
yoft hewor l
dcommuni t
y,
call
edt o“tackleandsol vepr obl
emsofaneconomi c,soci al,politi
calor
cult
uralchar acterwhichwer eposedbyt heuniversal commongood.
PopeJohnXXI IIcontendst hatpeacecanbeest ablishedonl yi
fthe
socialordersetdownbyGodi sfullyobser v
ed.Rel yingext ensivelyon
reasonandt henatural l
awt r
adition, JohnXXI IIsketchesal istofrights
anddut iestobef oll
owedbyi ndividual s,publi
caut horities, nati
onal
government s,andt hewor l
dcommuni ty.Peaceneedst obebasedonan
order“foundedont ruth,builtaccor dingt ojusti
ce,v i
v i
fiedandi ntegrated
bychar i
ty,andputi ntopr acticeinf reedom. ”

B)Hist or
icalContext
Wr it
tenwithi
nt hef i
rstyearofVaticanII
.PeaceonEar this
addressedt oallpeopleofgoodwi l
l.Itwasissuedsoonaf tertheCuban
MissileCrisi
sof1962andt heerecti
onoft heBerli
nWal l
.Itspeaksabout
awor ldawar eofthedanger sofnuclearwar.It
soptimist
ict oneand
developmentofaphi losophyofr i
ghtsmadeasi gni
fi
cantimpr essi
onon
Catholicsandnon- Catholi
csal i
ke.

C.Maj orConcer
nsinPacem inTerri
s
Everyhumanisaperson,endowed( gif
ted)withint
ell
i
genceand
fr
eewi ll
,whohasuniv
ersalandinvi
olabl
e( unbreakabl
e)ri
ghtsand
duti
es.

I
.A.Ri ghts
a.Right stol if
eandwor thyst andardofl iving, i
ncludingri
ghtsto
properdev elopmentofl i
feandt obasi csecur i
ty.
b.Right sofcul tural andmor alv al
ues,includi ngf r
eedom tosearch
forandex pressopi nions, fr
eedom ofi nformat i
on, andr ighttoeducati
on.
c.Right stor eligionandconsci ence
d.Right stochooseonesst ateinlife,i
ncludi ngr i
ghtstoestabli
sha
famil
yandpur suear eligiousv ocat i
on
e.Economi cright s,includingr i
ghtt owor k, t
oaj ustandsuffi
cient
wage,andt ool dpr i
vat epr oper t
y
f.Rightsofmeet ingandassoci ati
on
g.Rightt oemi gr ateandi mmi grate
h.Pol i
tical r
ights, includingr i
ghtt oparticipatei npubl i
caff
airsand
j
uridi
cal protectionofr ights.
 45

B.Dut
ies
a.Toacknowledgeandr espectrightsofother
s
b.Tocoll
aboratemut ual
ly
c.Toactforothersresponsibl
y
d.Topreserv
el i
feandl i
veitbecomi ngl
y
C.Si
gnsoftheTimes
a.Worki
ngclasshav egraduallygainedgroundineconomi
cand
soci
alaff
air
s
b.Womenar epar t
ici
patinginpubli
cl i
fe
c.All
nati
onsar ebecomi ngindependent

I
I.Rel
ati
onsbet
weenI
ndi
vi
dual
sandPubl
icAut
hor
it
iesi
nSi
ngl
eSt
ate

A.NatureofAut hority
a.Aut hor ityi
snecessar yfort hepr operf unctioningofsociet
y
b.I tder ivesitsf orcef rom themor alorderwhi chhasGodf orit
s
end
c.Ast atewhi chuses, asitschi efmeans, puni shmentsand
rewar dscannotef f
ect i
velypr omot ethecommongood
d.Ast atecannotef fect i
velypr omot ethecommongood
e.Ast atecannotobl i
gei nmat tersofconsci ence
f.Acommandcont rar ytoGodswi llisnotbi nding
B.Character isticsofCommonGood
a.Humanper sonmustbeconsi dered
b.Al lmember soft hest ateshar eincommongood
c.Mor eat tentionmustbegi v ent othel essf ortunatemember s
ofsoci ety
d.St at emustpr omot emat erialandspi ritualwel far
eofits
cit
iz ens
C.Ci
vilAut hor ity
a.Chi efconcer nshoul dbet oensur et hecommongood
b.Coor dinatessoci al rel
ationsi nawayt hatal l
owspeopl eto
exer ciset heirri
ght sanddut i
espeacef ully
c.At hr ee-folddivisionofpower s—l egi slati
ve, execut
iveand
j
udi cial-isrecommendedf orpubl i
caut horiti
es
d.Of tenapr udentandt hought fuljuridical system seems
i
nadequat ef orsoci etysneeds
e.Thr eer equi sit
esf orgov ernment
i
.Char t
erofHumanRi ght s
 46

i
i.Wr ittenConst itution
ii
i.Rel ationshi pbet weengov ernedandgov ernmenti n
ter msofr ight sanddut ies
I
II
.Relati
onsBet weenSt at es
A.InTruth
a.El iminat ionofr aci sm
b.Ri ghtt osel f
-dev el opment
c.Obl i
gat ionofmut ual assi stance
d.Obj ectiveuseofmedi a
B.InJustice
a.Recogni tionofmut ual right sanddut ies
b.I mpr ov ementoft hesi t
uat ionofet hnicmi norit
ies
C.ActiveSol i
dar ity
a.Pr omot ebyci vi
l aut hor i
tyt hecommongoodoft heent i
re
humanf ami ly
b.Fost eri
ngoff ri
endl yr elationsi nal lfi
elds
c.Reduct i
oni ni mbal ancesofgoodsandcapi t
alint hewor ld
d.Ri ghtt opol i
tical refugeest omi grate
e.Ar msr ace:
i.Depr i
v eslessdev elopedcount ri
esofsoci al and
economi cpr ogr ess
i
i.Cr eat esacl imat eoff ear
ii
i.“ Just ice”t hen“ rightr eason, andconsi derat i
onf or
humandi gni tyandl ifedemandt hatt hear msr ace
cease
iv.Peaceconsi stinmut ual trust
D.InLiberty
a.Rel at i
onsbasedonf r
eedom, responsi bi
li
tyandent erpri
se
encour aged
b.Respectbyt heweal thynat ionsoft hev aluei ngi vingai d
withoutseeki ngdomi nance
I
V.Relat
ionsofPeopl eandofPol i
t i
calCommuni ti
eswi t
ht heWor l
d
Communi t
y
i.I ndi v i
dual count ri
escannotseekt hei rowni nterests
anddev elopi ni solat i
ongi venmoder ncondi ti
onsof
int erdependence
i
i.Underpr esentci r
cumst ances, thest ructuresandf orms
ofnat ional gov ernmentar ei nadequat etopr omot et he
uni v ersal commongood
ii
i.Publ icaut hor i
tymusthav et hemeanst opr omot et he
commongood
 47

iv
.Needpubl icaut hor itytooper atei nanef fecti
vemanner
onawor l-widemat ter.
v
.TheUni tedNat i
onsshoul dbef oster ed
V.Past
oralExhortati
ons
i
.Peopl eshoul dt akeanact i
ver oleinpubl i
clifeand
organi
sat ionsand
i
nfluencet hem f rom within.
i
i.Humansshoul dcar ryont empor al acti
v i
ti
es”asacts
wi t
hint he
mor al order.
iv
.Auni t
ybet weenf aithandact ioni sneeded; soli
d
Chr i
st i
aneducat i
onwi llhelpachi ev et hi
suni t
y
v
.Di stingui shbet weenf alsephi l
osophi calideasand
mov ement sder i
v ingf rom them
vi
.Chr i
st i
ansneedpr udencei ndet ermi ningwhent o
collabor atewi thnon- Chr i
sti
ansi nsoci alandeconomi c
affairs.
vi
i
.Peacewi llbebutanempt ysoundi ngwor dunlessitis
foundedont heor derwhi cht hepr esentdocumenthas
outlinedi nconf identhope: anor derf oundedont r
uth,
builtaccor dingt oj usti
ce, vi
vifi
edandi ntegratedby
char it
y,andputi ntopr act
icei nfreedom.
 48

Vat
icanI
IandPost
-Conci
li
arCat
hol
icSoci
alTeachi
ng

1 Gaudi
5. um etspes

TheSecondVat icanCounci l wast hebr ain-childofPopeJohnXXI I

I.
Whenheannouncedt heconv ocat ionofanewCounci li
n1959, t
hePope
wasconv incedt hattheChur chwasont het hresholdofan
extraordinarilyimpor tantjuncturei nwhi chi twouldbenecessar yto
disti
nguisht hesi gnsoft hetimesandseei nt hemi dstofsomuch
darkness, indicat i
onswhi chwoul dof fernewhopes.Thechal lenge
facingtheChur chwashowt omat cht hishist ori
cal j
uncturewitha
radicalaggi ornament o( renewal )toenabl ehert obeanef fect
iveand
plausible(reasonabl e)channel ofsal vationi nachangi ngandchanged
wor l
d.TheSecondVat i
canCounci landespeci al
lythePast oral
Const it
utionont heChur chint heModer nWor ld—Gaudi um etspes-
wasanef f
or ttoputt hePopescommi tmentonpaperandsett heChurch
onanewr elat i
onshipofsol idarity(unity)wi ththewor l
d—ar elati
onshi
p
char act
erisedbyanat t
entiveli
st eningtot heconcr eteconditi
onof
humani ty.

Risingabov econdemnat i
onorpr ai
se, Gaudium etspesopensi ts
discour se(speech)wi thamovingdescr i
pti
onoft hecondi t
ionof
humani ty
:“thejoysandhopes,t hegriefandangui sh(suff
ering)oft he
peopl eofourt i
me, especial
l
yoft hosewhoar epoororaf f
li
ct ed,arethe
j
oy sandhopes, thegr i
efandanguishoft hef ol
l
ower saswel l”(GS1) .
TheCounci lwishest oascer
tai
n( determine)t heimpor t
anceoft he
dramat i
cconditioninwhichtheChur chast hepeopl eGodf i
ndsi ts
setting.Thecondi t
ionofhumani tyis“ dramat i
c”notjustintheor dinary
sensebutbecausei tischar
acteri
sedbydi alecti
caltensi
onbet weent wo
poles: hopeandangui sh.ThusGaudi um etspescl earl
ystat es:

Oursi sanewageofhi stor

ywi thprof oundandr apid
changesspr eadinggraduall
ytoal lcor ner
soft heearth...
At r
ansformationoft hi
skindbr i
ngswi thi
ttheser i
ous
problemsassoci at
edwi thanycr i
sisofgr owth...Increase
i
npoweri snotalway saccompani edbycont r
ol oft
hat
powerf orthebenefitofhumani ty
...I nnoot heragehas
humani tyenj
oy edsuchanabundanceofweal th,
resourcesandeconomi cwell
-being; andy etahuge
proporti
onoft hepeopleofthewor ldisplaguedbyhunger
andex tr
emeneedwhi l
ecountlessnumber saret ot
all
y
 49

i
ll
i
terat
e(uneducat
ed).Atnot i
mehav epeoplehadsuch
akeen(eager
)senseoffreedom,onlytobefacedbynew
f
ormsofsocialandpsychologi
calsl
avery
.(GS4).

Thisdramat ictensioni sthechar acteristi

cmar koft hecondi tionof
humani t
yi nthecont empor ary( moder n)wor ld.I ti sther esponsi bili
tyof
theChur chtor eadt he“ si
gnsoft het i
mes”char act er i
singthehuman
conditi
oni nthewor l
doft odayandt oint erprett hem i nt helightoft he
Gospel i
nor dertogr aspbet terthev ocat i
on( career )ofeachper son.
Theemphasi sofGaudi um etspesi sont hev eryr eal i
tyofhumani tyand
thati
swhyi ttakeshumani tywi t
hal li
tst riumphsandf ailuresser iously.
“Thewor ldwhi chtheCounci lhadi nmi nd...i st hewor ldast het heatre
ofhumanhi story,
bear ingthemar ksofi tst ravail,itstriumphsand
fai
lur
es”( GS2) .Iti sthiswor l
dt hatfel l
int othesl averyofsi nandhas
beenf r
eedbyChr ist.Li keat heatre,t
hewor ldiscr eatedandl ov edby
God.TheCounci l aff
irmsi t
sconv i
cti
ont hathumani t
yhasanobl e
desti
nyandcont ainsi nitsveryexistenceseedsofdi vi
nity(GS3) .I n
otherwor ds,thewor l
dofhumani tyisthel ocusofdi vi
net ruth; agenui ne
anthropologyisnecessar i
lyat heology!Thest or yofhumani tycannot
beconsi deredpurel ysecular;iti
st hest oryofGodssav ingpr esence.

Accor di
nglyt hen,i
ntherestoftheI ntroductorySt atement( GS4-10),the
Counci l
out l
inessomeoft heimpor tantfeaturesthathav echaracter
ised
thecondi ti
onofhumani t
yinthepr esentepoch( period)andhav e
auguredi nnewhopesandangui sh.TheConst ituti
ont urnst othe
profoundchangesf ir
st-scienceandt echnology,social order,
atti
tudes/mor al
sandr el
i
gion-andt henmov estot heef fect
sofsuch
changes-i mbal ancesinthewor l
d, broaderaspi r
ations, anddeeper
questionings.

Theconcl usi
onoft heInt
roductor
ySt atementisanasser t
ionofthe
convicti
onoft heChurchthatthekey,thecent r
eandt hepurposeoft he
wholeofhumanhi stor
yistobef oundinChr isti
tsLordandMast er.I n
otherwor ds,i
nJesusChr i
st-theincarnateLogosofGod-t hediscourse
abouthumani tyleadstoandbecomesadi scourseaboutGod;thatis,
anthropologybecomest heol
ogy .

Lookingatthewholedocument ,bywayofconcl usion,i

tcanbesaidthat
Gaudium etspesfocusesitswhol eat
tenti
onont hecentral
i
tyofthe
concretehumanpersonl i
vingintheworld(GS23f f
.).Gaudium etspes
al
sobegi nsanini
ti
aldiscourseonhumandev elopmentconsi der
edinthe
contextoffr
eedom andt hedigni
tyofthehumanper son(GS65-70).
 50

Shari
ngi nthegener alopti
mism thateconomicprogresswouldbr i
ng
abouthumandev el
opmentandat t
emptingtol
inkeconomi cvaluesto
otherfundament al(basi
c)valuessuchasf r
eedom, digni
tyand
53
parti
cipat
ion, Gaudi um etspesurgeswealthi
ernationstohelptheless-
developednations(GS69- 70;85-87).

Speakingi
nahumbl e,
sincereandr eali
sti
cway,Gaudium etspes-the
fi
rstsoci
aldocumenttobepr ocl
aimedbyaCounci loft
heChurch—
offer
edamet hodol
ogi
cal(practi
cal
)et hi
cal(moral
)frameworkwhich
wouldopenupnewdi r
ectionsforCat hol
icsoci
althought.

5. sPopul
2PopePaulVIandhi orum pr
ogr
essi
o

Fif
teenmont hsaf t
erthepubl i
cat onofGaudi
i um etspes, PopePaul VI
i
ssuedanency cl
icalont hedev elopmentoft hepeopl esPopul orum
progressioin1967aspar tofhisper cei
vedt askt oimplementt he
Counci l
.Hi sv i
si
tt oIndiain1964andhi smeet i
ngswiththeLat i
n
Amer icanbishopsi nthecour seoft heCounci lconvi
ncedhi mt hatt
he
socialproblem oftheagewast hey awninggapbet weent herichandthe
54
poornat i
ons. Al thoughGaudi um etspessett heChur chonanew
rel
ationshipofsol i
darit
ywi ththewor l
d,i
tdidnotcomest rongenough
oneconomi canal y
sis(investi
gat i
on)andj usticeissues.

Whil
epr ev
iousency cl
i
calshadbeenwri
tt
enfrom apredominant
ly
(mai
nly)Europeanperspecti
v Popul
e, orum pr
ogressi
oistr ycat
ul hol
i
c
andplanetar
y,(ear
thly
).

Populorum progressi
owaspr imari
lyconcernedwiththerel
ationships
betweenr i
chandpoornat ions,andnotwithindi
vi
duals.Att hehear tof
theency cl
i
calisanef f
ortbythepopeto( i
)chartoutaChr i
sti
anv isi
onof
dev el
opmentt hatgoesbeyondmer eeconomi cgrowthand( i
i)theidea
thatauthenti
cdev el
opmentcanoccuronl ywhent her
eisdev elopmentof
allhumanity.

Inkeepi
ngwi thit
splanetar
yconcernfort
herelat
ionshi
psbet weenrich
andpoornat i
ons,thePopepaysmor eatt
enti
ontot hest
ructuraland
i
nternat
ionaldimensionsofsoci
aleconomicj
ustice.Analysingwhy

53
Opt
D.DORR, ionf
ort
hePoor
,171.
54
Paul
VALLELY(
ed.
),TheNewPol
i
tics,
61.
 51

i
nequalit
yex istsbetweent henations(PP6-9, 52,56-58),
hecomesup
withsuchr easonsas: t
helegacyofacol oni
al past;formsofneo-col
onial
system i
nt hepr esentday ;andaboveall
,theimbal anceofpower
betweent het r
adingnat i
ons.ThePoper ecogni sesthattheinter
nat
ional
economicsy st
em asi texistsdoesli
ttl
etoimpr ov et
hecondi ti
onsofthe
poorernations( PP22- 33).Thereforehecrit
icisesthecapitali
sti
cnoti
on
ofenti
relyfreet r
adei namannert hatwedonotf i
ndi npr
ev i
oussoci
al
encycl
icals(PP26, 56-59).Herei
nlietheseedsofwhatl atercametobe
call
ed“structuresofsi n”!

Hepr oposest hegui dingpr i

nci plesofsolidar ityanddialoguebet ween
theri
chandt hepoor( 48-54; 76-77)tof i
ndawayoutoft heeconomi c
i
njusti
ce.Whatwasatst akef orhim wasnotj ustt
hel i
feoft hepoor
andcivilpeacei ndev elopingcount ri
esbut , ult
imately
, wor l
dpeace:
Developmenti sthenewnamef orpeace!( Ti t
leforPP76- 80).Paul VI
wasconv i
ncedt hataconsensuscoul dber eachedgi vent hatthewor ld
wasanxi oust oestabl i
shcl osert iesofbrot her hood(PP79) .According
tohim, t
hosewi thweal th,powerandi nfl
uencemustspear head(lead)
suchamov e.Thequest i
ont hatisleftl
inger ingbysuchanappr oachi s
whethert herichandpower ful couldreal
lybeagent sini
tiatingthe
55
necessarychange? Thef amousBr azi
lianeducat i
onalist,PauloFreir
e,
wasoft heopi niont hatsuchchangecanonl ycomef rom t hegrassroots
56
aft
erthemasseshav ebeenconsci enti
sed.

Theency clical alsopr esentsafull

erv i
sionofhumandev elopment .
Addressi ngawor l
dthatdi vi
dednat i
onsaccor di
ngt oeconomi cprogress,
thePopeputf orwar dabr oad,compl exanddemandi ngconceptof
development . Put ti
ngasi detheeconomi cunder standingof
development , hechosej usttolaydownbasi cst andardsbywhi chany
changesi nsoci etycanbedeemedt ocont ri
but etoaut hentichuman
57
development . Forhi m,devel
opmentshoul dnotbel imitedto
economi cpr ogr essonl y(PP14- 21).Star t
ingf r
om t heobl i
gati
onof
eachi ndividual t
oat tainself
-f
ulfi
lment(PP15- 16),authentic
developmental sot akesaccountoft hewel fareofot hers(PP16- 17).
Trueandi nt egr aldev elopmentincludest heacqui sit
ionofknowl edge,
cult
ure, andt henecessi t
iesofli
fe;thedesiref orcooper ati
onandpeace,

55
I
bid.
,66.
56
Hi
sbooksmakeanint
erest
ingandthought-
prov
okingreadi
ng:Pedagogyoft
heOppressed,
Pengui
n
Books, Educat
London1970; i
onforCr
iti
calConsci
ousness,Sheed&War d,
London1974.
57
Opt
D.DORR, ionf
ort
hepoor
,181.
 52

withacor respondingrecognit
ionofhumandi gnit
y;t
herecogniti
onof
supremev aluesandthedest i
nyoftheperson;andtheacceptanceof
fai
thwhi chopensi ndi
vidual
st ounionwithGod.Whathewas
i
nterestedi nisnotmer eeconomi cdevel
opment,butdevel
opmentofthe
totalperson, ev
eryaspectofaper son.Hespokeofdev elopmentwhich
i
sf oreachandf oral
l;“
thetransit
ionfr
om lesshumancondi t
ionsto
thosewhi char emorehuman”( PP20).

5.
3TheMedel
li
nConf
erence

BetweenSept emberandOct ober1968ani mportantconf

er enceofLat i
n
Amer i
canBi shopswashel datMedel lí
ninColombia.Taki ngseriously
theteachingofVat i
canI Iont heroleoftheChurchinthemoder nwor ld,
examiningthet eachingofPopul orum progr
essi
oand, perhapsalso,
i
nfluencedbyt hegr assrootsconscienti
sati
onmet hodoftheBr azil
ian
educational
istPauloFr eir
e,thisconfer
enceproducedv er
yi mportant
58
document s.

Inthecontextofapeoplefeel
ingoppressedascountryaft
ercountr
y
succumbedt omili
tar
ydict
atorshi
pinLat i
nAmericaandast hegap
betweenthepoorandt heri
chcontinuedtowiden,i
twasf el
tthatt
he
meanst ounderst
andandchanget hef at
eofLati
nAmer icacouldnotbe
foundintermsofdevelopmentbecauset hepr
oblem wasnot
underdev opmentbutdomi
el nati
onanddependence.Li berati
on,t
hen,
andnoteconomi cint
egrat
ioniswhatwasneeded.

Theref
ore,t
hedocumentsproducedatMedel
li
n( “Justi
ce”,
“Peace”
,and
“Pover
tyoftheChur
ch”
)r aceddev
epl el
opmentwi thli
berat
ionand
59
part
ici
pati
on.Someofthetopicstackl
edwer
e:

58
Foramor
ecompr
ehensi
vest
udyoft
heMedel
l
inConf
erence,
seeD.Dor
r,Opt
ionf
ort
hePoor
,205-
211.
59
I
bid.
,206-
210.
 53

1.St ruct uralI njust i

ce:unj uststructur esi nLat inAmer i
cauphol dand
fosterdependencyandpov er
ty .Thepov ertyofLat inAmer ican
count riesdi dnotj usthappen; pov ertyhasbeencausedbya
pat t
er nofbehav i
ourwhi chov ermanyy ear screatedasi tuat ionof
i
nt ernal col onialism andext ernal neo- coloni al
ism.
2.Thepov er tyoft heChur ch:aChur cht hati spoor ,
whi l
eembr acing
spirit
ual pov ertyandv oluntar
ilyli
v ingf rugal li
fe,shoul ddenounce
thatki ndofmat erial povertycausedbyi njusti
ceandgi v
eef fect iv
e
prefer encet ot hepoori nall i
tsendeav our s.
3.Consci ent ization: Peopl ebecomer esponsi blef orinjusticeby
fail
ingt ot akecour ageousandef fect i
veact ion.So, theor dinar y
peopl eshoul dbeawakenedt oopent heirey esandst opt aki ng
thingsf orgr ant edandpar t
ici
pat eact i
velyi nthepr ocessl eadi ngt o
theirliber ation.Theyshoul dlearnt obecr it
ical,tor aisequest ions.
60
Act i
onf orj usticeshoul dbest imul at edf rom gr assr oots.
4.St ruggl ef orl iberat ion:theChur chshoul dhel pt hepoori nt hei r
struggl ef orl i
ber ationt hought hisshoul dbedoneusi ngpeacef ul
means.
Atthehear toft hi sopt ion, asunder stoodi nLat inAmer ica, wer et hr ee
61
basicelement s:

1.acommi tmentbyt heChur chleadersnott ocoll

udewi t
h
oppr essi
ver egi
mesbutt ocampai gnact i
vel
yforstruct
uraljusti
ce;
2.thebel i
efthatthekeyagent sinbr i
ngingaboutsuchachange
mustbet hepoor ,theoppr essedandt hemar gi
nali
zed
themsel ves;
3.acommi tmentt omaket heChurchitselfmorejustand
partici
pative.
Itcouldalmostbesai dthattheMedel l
i
ndocument srepresentashi f
t
from earl
ierconcent r
atononeconomyt
i opol i
ti
cs.Thebestwayt o
changet hingsist oconscientisepeoplet ochanget hestr
ucturesthat
oppresst hem.Medel li
nr epresentsar ealturni
ngpointinthe
understandingoft hesoci almissionoft heChur chi
nLatinAmer icaand
i
ndeedt hewhol eCatholi
cwor ld.Itisnotfornot hi
ngthatthemaj or

60
Inhisf istbook— Pedagogyoft
r heOppr essed— whi chprobabl yi
nfl
uencedt hemindsoft he
bi
shops, PaulFreir
ear guesthatthepoorr emainsubmer gedbybei ngkeptinasi t
uationi
nwhichi ti
s
pract
icall
yimpossi bletoachieveacr it
icalawarenessoft heirsit
uat i
on. Throught her
ightkindof
educationbasedondi alogueandcont i
nualsharedi nvest
igat
ion,ev er
yhumanbei ng,nomat t
erhow
i
mpov er i
shedori l
l
iter
ate,candev el
opanewawar enessofselfwhi chwil
lfreethem tobemor ethan
passi
v eobject
sr espondingtouncont r
oll
ablechange.
61
See:Donal Opt
DORR, i
onfort
hePoor
:AHundr
edYear
sofVat
icanSoci
alTeachi
ng(
Rev
isedEdi
ti
on)
,
Gi
l
landMacmi ll
an,Dubl
in1992,2.
 54

socialj
usti
cedocument
sissuedbytheChurchint
hefol
lowi ngdecade
arepartl
yareact
iont
oallt
hatisrepr
esentedbyMedel
li
n—ar eact
ion
62
thatissometi
meswelcomingandatotherti
mesanxi
ous.

5.
4Just
icei
ntheWor
d

Oneoft hemostpr omisi

ngreformsoft heSecondVat i
canCounci l
was
therecommendat i
ont ohol
dSy nodofbi shopsev erytwoy ears.These
synodsfirstmeteverytwoyears,andthenev erythreeyears,todi
scuss
av ar
iet
yofsubjectssuchasCanonLaw, doctr
ineandl i
turgy,marr
iage,
seminariesandpri
esthood,
andt hepromot ionoft hewor kofJusti
ceand
Peace.Fort hepurposesofthesocialteachingoft heChur ch,wewill
studyonesuchsy nod.

I
n1971,aSy nodofBishopswasconvenedt
odi
scusst
womat
ter
s:(
i)
Pr
iest
hood,
and(ii
)Justi
ceint
heWorld.

I
ndi scussi
ngmat ter
spert
aini
ngt o Justiceint heWor l
d,theBi shops
rel
i
ed on pr eparator
y work done by t he newl y establ
ished (1967)
Ponti
ficalCommi ssi
on f
orJust i
ce and Peace. Because oft he
i
nvolvementofl aypeopl
einthewor koft heCommi ssion,Justiceinthe
Worldcouldbesai dtobethefir
stsocialdocumentt hatprofit
edf r
om
theinputofl aypeople. Theact ualproceedingsoft heSy nodwer e
l
argelyinfl
uencedbyLat i
nAmer icanBi shops. Abr i
efbuti mpor t
ant
documentwasi ssuedattheendoft hemeet ing.

The styl
e ofthedocumentwasr emar
kabl
yf resh:start
ing f
rom t
he
concret
esi t
uat
ioninthewor
ld,t
heBishopsendeav ouredtor eadt
he
“Si
gnsoft heTimes”. Wi
thr
egardtoiscont
t ent,twothingsarewort
h
noti
ng.

Fir
st,t
hebi shopsaffi
rmt hatconcernforj
usti
ceisnotanoptionbuta
consti
tut
ivepartofevangeli
sati
on.Thust heysay:“Act
iononbehalfof
Justi
ceandpar ti
cipat
ioninthetransf
ormati
onofthewor l
dful
l
yappear
tousasaconst i
tuti
vedimensionofthepreachi
ngoftheGospel”(JW -
Int
roduct
ion).

Secondl
y,t
hebishops,f
orthef
irstt
ime,arebol
denoughtor
ecognise
thatt
heChurchandindeedany
one( oror
gani
sat
ion)t
hatv
ent
uresinto

62
I
bid.
,206.
 55

j
usti
cei ssuesshoul dbef ir
stbeseent obej ustifhe/ she/i
twant s
hi
s/her/i
tssoci almessagetobecr edible.“ WhiletheChur chisboundt o
gi
vewi tnesst oj ust
ice,sher ecogni
sest hatany onewhov entur
est o
speaktopeopl eaboutjusti
cemustf irstbej usti ntheireyes”(JW 40).
Justi
cewi t
hint heChur chincludesr espectf oreconomi crights(fai
r
wages);j uri
dicalr i
ghts and t he r
ightt o shar er esponsi
bili
ty and
part
ici
pateindeci si
on-making(JW 41-46).
 56

PopeJohnPaulI
IandHi
sInt
egr
alHumani
sm

TheelectionofCardinalKar
olWoj t
yalaasPopeJohnPaul Ion16th
I
October1978br oughttothepapacyasi gnif
icantlyuni
quemanwi tha
si
gnifi
cant l
ydi
ffer
entsetofexperiences.Thef i
rstnon-I
tal
i
anPope
si
nce1523andt hefirstPol
i
shPopei nthehistor
yoft heChurch,
John
PaulIIbroughtt
ot hepapacyfi
rsthandexper i
enceofamanwhohad
l
ivedwi t
ht her
eali
tyofacommuni ststate.

Academi call
y,hewasinfl
uencedbypersonal
istphil
osophywhich
rej
ectedthemi nd/bodydual
ism andcel
ebrat
edt heunit
yoftheindi
vidual
basedont henot i
onthati
tisthr
oughcreati
veactionthathumanbeings
real
isetheirpotent
ial
.

6.
1TheIni
ti
alOut
put
:TheCent
ral
it
yoft
heDi
gni
tyoft
heHuman
Per
son

PopeJohnPaul IIwasanex t
remelyproli
fi
cwr iter
.Hi sspeechesand
writ
ingsar esomanyt hatmanyanal ystshav eadmi ttedthatiti
s
63
extr
emel ydiff
iculttokeepabr eastofhim. Theper sonal i
niti
alout
put
ofthenewPopewi t
hregardt oencycl
ical
swasunpr ecedented.I nqui
ck
succession,threenewpast orall
ett
erswer ereleased: Redempt or
Homi nis(RedeemerofMan)1979, DivesinMi sericordia(Ri
chinMer cy
)
1980, andLabor em exercens( OnHumanWor k)1981.

Theant hr
opologicalandeccl esi
ologi calshiftsfi
rstev idencedi nt he
document softheSecondVat i
canCounci lfindclearexpr essionint he
wr i
ti
ngsofPopeJohnPaul 11,whoseear lysoci althoughtdeal swi ththe
quest onofwhati
i tmeanst obehuman.I nRedempt orHomi nis(Mar ch,
1979) ,hedev el
opedat heol ogi
calant hropologyt hatwoul dser veast he
basisforal lhi
sfuturewr it
ings:“ Thr ought heincarnat ion, Godgav e
humanl if
ethedi mensiont hathei ntendedmant ohav ef rom hi sfirst
beginning”(RH1) .JohnPaul I
Ireliesheav il
yuponbi blical and
theologicalsymbol sandi magery.Heconf rontsther eal, concrete,
histori
cal si
tuat
ionwi tht heGospel v i
sionofr edempt ioni nChr ist
, with
thepoweroft het r
uthaboutmanandt hewor ldthatiscont ai
nedi nthe
my steryoftheIncar nati
onandt her edempt ionandwi tht hepoweroft he
l
ov ethati sradi
atedbyt hatt r
uth(RH13) .

63
I
nourat
tempttoanaly
set
hesoci
alt
eachi
ngofJohnPaulI
I,wehav
eheav
il
yrel
i
edonP.VALLELY,
TheNewPoli
ti
cs,
84-147.
 57

From thisanthropol ogicalperspect iv

e, hecriti
quest hedanger sof
uncontroll
edt echnol ogicaldevelopmentt hatisnotaccompani edbya
proporti
onal developmentofmor al sandet hics(RH15- 17) .Hedepl ores
thearmsr acewhi chsuppl i
esweaponsofdest r
uct i
oni nsteadofbr ead
andcul t
uralaidaddi ngt hat“thepr inci
pl eofhumanr ightsi sofprof ound
concernt othear eaofsoci al j
usticeandi sthemeasur ebywhi chi tcan
betestedi nthelifeofpol it
icalbodi es”( RH17) .Fr eedom, howev er,
doesnotmeandoi ngwhat everonewi shes;“Christteachesust hatt he
bestuseoff reedom i scharit
y, whicht akesconcr etef ormi nself-
gi vi
ng
andser vi
ce”( RH 21) .ThePopeal sochal l
engesdi srespectf orthe
envir
onmentandanuncr i
ti
cal att
itudet owardt echnologi caladvance.

RichinMercy(DivesI
nMi ser
icordia,1980)presentedmercyassoci al
l
ov e,
demonst r
ati
ngitscl
oselinkt ojusti
ce.ThePopenot eshow
humanact i
onstakeninthenameofj ustcecani
i npract
iceeasil
ydev i
ate
fr
om justi
ceit
selfbybecomingdi stort
edthroughspite,
hatred,
and
cruel
ty(DM 12).Mercyandf orgivenessdonot ,however,
canceljusti
ce
butareitsver
ysource(DM 14).

Inhisency cl
ical"OnHumanWor k"(
Laborem Exercens)publishedin
1981whi l
ehewasr ecov eri
ngfrom anassassinat
ionat t
empt ,PopeJohn
Paul IIset
sfor t
hthet heologyandphilosophyofwor kinthecont extof
presentt i
mes.Gr oundedi nthebookofGenesi s(LE4) ,t
hePope
focusesont het hemesofsubdui ngtheearth,hav
ingdomi nionov erthe
earth,andbei ngresponsi bl
efortheearth.Thehumanbei ngi screated
i
nt hei mageofGodandmandat edtowor k(Gen.1:26-29).So, the
humanper soni stheimageofGodpar tl
yint hemandat egiv
ent o
him/ hertoti
lltheearth,subduei t
,anddomi natei
t.

Intheconf li
ctbet weenl abourandcapi t
al,thePopei nsiststhatwor kis
fortheper son, nottheper sonf orwor k.Humanl aborshoul dbr i
ng
aboutasenseofaccompl ishmenti nt heper son.Hecondemnst he
errorofeconomi sm thatconsi der slaboronl yaccor dingt oit
seconomi c
purpose( LE13) .Fur t
hermor e, capital existsforlabor ,notvicev ersa(LE
15).Headdr essest herightsofwor ker swi t
hinthebr oadcont extof
humanr ight s,aswel lasot heri ssues, suchasunempl oyment ,wages
andot hersoci albenefit
s, unions, agriculturalwork,t hedisabl edper son
andwor k, andt heemi grationquest ion.I ndoingsot hePopei sprovidi
ng
apr ophet i
cv i
sion,awayofconst ruingt hewor ldtheol ogical
lyr at
her
thanpr ovidingaser i
esofconcr et eanswer s.
 58

6.
2St
ruct
uresofSi
nandt
heFr
eeMar
ket

Solli
citudoReiSoci al is
Thepope' st heol ogical vi
sionoft hehumanper sonandt hewor ld
recei
v esf ullerdev elopmenti nhi sency cl
ical"OnSoci al Concer n"
(Soll
icitudoReiSoci alis1987)commemor ati
ngt het went iet
hanni versary
ofPaul VIsPopul orum pr ogressio.JohnPaulI Ibeginshi sletterby
refl
ect i
nguponhi spr edecessor sconceptofdev elopment ,t
hehopesf or
whichhadnotbeenf ulfil
ledov erthepr evioust wentyy ear s.Accor ding
tohim, i
fany thing, t
hegapbet weent heweal thyNor thandt he
under dev elopedof t
en- exploitedSout hhaswi dened( SRS14- 16).Why
hast hegapwi dened? ThePopegi v esthreer easons: fi
r st,
heput st he
blameongr av einstancesofomi ssionint hedev elopingwor lditself;
secondl y, hepoi ntst ot heinabili
tyont hepar toft hecount ri
esi nthe
Northt of eel theobl igationt ohelpt hecount r
iesi ntheSout h; and,last l
y,
theexi stenceoff inanci al,economi c,andsoci al mechani smssust aining
andsuppor tingt hest atusquo( SRS16)

Forhim, too,povertyi smor et hanj usteconomi c.“ Thedenial orthe

l
imitationofhumanr ights-asf orexampl etherighttor el
igiousfreedom,
therighttoshar eint hebui ldingofsoci ety
,thefreedom t oor ganizeand
for
m uni onsort ot akei ni
tiativesi neconomi cmat ter
s-dot hesenot
i
mpov eri
sht hehumanper sonasmuchas, ifnotmor ethan,the
64
deprivati
onofmat erialgoods? ” heasks.Het henof f
ersamor al
cri
ti
queof '
bothliberal capitalism andMar xistcollecti
vism notas
abstractpoliti
co-economi ct heories, butasconcr etereali
ti
esaf fecti
ng
negativel
yt heli
vesofcount lesspeopl e.

ThePopeseesawor ldwhosegov ernanceisdomi natedbysi nful

struct ures(SRS35, 36) .Soci ali
ll
swi l
lnotbeov ercomesol elyby
politicalorsoci alr
emedi esbecause, f
orthePope, thet ruenatur
e
oft heev i
lfacingmanki ndismor al.Anaut hent i
cconv ersioni s
necessar y,aconv ersionwhi chisbot hindividual andcollective.This
aloner emai nsthekeyt oacompr ehensiveunder standi
ngofhuman
l
iber ation.ThePoper epeatedl
yr eturnstot hisconcer nfort otal
l
iber ation.Thus“ thepr inci
pleobst acletobeov ercomeont hewayt o
authent i
cliberati
oni ssinandt hest ructurespr oducedbysi nasi t
65
mul tipli
esandspr eads” .Thesi nsofi ndivi
dual sandt hesi nful
64
Sol
l
iti
tudoReiSoci
ali
s,15.
65
I
bid.
,46.
 59

struct
uresbuil
tint
osy stemsact ual
l
yrei
nfor
ceoneanother—“andthus
theygrowstronger,spread,
andbecomet hesourceofothersi
ns,
andso
66
i
nfluencepeoplesbehav i
our.
”

Inhiseffortstosuggestapat ht obef ollowedinor dertoov er

comet his
evil
,PopeJohnPaul I
Iturnst ohisf avourit
econceptofsol i
darit
y.
Soli
darityisnotsomev aguef eelingofcompassi on, but“afi
rm and
perseveringdet ermi nati
ont ocommi tonesel ft
othecommongood; t
hat
i
st osayt ot hegoodofal landofeachi ndivi
dual,becausewear eal
l
67
real
lyallresponsi bleforal l
” .Thi sat t
itudeisopposedt othatdesi
refor
profi
tandt hatthirstforpowerwhi chleadt ostructuresofsin.These
l
atter,t
her efore,cannotbesepar atedf r
om t hePer sonalandindivi
dual
characterofsi n.Gr eed,av arice,andsel fi
shnesscr eatethestruct
ures
ofsin.

ThePopeal sor eaff

irmstheChur ch'spr ef
erent
ialopti
onf orthepoor :t
o
i
gnoret hei
mmensemul ti
tudesoft hehungr yandt heneedy ,t
he
homeless,thosewi thoutmedi calcar e,aswellasthosewi thouthopef or
abetterfut
ure“ wouldmeanbecomi nglikethe'r
ichmanwhopr et
ended
68
nottoknowt hebeggarLaz arusl yi
ngathi sgate”(cf.Lk.16:19-31) .
Thecondemnat ionofsocialev i
lsandi njusti
cesispartoft heChurchs
propheticr
ole,hermi ni
str
yofev angel i
zati
on.

6.
3TheSpi
ri
tualMal
aiseofOurTi
mesandi
tsSoci
alAf
ter h69
mat

I
n1995JohnPaul IImadeper hapshi smosti mpor t
antcont ribut
iont o
CatholicSocialTeaching,determi ningt hecour seonwhi chf ut ur
echur ch
discussionsofsoci alandpol i
ti
cal ethicswi l
lbeconduct edint henew
mi l
lenni
um.Thepubl icat
ion,inthatYear ,ofEv angel
ium v i
tae-t he
Gospel oflif
e-isthecul minationofhi swr i
ti
ngsonsoci alandpol it
ical
themeswhi chbegani n1979wi t
ht heency cli
cal Redempt orhomi nis.
Thest atedaim ofEv angel
ium v i
taei st otreat'
thev alueandi nv i
olabili
ty
ofhumanl if
e'butthepr oj
ectisinf actmuchbr oader.Thet heme-t hat
wemust' respectl
ife'—cent ersonf ami l
i
arissuesofsexual andmedi cal

66
I
bid.
,36.
67
I
bid.
,38.
68
I
bid.
,42.
69
Ouranaly
sisofEvangel
i
um vitaeisbot
hasummar yofandinmanyplacesaverbat
im accountof
Jul
ieCLAGUE,“TheGospelofLife:JohnPaulI
IonSpir
it
ualMalai
seanditsSoci
alAft
ermath”i nP.
VALLELY(
ed.)
,TheNewPolit
ics,
114-131.utasummaryof
 60

ethi
cs,
butthefocusoncri
mesagainstl
ifeal
soservesasani l
l
ustrat
ion
ofthemoral
lyfl
awednatur
eoftheWest er
nli
fest
yleand,byimpli
cati
on,
thepol
it
ico-
economicmodelofdemocrati
ccapit
ali
sm whichsupport
sit.

Theor igi
nal it
yandsi gnifi
canceoft heency clical l
iesi nit
sat temptt o
drawt ogetherpol iti
cs, economi csandmor ali
tyi ntoonecoher entpictur
e
bycombi ningt hefami li
arsubj ectmat t
erofCat holicSoci al Teachi ng
withchur cht eachingsonmedi cal andsexual ethics.Ther esul tisan
ambitioussy nthesisandampl i
f i
cat ionoft hemesal readyr ef erredt o
Centesimusannusof1991( soci alism, capitalism, democr acy , and
Godlessness) ,Verit
atisspl endorof1993( wi t
hi tstreat mentof
fundament almor als),andSol licit
udoReiSoci alisof1987( wi t
hi tstheory
ofstructural si
n) .Theency cli
cal al soreit
er atesear l
ierteachi ngssuch
astheCongr egati
onf ort heDoct rineoft heFai th'sDecl arationon
ProcuredAbor tion(1974)t oitspr onouncement sunderhi m on
Euthanasi a(1980)andDonum v i
tae( OnRespectf orHumanl i
fe)( 1987).
Thereisv er yli
ttl
enov elt
yint heency cl
icalbutt hef actthatEv angel i
um
vit
aeisawor kofi ntegration,itisper hapst hemostsi gnificantency cli
cal
whichPopeJohnPaul haswr itten.

Themet hodol ogi

calstrategyempl oyedinEv angeli
um v it
aestemsf rom
theassumpt ionthatper sonalassessment sofissuesi nmedi cal and
sexual ethicsarenot'priv atemorali
ty'
,astheyareof tenmi st
akenl y
descr i
bed, butverypublic-bot hintheeffectstheyhav eonsoci et yand
becauset heyarebornf rom culturalatt
it
udeswhi char edependentona
poli
tico-economi ccli
mat ewhichisconduci vetotheirflouri
shing.Thus,
contracept i
onandabor tionaredescr i
bedas' f
rui
tsoft hesamet ree' i
n
thattheycanbot hbepr oduct sofahedoni sti
cment al
it
y'whichr egar ds
procreationasanobst acl etopersonalfulf
il
lment'(EV13) .Hedoni sm
(bel
iefthatpl easureisthechi efgood),widespreadi ntheWest ,
thr i
ves
wheni thast henecessar yconditi
onsofi ndi
viduall
ibertyandr elative
affl
uencewhi chdemocr at i
ccapit
ali
sm provides.

6.
3.1Secul
ari
sm andMor
alDi
sint
egr
ati
on

Wel i
veinaner awhentheglobalagendaisstil
linthepr ocessofbeing
reshapedfoll
owingthecol
lapseoftheironcurtai
nt hatseparatedthe
Eastfrom theWest.Thedemi seoftotali
tar
iancommuni sm andthe
portr
ayalofthecapit
ali
stWestasv i
ctorhasrequir
edapapal response.
TheCol dWarisover,butt
hebattl
ebet weengoodandev i
lisnotyetwon.
Thechallengefaci
ngmankindintheThi r
dMi ll
enni
um i sanarduousone
 61

andonlytheconcer tedef fortsofal lthosewhobel iev ei nthev al ueofl i

fe
canpreventaset backofunf oreseeabl econsequencesf orci vil
ization
(EV91).Humanki nd, despi t
et hemar chof' pr
ogress' , i
sstillfacedwi th
anapparentinabili
tytodel iverpeaceandj usti
cetot hemaj orityof '
peoplei
nt hewor l
d.Rat hert hant acklingsuchpr essi ngpr obl ems, those
i
naposi ti
ontoaddr esst hem appearbentonmor al di si
ntegr ation.And
theeconomicmechani sm whi chassi stedt hedefeatofcommuni sm is
nowbecomi ngmor eofanenemyt hananal l
y.So, althought he
mill
enni
um shoul dsy mbol izethedawnofanewer a, thestruggl ei snot
yetover
!Ther ei sal oomi ngsenseofcr isis:l
oyal
ty ,st r
engt h,cour age,
heroi
sm andper hapsmar ty r
dom wi l
lber equiredint hismor al campai gn.
Suchisthecontex tinwhi chEv angelium v i
taeiswr i
t ten.

ThePopescr i
tiqueofcommuni sm wasbasedl argelyoni tsanti-
reli
gious
aspect.Thepr osperousWesthasi tsownshar einthiscr i
ti
que: t
he
Westhasal soedgedGodt ot
hemar ginst hrought echnol ogi
cal and
economi cprogr ess.Thepopei dentif
iest hisasoneoft hecausesof
theWest smor al decay,fordenial ofGodi nvolvesdeni alofGodspl anfor
humani t
y.Wher eGodi sdeni edandpeopl eliveast houghhedi dnot
exi
st,orhiscommandment sarenott akeni nt oaccount ,thedignityof
thehumanper sonandt hei nvi
olabil
it
yofhumanl if
eal soendupbei ng
rej
ectedorcompr omised( EV96) .Humanki ndinitsweaknesswor ships
fal
segods( mammon, pleasure,technol ogy, f
reedom f rom commi tments
orthedeifi
cationofef ficiency)i
nt hehopet hattheywi llprovi
det he
happinessthatonl yt
het rueGodcanpr ov i
de( EV95) .I tisani dolatryof
whichChr i
sti
ansandnon- Chr
ist
iansal ikear egui l
ty!

I
nfluencedbyAugust i
nesCityofGodandaccept i
ngthesometimes
tr
agicambi gui
tywhichcharact
erizescompl exsociet
ies,
JohnPaul
buidsEv
l angel
ium v
itaearoundther het
ori
caldeviceoftwoopposi
ng
worldvi
ews: t
hecultureofli
feandt hecult
ureofdeat h.

Accor di
ngt oEv angelium Vi t
ae,withinthecultur
eofdeat htheweakar e
i
ncr easi
nglyundert hr
eatf rom thepower ful
.Despi teeloquent
arti
culati
onsofhumanr ights,anexcessiveright
ism hasemer ged
alongsideani ronicdisregar dforhumanr i
ghtsinpr acti
cepar t
icularl
ythe
ri
ghtt olif
e.Cr ucial
ly
, crimesagai nstli
fesuchast hepr acti
ceof
abor t
ionandeut hanasiaar egaini
ngaccept ance, evenwi t
hinthe
supposedl yli
fe-promot ingunitoft hefamily.Ther ootofthiscr i
sisi
s,
thepopecl ai
ms, becauseol dcertainti
esabouthumannat ure,
t hemor al
orderandhumanki ndsr elat
ionshipt oGodhav ebeenr eplacedby
uncer t
aintyandskept icism.Thecul t
ureofdeathi snotani solatedor
 62

chanceoccur
rence,butisacti
vel
yf ost
eredbypowerf
ulcul
tur
al,
economicandpoli
tical
current
swhi chencourageani
deaofsociet
y
excessi
vel
yconcernedwi t
heffi
ciency(EV12).

Despitethepessi mistictoneoft hediscussi on,Evangel ium Vit

ae
recognizesthatposi t
ivesi gnsofanal ternativecultur earediscernibl
e
throughv ari
ousi niti
ativesofsuppor tfort heweak: fami lieswhoaccept
abandonedchi l
dr en;thosewhohel pmot hersindifficult
y ;medical
dev el
opment sf orthesi ckanddy i
ng-internationalaidandsoon.He
notesanewsensi t
ivi
tyinf avourofecol ogyandagai nstwar ;i
ncreased
commi tmentt onon- vi
olenceandagr owi ngopposi tiont othedeat h
penalty.Manycampai gnagai nstabortionandeut hanasi a.Inallthese
areas,thechur chi svisibleinprovidi
ngchar itablehel p.Thesear esigns
oftheGospel ofl i
fewhi ch, i
ncontrasttot hecul t
ureofdeat h,deri
ves
from abel i
efint heinher entdignit
yoft hehumanper son.

6.
3.2Economi
cEf
fi
ciency
,Soci
alJust
iceorper
sonall
iber
ty?

Manki ndspol iti

calproblem seemst hatoff i
ndingawayt oholdt hree
thingsi ncr eativeharmony :economi cef f
iciency ,soci aljusti
ceand
i
ndi v i
dualliber t
y. Ev angelium v i
taecanbesai dt obeconcer nedwi th
theexcessesofeconomi ceff i
ciencyandi ndi
vidual l
ibertyandt he
negat i
veef fectsthesehav eonsoci al j
ustice.
Ont hefirstoft hese-economi cef ficiency—t heEncy cli
callament sthat
“thecr it
erionofper sonal dignity-whi chdemandsr espect ,generosity
andser vi
ce-i srepl
acedbyt hecr iterionofef ficiency ,functi
onalityand
usef ulness: othersareconsi derednotf orwhatt hey" are",butforwhat
they" have, doandpr oduce"( EV23) .Rat herthant echnol ogybeingat
theser vi
ceofhumanki nd,humanneedsar ebei ngsacr if
icedinthe
i
nt erestsofeconomi ceffi
ciency .Mar ketf or
cesr eplacemor alvaluesas
thei mpet usf ortechnological i
nnov ationandpr ogr essi sjudgedi nterms
ofeconomi cgr owth.Thepower ful gainwhi l
et heweakl oseoutwhen
efficiencyist hegod.

Asr egardsindividualli
ber t
ywhi chisov er emphasi zedinourownt i
mes,
thePopesay sthat“...Godgi vesever yonef reedom, afreedom which
possesani nherentl
yr elati
onaldimensi on...butwhenf reedom ismade
absoluteinani ndividualist
icway ,i
tisempt i
edofi tsori
ginalcontent,
and
i
tsv erymeani nganddi gnityarecontradi cted”(EV19) .Whenf reedom
shutsoutt henei ghbour( youdoy ourt hingandIwi l
ldomi ne!
)andt he
trut
haboutgoodandev il
,all
thatremai nsi sopinionandchoi ce.
Godcr eatedhumanbei ngswi ththefreedom t ochoosegoodov erevi
l;
 63

butjustascreati
oni son- goi
ng,soisthefal
l:
humanbei ngshave
disorder
edgoalsandconsequent lymakedisorderedchoi
ces.
Evangeli
um vit
aet hereforerej
ectsasunhealt
hyt hedesi
reforabsol
ute
fr
eedom andcompl etecont r
oloverourli
veswhichisverymucht he
spiri
toftheage.Theset wofeatureschar
acter
izethecult
ureofdeath
whichJohnPaul IIcrit
icizes.

6.
3.3ThePr
obl
em ofDemocr
acy

Dur i
ngt hetwent i
et hcent ur yt heCat holicChur chhasmov edawayf rom
appr ovi
ngaut horitarianmodeofgov ernmentt oapar t
ici
pat orymodel
whi chdemocr acypr ov ides.Howev er,JohnPaul I
Iisfarfrom i deal i
zing
thephilosophi calunder pi nningsoft heconceptofdemocr acy .The
stateshoul dbeboundbydut yt oGod, andl awsf r
amedaccor dingt o
truthandj usti
ce.Buti ndemocr aci
es, authorit
iesar esubjectnott othe
l
awofGodbutt ot hewi ll oft hepeopl e.Oncet hereisar ejectionof
divi
neaut hor i
tytowhom obedi encei sdue, manbecomesal awt o
himself.Hav inglostt hesenseofandneedf orat ranscendentOt her
guidinghumani ty
,t hecasef oranyl ocusofmor altr
uth(andsour ceof
duty )f
ades.Thev alueofdemocr acyst andsorf all
swi t
ht hev alues
whi chitembodi esandpr omot es.ForJohnPaul I
I,democr acyi smor e
valuableforwhati tpr ev ent s( total
it
arianism)t hanwhati tcr eates; i
tis
betterthant healter nativ es,butnoti deal i
ni t
sel f(EV70-75) .

6.
3.4Concl
usi
on

Cathol i
cSocialTeachi nghasgener allybeenl i
tt
lepubl i
cizedin
compar i
sonwi t
ht hechur ch'smoralteachingonsexual andmedi cal
ethics.Suchdi f f
erentiati
onbetweenso- calledsocial andper sonal
mor ali
tywasgener al
lyf aci
li
tat
edbyt heirseparatetreatmenti npapal
pronouncement s.I nEv angeli
um vi
tae, t
het woar ei
nt ertwined,making
anydi sti
ncti
onbet weent hem l
essclearwhi lealsosuggest i
ngtheir
mut ual r
einf
orcement .Combi ned,theycr eateapower fulimpressionof
theWest smoral malaise.Thei mpor t
anceoft hisstrategyshoul dbe
under l
ined.Ev angelium v i
taeprovi
dest hemostcompr ehensi v
epi ct
ure
andunequi v
ocal stat
ementofJohnPaul swor ldviewandmakest he
subsequentr oom f ormanoev r
eofhi ssuccessoral lt
hemor eli
mitedby
bindingt hechurch'sdoct ri
neonsoci ali
ssuest oitsteachi ngonper sonal
mor ali
ty.
 64

Char
act
eri
sti
cMar
ksoft
heSoci
alTeachi
ngoft
heCat
hol
icChur
ch

Thefol
lowingisal istofkeyemphaseswhi chcharacter
izeCatholi
c
soci
alteachi
ng today,wit
h suggesti
ons ofsome documents which
70
demonstr
atethesepoint
spart
icul
arl
ywell
:

7.
1TheDi
gni
tyoft
heHumanPer
son

The dignity ofthe human per son isaf undamentalv al

ue,al way s
recognisedassuchbyt hosewhosi ncerel
ysearchforthetruth.Al lt
he
manydi ffer
ingandcompet i
ngsocialconcept
sandsoci al
-poli
ticalgoals
arebasedonv aryi
ngv i
ewsofhumani ty
. I tist hesev i
ewswhi ch,
ult
imately,form concretesoci
alpol i
ciesandt hebasicst r
uct ur
esf or
establ
ishedsocialorders.

ForCat holicsoci alt eachinghumani t

yst r
anscendent alorigin,andt he
resultingr eferencet oGodi nt heChr i
sti
anv iew ofhumani t
y,areof
cruciali mpor t
ance. Ont hev eryfirstpagest hescr ipturesr eporti
nt he
storyofcr eati
on:“ SoGodcr eatedmani nhisowni mage, i
nthei mageof
Godhecr eatedt hem;mal eandf emal ehecr eatedt hem”( Gen.1: 27) .
Thehumanbei ngi sGodscr eation. Thati st hefirstandf undament al
utteranceoft hescr ipturesabouthumani t
y. Godcr eatedhumanbei ngs
i
nhi sowni mage. I nt hatli
estheiri ncompar ablev alue, asthei mageof
God. Scr i
pturedoesnotwi sht oexpr essany thingmor ethant hatwhen
i
tst ates t hathuman bei ngs shal lhave domi nion ov ert he ear th
(Gen. 1:28). And t hisdoesnotmeanabsol utepower( ther i
ghtt o
dest r
oyt heenv i
ronment )
. Notatal l! Scr i
pturewant st osayt hat
betweenhumanbei ngsandt her estofcr eat i
ont her ei saqual i
tative
difference:i n wor th and di gnit
y ,humani tyt r
anscends t he whol e of
creationbecausei ti
smadei ntheimageofGodandi s,atthesamet ime,
hisconf i
dant, t
owhom Godspeaksasanequal .

So,t
hedi gni
tyofthepersoni
smani f
estedinal
litsradi
ancewhenthe
per
sonsor i
ginanddesti
nyareconsi
dered:cr
eat
edbyGodi nhi
simage
andli
kenessaswel lasr
edeemedbyt hemostpreci
ousbloodofChri
st,

70
See,MichaelJ.SCHULTHEI
S,EdwardP.DEBERRI&PeterJ.HENRI
OT,OurBestKeptSecr et:TheRich
Heri
tageofCat hol
icSocialTeachi
ng,CAFOD,London1988;andSt r
atf
oldCALDECOTT,Cathol
icSocial
Teaching:AWayi n,CTS,London2001.
 65

womenandmenhav eapr e-eminentplaceint hesocialor

der,with
i
nalienabl
erights,
bothpoli
ti
callegalandsocial
-economic.Forthisvery
reason,everyvi
olati
onoftheper sonaldi
gnit
yoft hehumanbeingcries
outi nvengeancet oGodandi sanof f
enceagai nsttheCreat
oroft he
i
ndividual
. The f undamentalquest i
on to ask i n al
lsocialand
developmentissuesshouldther ef
orebe:how muchdoest hi
sprotect
andenhancet hedignit
yofhumani t
y?

Thef oundat i
onofhumanr ightsishumandi gnit
y.Di gnity
,asi tisused
here,indicat esthewor thofbei nghuman.Consequent l
y,itisnot
constitutedbyanyhumandecl arati
onori nst i
tut
ion;rat
her,itisgiven,
universallyandashar edr ealit
y.I tisconf erredonmanbyv ir
tueoft he
creati
v eactf r
om whi cht hehumanper sontookhi sorheror igin.Itlies
i
nt hef actt hateachpar ti
cul arhumanbei ngandal l
humanbei ngsar e,in
common, human.Wi thouthumanr ights,humandi gnitycannotbe
reali
zedi nact ion.
Allofthechur chsef fortsint hepur suitofbot hjusti
ceandpeacear e
designedt opr otectandpr omot ethedi gnityofev eryperson.Thisdignity
i
ssomet hi ngduet othehumanper sonbecausehei saper son, by
reasonofhi sl i
kenesst oGod.I tisthedi gnityoftheper sont hat
constitutest hef oundat i
onoft hequal i
tyofal lpeopleamongt hemsel ves.

Thisinalienabl edignityofev eryhumanbei ngi swhati satt hef oundat ion

ofhumanr ight sandcor respondi ngr esponsi bi l
i
ties:ther ightt ol i
feand
thecor respondi ngdut yt or espectanddef endi t;ther ightt oawor thy
standardofl ivingandt hecor respondi ngdut yofcr eat i
ngaconduci ve
cli
mat ef orsoci aldev el
opment ;ther i
ghtt owor shipGodaccor dingt o
onesconsci ence;economi cr ights;andpol iti
calr i
ghts. I tisthi sdigni ty
i
scr ushedunder f
ootont hei ndi vi
duall ev elwhenduer egardi snotpai d
forvaluessuchasf reedom,t her ightt opr ofessonesr eli
gion,phy sical
andment ali ntegr i
ty,ther i
ghtt olifesnecessi ti
esandt her ightt ol ife
i
tself.Ont hesoci alandpol iti
callev el,i
ti scr ushedwhenhumanbei ngs
cannotexer ci set heirr i
ghtt opol i
ticalf reedom andpar ti
cipation;when
theyar esubj ectedt ounj ustandi llegi
timat ecoer cion;whent heyar e
subjected t o phy sicaland ment alt or ture;when t hey ar e deni ed
economi cmeansf orpr operl iveli
hood,et c. Democr ati
cpar ti
ci pati
oni n
decision-maki ngi swayofr espect ingt hedi gnit
yandl ibertyofpeopl e.
Thegov ernmenti st hei nst rumentbywhi chbywhi chpeopl ecooper at e
togetheri nor dert oachi evet hecommongood( PiusXI I,Chr i
stmas
Message,1944) . Theeconomyi sf orthepeopl eandt her esour cesof
theear thar et obeequi tablyshar edbyal l
. Humanwor ki st hekeyt o
contempor ar ysoci alquest ions. Labourt akespr ecedenceov erbot h
 66

capi
talandtechnol
ogyinthepr
oduct
ionprocess. Justwagesandt
he
ri
ghtofworkerstoor
ganiz
earetober
espected.(OnHumanWor k

Therefore,r
ecognit
ionofhumanr i
ghtsdoesnotdependonanyhuman
i
nstit
utionorsocialcovenant.I ti
sGodhi mselfwhodemandsi t. The
ult
imatef oundati
onoft her i
ghtsofmani shi sdigni
tyasacr eat
ure
madei nGodsi mage. Indeed,thedigni
tyoft hehumanper sonisthe
maint hread thatruns through al
lthe magi ster
ialpronouncements
(Papal
, Conci
li
arandEpiscopal)onsocial
issues.

7.
2ThePr
inci
pleofCommonGood

TheCommonGoodi sunder stoodasav al

uecomi ngf rom allnecessary
conditionsofsoci alli
v i
ng — economi c,poli
tical,mat er
ial,rel
igi
ous,
cult
ural-whi chenablemenandwoment omor er eadil
yandmor efull
y
real
izet heirhumandi gnityandachiev ethei
rfullhumanpot enti
al. The
promot ionoft hecommongoodshoul dbetheconcer nofbot hthestate
andt hei ndivi
dualperson. Thest atesmai ncont r
ibut
ionsi nthi
sr egard
areitsr ol
ei nthepromot i
onofbasi chumanr ights;securingpubl i
corder
andpeace, andenhanci ngthegener alwelf
areofpeopl e. Thei ndivi
dual
person wi llcontri
butet ot he common good bybr i
nging hisorher
i
nterest sintoharmonywi t
ht heneedsoft hecommuni ty,andbymaki ng
suret hathi s/herpersonalgoods,ser vi
cesandt alentsar eputatt he
servi
ceoft hecommuni ty.

7.
3ThePr
inci
pleofSol
idar
it
y

Thepr i
nci
pleofsoli
dar
it
yfol
lowsfrom t hev erynoti
onofsoci ety
(sol
idaremeanstofitf
ir
mlytoget
her )initscommi tmenttot hecommon
good.Thesoci alwhol
eandi t
smember sarecloselyj
oinedt oget
her:
themember softhewholehavetoat tendtot hewelfar
eoft hewhol e
l
ikewisethewholehastoatt
endtot hewel fareofitsmember s.

I
nthewrit
ingsofPopeJohnPaul II
,sol
idar
it
yrecei
vesal
otofat
tent
ion
i
nthecontextofhist
heologi
cal
visi
onf ort
hehumanperson(
See"On
Soci
alConcer Sol
n"( l
i
cit
udoReiSociali
s1987).

Webel ongtoonehumanf amil

yandassuchhav emut ualobli
gat
ionsto
promot ethedevelopmentofal lpeopleacrossthewor ld. I
nparticul
ar,
ther i
chnationshav eresponsibil
it
iestowardthepoornat i
onsandt he
struct
uresoftheinter
national
or dermustrefl
ectjust
ice.
 67

7.
4Li
ber
ati
onandPr
efer
ent
ialOpt
ionf
ort
hePoor

Althought het er
m Optionf orthepoorcamet obewi del
yusedi nt he
Chur chint he1970s,therealit
yt hatdesignatest hist
er m,Godandt he
Chur chsidingwi t
hthepoori sper hapst hesinglemostchar acteristi
c
mar kofChr i
sti
ani
tydownt hecent uries. Apr eferent
ialloveshoul dbe
shownt ot hepoor,whoseneedsandr ight
sar egivenspecialattenti
oni n
God's ey es. " Poor"i s understood t or efer tot he economi call
y
disadvantagedwho, asaconsequenceoft heirstatus,
suf f
eroppr ession
andpower l
essness.

Thi
snoti
onstemsfr
om t
heGodoftheBi
blewhoashasbeenear
li
er
demonst
rat
ed,i
sont
hesi
deoft
hepoor
.

I
nModer nt i
mes, t
hepreferenti
alopti
onforthepoorhasbeenshowni n
thegr ound-br
eakingencycli
calofPopeLeoXI II
,Rer
um Nov arum.
Alt
hought heChurchwassl owi nrecogni
singthedeterior
ati
ngcondi ti
on
ofwor kers,event
uall
y,i
nt hepersonofPopeLeoXI I
I,theChur chspoke
offi
ciall
yont he“soci
alquestionofthatti
mepr ot
est
ingstronglyagainst
thehar shconditi
onswhicht heindustr
ial
wor kerswereenduring.

Howev er,initspresentuse,
thenot iondev elopedi nthecontextoft
he
Liber ationTheol ogyofSouthAmer ica.I nthecont extofapeople
feelingoppr essedascount r
yaf tercount r
ysuccumbedt omi li
tar
y
dictat orshipi nLati
nAmer i
caandast hegapbet weent hepoorandt he
ri
chcont inuedt owiden,i
twasf eltthatthemeanst ounderst
andand
changet hef ateofLati
nAmer icacoul dnotbef oundi ntermsof
dev elopmentbecauset heproblem wasnotunder devel
opmentbut
domi nat i
onanddependence.Li beration,t
hen, andnoteconomi c
i
nt egr ationiswhatwasneeded.

Theref
ore,t
hedocumentsproducedatMedel
li
n(“
Justi
ce”,
“Peace”
,and
“Pover
tyoftheChur
ch”
)r aceddev
epl el
opmentwi
thli
berat
ionand
part
ici
pati
on.Someofthetopicstackl
edwer
e:

(
i) Str
ucturalI
njust
ice:unjustst
ruct
uresinLati
nAmer i
cauphol
d
andfosterdependencyandpov er
ty.Thepov er
tyofLati
n
Amer i
cancountriesdi
dnotjusthappen;pov
ertyhasbeen
causedbyapat ternofbehavi
ourwhichovermanyy ear
s
 68

createdasi t
uat i
onofi nt ernal coloniali
sm andext ernalneo-
coloniali
sm.
(
ii
) Thepov ertyoft heChur ch: aChur chthati spoor ,
while
embr acingspi rit
ual pov ertyandv oluntaril
yl i
vingf r
ugalli
fe,
shoulddenouncet hatki ndofmat eri
alpov ertycausedby
i
njusticeandgi veef fectivepr eferencet ot hepoori nall
its
endeav ours.
(
ii
i) Consci entization:Peopl ebecomer esponsi bleforinjusti
ceby
fail
ingtot akecour ageousandef fecti
veact i
on.So, the
ordinarypeopl eshoul dbeawakenedt oopent heireyesand
stopt aki
ngt hingsf orgr ant edandpar t
icipateact i
velyinthe
processl eadingt ot heirliberation.Theyshoul dlearntobe
cri
tical,t
or aisequest i
ons.Act ionf orjusticeshoul dbe
sti
mul atedf rom grassr oot s.
(
iv) Strugglef orliberati
on: theChur chshoul dhel pt hepoorint hei
r
struggleforl i
berationt hought hisshoul dbedoneusi ng
peacef ulmeans.

Atthehear
tofthisopt
ion,
asunder
stoodi
nLat
inAmer
ica,
wer
ethr
ee
71
basicel
ement
s:

4.acommi tmentbytheChurchleadersnott ocoll

udewith
oppressi
veregi
mesbuttocampai gnact iv
elyforstr
uctur
alj
ust
ice;
5.thebeli
efthatt
hekeyagentsinbringingaboutsuchachange
mustbet hepoor,
theoppressedandt hemarginali
zed
themselves;
6.acommi tmenttomaketheChur chitselfmorejustand
part
ici
pativ
e.

APr efer enti

al Opti
onforthePoori sacommi tmentbyi ndiv
idual
Christiansandt heChrist
iancommuni tyatev eryleveltoengageact i
vel
y
i
nast ruggl etoov er
comet hesoci ali
njusti
ceswhi chmarourwor ld.To
begenui ne,itmustcomef rom ar ealexper i
enceofsol idari
tywi t
ht he
poor .Thechal l
engebefor ewhoev erembr acesthi sopt i
onist oshar ei
n
realterms, t
osomedegr ee, thever yl
ives,sorrows, joys,hopesoft he
mar ginal i
zed.Suchsol i
dar i
tyalsomeansacommi t
mentt owor king
withst ructures,organi
sationsandagenci est hatpr omot etheinterests
ofthel esspr i
vil
egedinsoci ety:theeconomi call
ypoor ,t
hegr oupst hat
arepol iti
callymar gi
nal
ized, peoplediscriminatedagai nstonsexual

71
See:Donal Opt
DORR, i
onfort
hePoor
:AHundr
edYear
sofVat
icanSoci
alTeachi
ng(
Rev
isedEdi
ti
on)
,
Gi
l
landMacmi ll
an,Dubl
in1992,2.
 69

grounds,peoplesthathavebeencultur
all
ysi l
enced.Butitisnotenough
j
usttotastei nrealt
ermsthepangsofpov ert
y,onehasalsotomaket he
commi tmentt hestr
uctur
ali
njusti
cessuppor t
ingthemarginali
sati
onof
cert
ainsectionsofsociet
y.Of tenti
mest hebestwayt ochanget hi
ngs
i
st oconscientizepeopl
etochanget hest
r uctur
esthatoppressthem.

7.
5ThePr
inci
pleofSubsi
diar
it
y

Sociali
nsti
tut
ionsmustl eav
et othesmall
ergr oupi
ngsorindivi
duals
whattheycandobytheirownpower ;
ontheotherhand,t
heymustassist
the small
er groupi
ngs or indi
vi
duals wheret hey are unabl
et o
accompli
shanecessarytask.

Theclassi
cal
defi
nit
ionofthesubsi
diar
it
ypri
nci
pleisf
oundi
nthe
ency
cli Quadr
cal agesimoannor el
easedbyPopePiusXIont
hefor
ti
eth
anni
ver yofRer
sar um nov
arum i
n1931.

Ont heonehand, t
hesubsi diar
it
yprinci
pleprotectstheper sonalbeing
andl i
feofindi
vidual peopleandofsmal l
ersocialcirclesfrom
encroachmentsbyt hemor ecompr ehensivesocialbodiessot hatinthi
s
respectiti
mpliesacer t
aindefi
ningemphasi sont heirautonomy .On
theotherhand, subsidiari
tymeans'helpfrom abov e'whichattimesi s
tendenti
ouslyov er
looked.

7.
6Just
iceasaConst
it
uti
veDi
mensi
onofEv
angel
isat
ion

In1971,t
henewl y
-int
roducedSy nodofBi shops(uponthe
recommendat i
onofVaticanII
)pr oducedar evol
uti
onarydocument
Justi
ceintheWor l
d.Takingaftert heopennessofJohnXXI I
Iand
Gaudium etspes,
thebishopsani mport
antconnectionbetweenJust
ice
andthewor kofEvangeli
sati
on.

Fir
st,concer nforjusti
ceisnotanopt ionbutaconst i
tuti
vepartof
evangel i
sat i
on.Thust heysaid:“ Acti
ononbehal fofJusticeand
part
icipationinthet r
ansfor
mat ionofthewor l
dfull
yappeart ousasa
constituti
v edimensionofthepr eachi
ngoft heGospel”(JW -
Int
roduct ion).Thisaffi
rmationwasl aterechoedinthe1975Apost ol
i
c
ExhortationofPopePaul VIEv
, angeli
inunti
andi(OnPr ocl
aimingt
he
 70

Gospel).InthisExhort
ati
ont hePopeinsist
sont hel
inkbetween,onthe
onehand, sal
vationandthepr ocl
amationoftheGospel,
andont he
otherhand,li
berati
onfrom anythi
ngthatoppressesmankindi
sclearl
y
sociali
nnature.

The"social
"-thehumanconstruct
ionoftheworld-i
snot"secul
ar"i
nthe
senseofbeingoutsideofGod'
splan,buti
sinti
matel
yinvol
vedwiththe
dynamicoftheReignofGod.Ther efor
efait
handjusti
cearenecessar
il
y
l
inkedclosel
ytogether.

7.
7St
ewar
dshi
p

Allpeopl ehav ebeencr eatedbyGodandar eapartofthelargersoci

ety
.
Ourcommi tmentt othecommongoodr equir
esresponsibl
estewardshi
p
oftheear t
handi t
sresources.Tr uestewardshi
pcallsust oexamine
howweuseandshar ethegoodsoft heear t
h,whatwepassont ofutur
e
gener ati
ons, andhowwel eaveinharmonywi thGodscr eati
on.Al l
proper t
yhasa" socialmor tgage”.Allpeoplearetober espectedand
sharet heresour cesoft heear t
h.Byourwor kwear eco-creator
sinthe
continuingdev elopmentoft heearth.

7.
8 Li
nkbet
weenl
oveandj
ust
ice

Loveofnei ghbouri sanabsol utedemandf orjusti

ce,becausecharit
y
manifest
si t
selfinact i
onsandst ructureswhichrespecthumandi gni
ty,
prot
ecthumanr ights,andfaci
lit
atehumandev elopment. Pr i
ortothe
worksofchar i
tyar ethedemandsofj usti
ce! Topr omotejusti
ceisto
tr
ansform str
uctureswhi chbl
ocklov e.(Justi
ceintheWorld)

7.
9 Li
nkbet
weenJust
iceandPr
act
ice

TheChur ch and i
ndeed any one (ororgani
sati
on)thatv enturesinto
j
ustice issues shoul
df i
rstbe seen t o be j
usti fhe/ she/ i
twant s
his/her
/i
t ssoci
almessaget obecr edi
ble.“Whil
etheChur chi sboundt o
givewi t
nesst ojusti
ce,sher ecogni
sesthatanyonewhov entur
est o
speakt opeopleaboutjust i
cemustf ir
stbejustintheireyes”( JW 40).
Justicewi t
hintheChur chand i norgani
sat
ionsincludesr espectfor
economi cr i
ghts(fai
rwages) ;jur
idi
calri
ghtsand ther ightt o share
responsibil
i
tyandparti
cipateindecisi
on-maki
ng(JW 41-46).

7.
10Pr
omot
ionofPeace
 71

Peacei sthefruitofjusti
ceandi sdependentuponr i
ghtor
deramong
humans and among nat i
ons. The ar ms race mustcease and
progressi
vedisarmamentt akepl aceifthefutureistobesecur
e. I n
ordert o pr
omot e peace and the condit
ions ofpeace,an ef
fect
ive
i
nternati
onalauthori
tyisnecessary.(
PeaceonEar th)
 72

CSTI
I
Soci
etyandMor
alResponsi
bil
it
y

8.
0Int
roduct
oryRemar
ks

Def
ini
ti
on

Societ
ydesignateseveryf
orm oflast
ingbondorassociationbetween
72
peoplewhoj oi
ntl
ystri
vetoreal
izeacommongoal orvalue. The
associati
oncanbenecessit edbynat
at ur
e(family
,tr
ibe,nation)orf
reel
y
wil
led(rel
igi
oussociet
ies,
clubsforsport
s,etc.
).

Thewor dssocietyandcommuni tyareof t

enusedinterchangeabl y
becausetheymor eorl essdesi gnatethesameconcept .Howev er,ther
e
i
susual l
yalinguisticsepar ati
onbet weent hem:whereassociet yisa
functi
onalorganisation,communi tytendstobemor eofaper sonal bond
basedonconv i
ctions.Tot heessentialcharact
eri
sti
csofsoci etythere
belongnotonlyconnect ednessandt hecommonr eal
isati
onofv al
ues
butalsoorderandl eader ship.

TheCr
isi
soft
heConceptofSoci
ety

Todaymanypeopl ear
edecl ari
ngt hatpopul ati
onincrease, urbanizati
on,
i
ndustriali
zation,themechani sati
onofl abour ,modernway sof
communi cati
on, thestandardi
sationanduni for
mi t
yoft hepr oduct i
onof
goods,inawor d,themasschar acterofmoder nway sofl if
ehav e
73
depersonalisedt hehumanper sonanddepr ivedhim ofhi sindividuali
ty.
Iti
ssaidt hatt hehumanper sonoft hemassar isestechnologi call
yf r
om
mechani zati
on, economi cal
l
yf rom capital
isticstandardizati
on,
74
sociol
ogicallyf r
om overcrowdingandpol i
ticall
yfrom democr acy .

AccordingtoChristi
anthought,themasschar act
erofli
vingcondi
ti
onsis
nottobeequat edwi t
hthedeper sonal
isat
ionofhumanbei ngs.True,
theenvironmentalcondi
t i
onsoft hemodernindustr
ial
statesdomakei t
dif
fi
cultforapersont othinkandactindependentl
yofoutsidei
nfl
uences,

72
Fort
henot
ionofsoci
ety
,seeH. Chr
KPESCHKE, ist
ianEt
hicsI
I,
518-
519.
73
Chr
JosephHOFFNER, ist
ianSoci
alTeachi
ng,Or
doSoci
ali
s,Br
ati
slav
a1997,
39.
74
I
bid.
,39.
 73

butt
heopinionthatt
hecl
osenetwor
kofsoci
alt
iesnecessar
il
yleadst
o
sel
f-
ali
enat
ionistoberej
ect
ed.

Anotherimpor t
antchar acteri
st i
cmar kofmoder nsociety,especial
lyin
theWest ,i
ssecul arisat
ion.Farf rom bri
ngingthegreatliberati
ont hat
peoplehopef orwhent heysilentlylapseintorel
igi
ousi ndif
ference,
numer ouspeopl ehav ebeenmadeunsur e,di
sori
entedandemot i
onally
75
dist
ressed. I tlooksl i
kelythatt hisdisi
ll
usionmentisboundt oincrease.
Havingdoneandt r
iedev ery
thing, todaymanyar eal
armedbyt he
abysmal f
eel ingofempt inessoft heirli
ves.Ul t
imatel
y ,i
tisonl yhaving
onesanchor agepoi ntinGodt hatcanpr eservemanf rom the
desecrati
onandl ossofhi sper sonal di
gnit
y.

76
8.
1ThePr
inci
plesofSoci
alOr
der

8.
1.1ThePr
inci
pleofCommonGood:ai
m andf
unct
ionofsoci
ety

Thecommongoodi sav al uecomi ngf r

om condi ti
onsofsoci alli
v i
ng
wher ebymenandwomenar eenabl edmor ereadi
lyandmor ef ullyto
achievet hei
rper fection and appoi nted ends( cf.GS 26;74;DH 6) .
Str
ictlyspeaking,thecommongoodi snotj ustasum t otalofv aluesas
77
someaut horsli
ket ot hink ,butanewv aluespecifi
cal l
ydi f
ferentf r
om
theindivi
dualandt hesum ofi ndi
vi
dualgoods. “ Belongingt oev eryone
andt oeachper son,itisandr emainscommonbecausei tisindivisibl
e
andbecauseonl yt ogetheri sitpossi bl
et oattai
ni t,increasei tand
78
safeguarditseffectivenessal sowit
hr egardt othefuture.
”

Incer t
aincir
cles,commongoodi sof t
enunder stoodinthesenseof
servicevaluecompr i
singsuchai dsasschool s, hospit
als,socialservi
ces,
energysuppl y,r
oadnet works,thelegal or
der, etc.Whi lethesei ndeed
pertaintothecommongood, neverthelesspr ogr essmustnotbev i
ewed
i
nt ermsofi nsti
tuti
ons,organizat
ionsandt echni quesalone.The
commongoodul timatelyconsist
si ngoodsandv al
uesact ual
izedinthe
member sofsociety.I ncert
aincircles,commongoodi sof t
en

75
I
bid.
,40.
76
See,PONTI
FICALCOUNCI
LFOR J CEAND PEACE,
USTI Compendi
um oftheSoci
alDoct
ri
neoft
heChur
ch,
Li
brer
iaEdi
tr
iceVati
cana,Vat
icanCity2004,no.160f
f.
(her
eaf
terr
efer
redt
oasCOMPENDI
UM)
.
77
Cf Chr
.H.PESCHKE, ist
ianEt
hicsI
I,
519.
78
COMPENDI
UM,
164.
 74

understoodi nthesenseofser vi
cev aluecompr i
singofsuchaidsas
schools,hospi t
als,
social serv
ices,energysupply,roadnet
works, t
he
l
egal order,etc.Whi letheseindeedper taintothecommongood,
neverthel
esspr ogressmustnotbev iewedi nter
msofi nst
it
uti
ons,
organizati
onsandt echniquesalone.Thecommongoodul ti
mat el
y
consistsingoodsandv aluesactuali
zedint hemember sofsociety.
Genuinepr ogressoft hehumanper son( thegoalofthecommongood)
aboveal lconsistsi
n:

(
i) asoundst ateofphysi
calandment alhealt
hinsocietyasa
whole;
(
ii
) asuf fici
entdegreeofeducati
onofitsmember s;
(
ii
i) opportuni
ti
esofwor kforal
l;
(
iv) favourabl
econditi
onsofreli
gious,
mor alandcultur
alli
fe;
(
v) t hegoodofsoci alj
ust
ice;
(
vi) realfr
eedom andequalit
yamonghumanbei ngs.

Thef unctionsofthecommongoodar ebasi

call
ytwo.Fi r
st,i
tpromot es
andmakespossi bleanintegralhumanexi st
encef orit
smember s.I n
thereal i
zati
onofthisgoalmani shelpedbydiff
erentsocieti
es,whi chall
havet heirowncommongoodi nordertoassi
sthimi ntheat t
ainmentof
ful
lhumani t
y.Second, t
hecommongoodi stoprecludeantisocial
i
mpul sesi nhumannat ur
ef rom int
erferi
ngwithther i
ghtsofother sand
withthesoci alor
der.Thisaspectoft hecommongoodi sreali
zedby
theest abli
shmentandsecur ingofpeaceandor der .Themostef fi
cient
meanst oitist
hel awofthest ate,
whi chhasthepowerofcoer ci
on
behindi t
.

Thefuncti
onofthecommongoodshoul dbeseeninhowmuchi t
assi
stsmenandwomeni nt hereal
izationofthei
rtasksandexist
ent
ial
ends.Itsfunct
ionisther
eforesubsidiaryandcompl ementar
y.The
commongoodi snotanendi ni
tself
;itstandsintheservi
ceofthe
humanper sonandofGodscr eati
veandsal vi
ficdesi
gn.

I
nacaseofaconf
li
ctbet
weenper
sonaldi
gni
tyandt
hecommongood,
t
wothi
ngsmustberemember
ed:

(
i) Onlythei
ndi
vi
dualpersonisasubst ance;apartf
rom i
ndi
vidual
peopl
eandindependentl
yoft hem, societ
ydoesnotexist!The
humanpersoncannev erbereducedt oamer emeanstowar ds
thecommongoodandt hepur posesofsoci et
y.Itwouldbe
fat
all
ywrongtomisuset hecommongoodpr i
nci
plef
orthe
 75

annihil
ationoft hef r
eedom anddigni
tyoftheperson.The
humanper sonisalway smorethanmerelyapartandcel l
of
society;
hei sdirectl
yresponsi
bletoGod!
(
ii
) Therear et imeswhent heCommonGoodhaspr ior
ityoverthe
i
ndividual good.Thi shappensonlywhensuchagoodi sseen
topromot eandenhancet heexi
stent
ialendsofhumanityand
onlytoindi vidualsatt
achedtoagivensocialor
ganisati
onas
member s.

Inacaseofacompar isonand/oraconf li
ctbet weengoodsdi ffer
ent
soci
etiestowhi chani ndi
vi
dual mightbelongsi multaneously
,itshould
benotedt hatdif f
erentsociet
iesandt heirdiffer
entendsarenotal lof
equalimpor tance.Fur t
her
mor e,t
hegr av i
tyoft heobli
gati
ont orespect
andtoser vet hecommongoodofaspeci f
icsoci et
ydependsont he
i
mpor tanceasoci etypossessesforther ealizat
ionofman' sexist
ential
endsandul t
imat egoal .Themor ecloselyt hegoodofacommuni t
yis
rel
atedt othebasi ctaskandexi st
entialendsofman, thegraverthe
obli
gationtor espectandt opromot eit.

Bywayofconcl usion,itmustbesai dt hatt hedef init

ionofCommon
Goodr emainssomewhatgener alandv agueandassuchi tisdiffi
cultt
o
determineexact l
ywhati tentail
s. Foronet hing,theCommonGoodi s
notjustthesum t otalofindivi
dualgoods;andf oranot hert hing,iti
snot
alway seasyt oarriveatacommonunder standingofwhatexi stenti
al
valuesandendswi l
lenhancehumani tyint hissoci etyandi nt hehere
andnow. Mor eover,t
hecommongoodi tselfprogressesanddev el
ops
overt i
me. Howev er,t
heconceptofCommonGoodatl eastshowshow
CatholicSocialethicsav oidstheextremesofi ndividuali
sm ( t
hereare
onlyindivi
dualgoodswhi chthateachper sonpur sues)andcol l
ectiv
ism
(t
her eisonlythegoodoft hecoll
ect
ivi
tythatiswor t
hpur suing).

8.
1.2TheHor
izont
alPr
inci
pleofSoci
alLi
fe:Pr
inci
pleofSol
idar
it
y

Thepr i
nci
pleofsoli
darit
yfoll
owsf r
om t hev erynoti
onofsoci ety
(sol
idaremeanstof i
tfi
rmlytoget her)initscommi tmenttot hecommon
good.Thesoci alwholeandi tsmember sarecloselyjoi
nedt oget
her :
themember softhewhol ehav etoat tendtot hewelfareofthewhol e
l
ikewisethewholehast oattendt othewel fareofitsmember s.Those
whoar ebett
eroff“shouldfeelresponsi bl
ef ortheweakerandber eady
tosharewiththem all
theypossess.Thosewhoar eweaker ,fortheir
part,i
nthesamespi r
itofsolidari
ty,shouldnotadoptapur elypassi ve
atti
tudeoronethatisdestr
uct i
veoft hesoci alfabr
ic,but,whilecl
ai ming
 76

79
thei
rlegi
ti
mater
ight
s,shoul
ddowhatt heycanforthegoodofal
l.
”
Thesamer ul
eal
soappliest
oint
ernat
ionalrel
ati
onshipsaswel
l.

Thepr incipl
er espectsbot htheper sonhoodandsoci ali
tyoft hehuman
personandi mpl i
esbot htheirmut ual connect i
onandobl igation.Si nce
i
tbegi nssi multaneousl ywi t
ht heper sonal dignityandt heessent i
all
y
socialnat ur
eofman, t hepr i
ncipler epresentsanewanduni que
statementaboutt her elati
onbet weenmanandsoci ety.Ont heone
hand, i
tisgr oundedi nt heont ologicallypre-givenmut ualconnect i
onof
theindividualandsoci ety(commoni nv ol
vement );
ont heot herhand, it
i
mpl iesthemor alresponsi bil
it
yr esultingfrom t hi
smodeofbei ng
(commonl i
abili
ty)
.I tist hereforeanont ologicalandanet hical pr
inci
ple
simul t
aneousl y.

Rejectedbythispri
ncipl
ear etwoextremes:indivi
duali
sm,whichdeni
es
thesoci al
nat
ureofmanandseesi nsociet
yonl yautil
i
tar
ianassoci
ati
on
forthemechani cal
balanci
ngofi ndiv
iduali
nterest andcol
s, l
ecti
vi
sm,
whichr obsmanofhi spersonaldigni
tyanddegr adeshimtoamer e
objectofsocialandespeciall
yeconomi cpr
ocesses.

8.
1.3TheVer
ti
calPr
inci
pleofSoci
alLi
fe:Pr
inci
pleofSubsi
diar
it
y

Thewor dsubsidi
ari
tycomesf r
om theLatinsubsidi
um, whichmeans
helpgivenf r
om onesr eserves.Appl iedtosociet
y ,
subsidi
arity
designatesthesuppl ement ary ,hel
pinginter
venti
onofthel argersoci
al
bodyinf avourofsmal lercirclesorindivi
dualpeople.Inmostcasest he
'
largersocialbodi
es' inquest i
onwi l
l bethestateorinst
itut
ions
organizedforapar t
icul arpurpose.

Theclassi
cal
defi
nit
ionoft
hesubsi
diar
it
ypr
inci
plei
sfoundi
nthe
ency
cli Quadr
cal agesimoanno:

Justasi ti
sgr avelywrongtotakef r
om indivi
duals
whattheycanaccompl i
shbyt hei
rowni nit
iativeand
i
ndustryandgi v
ei tt
othecommmuni ty
,soal soitisan
i
njusti
ceandatt hesamet imeagr aveev il
and
di
sturbanceofr ightordertoassigntoagr eaterand
hi
gherassoci ationwhatlesserandsubor dinate
organi
z ati
onscando.Forev erysocialacti
vityought
ofit
sv erynaturetof ur
nishhelptothemember softhe

79
Sol
l
ici
tudoReiSoci
ali
s,39.
 77

bodysoci al
,andnev erdestr
oyandabsor bthem.
Ther efore,t
hosei npowershoul dbesur et hatt
he
mor eper fectlyagr aduatedorderiskeptamongt he
variousassoci at
ions,inobservanceoft hepr i
nci
pleof
'
subsi diaryfunction,'t
hestrongersocial author
it
yand
effectivenesswi llbe,thehappierandmor e
80
prosper oust hecondi t
ionoftheSt at
e.

Ont heonehand, thesubsi di

arit
yprinciplepr otectst heper sonalbeing
andl i
feofi ndi
v idual peopleandofsmal lersocialci rclesf rom
encroachment sbyt hemor ecompr ehensi vesocial bodi essot hatinthi
s
respecti timpl
iesacer t
aindef i
ningemphasi sont hei raut onomy .It
protectst hepar ti
cul arri
ghtsandcompet enceofi ndi vidualsagainst
excessi vedomi nat ionbysoci eti
es,aswel lasthecompet enceofmi nor
associ ati
onsagai nstoppr essiv
eandt otal i
tari
ancl aimsoft helar
ger
society .Infact ,aconsequentappl icationofsubsi diar it
yr anksamong
thepr omi si
ngt her apiesforthemodem masssoci et y,sincei ti
san
effi
cientcount er weighttot hetendenci esofcent r
al i
zat ion, t
o
bureaucr ati
zati
onanddeper sonali
zation.

Ontheotherhand,subsidiari
tymeans' helpfrom above' whi
chatt imes
i
stendenti
ouslyoverl
ooked.Thi shelpingi nt
erventi
onoft helarger
soci
aluni
tscanbenecessar yfortwor easons: fi
rstbecauseindiv i
dual
peopl
eorsmal l
ersocialcir
clescallfailculpablyorinculpabl
yint hefiel
d
ofdut
iespropertothem; secondly,becausei tisaquest ionoftaskst hat
canonlybemast er
edbyt hemor ecompr ehensivesocialuni
ts.

Inactualli
fet heor derofsubsi di
ari
tywillnev ertakeshapeinperfect
for
m, thatis,therecannev erbeaper fectbal ancebetweencentrali
zation
anddecent ralizat
ion.Ther easonisnotonl yhumanl i
mitat
ionand
i
mper fecti
on, butal sothedy namicinsoci etywhi chbri
ngaboutconst ant
changesandal way sagai noutpaceanyor derinsociety.Hencesubject s
mustnotappr oachsoci et
ywi thexaggerateddemandsandexpect at
ions,
buttakeintoaccountt henecessar yli
mi t
at i
onsofhumani nst
it
utions
andaut hori
ties.
81
8.
2 Soci
etyandAut
hor
it
y

80
Quadr
agesi
moanno,
79-
80.
81
SeeH. Chr
K.PESCHKE, ist
ianEt
hicsI
I,
525-
541.
 78

8.
2.1Aut
hor
it
y

Nosoci alli
fecanexistamonganumberofpeopl ewi t
houtthe
gov er
nanceofonet olookaft
erthecommongood.Nocommuni tycan
existwithoutanorderi
ngandcoordinat
ingauthori
ty.Theunityandco-
ordinat
ionoft hecommoncommi t
mentr equi
resanauthori
tytoassur
e
thi
suni t
y .Thecommongoodt herefor
eestabli
shesauthor
ityandatthe
samet imeal soli
mit
si t
.

Yetalthoughi tistruet hatnocommuni tycanexistwithoutanor deri

ng
andcoor dinat
ingaut hority
,thereisawi despreaddistrustofauthorit
y
amongpeopl etoday .Theyknowt heabusesofaut horityandfeel
thr
eat enedbyi tsfrequentt otal
itari
ant r
ends.Anant i
dot ei
ssoughti na
general democr ati
zat i
onofsoci ety,whichwoul dgrantsubjectsagr eat
er
i
nfluenceont heappoi ntmentofof fi
cial
sandt hegov ernmentofsoci et
y.
Nev erthelessthegr owingcompl exit
yofci v
il
izat
ionandsoci all
ife
i
nev it
ablyi mpli
esacont inualneedf orsomecoor di
natingauthorit
y.

Thet erm author i

tyder iv
esf r
om t heLat i
nwor dauctori
tas,whichhasi ts
rootinthev erbauger e, i.
e.toincr easeortoenrich.Henceaut horit
yis
aninstituti
onmeantf ortheenr ichmentandpr omot i
onoft hoseov er
whom i tisex erci
sed.Thi sisi ndeedt hetr
ueandpr opermi ssionof
authorit
y .Aut horitycanbedef i
nedast hesuper i
ori
tyofaper sonby
whichhei sentitl
edt omakedemandsonot hersforthesakeoft heir
i
ndividual goodort hatofsoci ety.I ti
sdisti
nguishedintopersonaland
offi
cialauthor i
ty.Per sonal aut hori
tyisbasedonaper son'
sintell
ectual
,
professional,spiri
tual ormor alsuper i
ori
ty.Of f
ici
alorsocialauthori
tyis
thatauthor i
tywhi chaper sonhasbyr easonofagov er
ningfunction
conferredonhi m bysoci ety.

Theex er ci
seofaut horit
yshoul dbei nt hespi r
itofservice.Super i
ors
mustl ookupont heirauthoritynotasdomi ni
on,butasser vi
ceaf t
ert he
exampl eofChr i
st(Mk10: 42-45; Jn13: 1-17).Theymustbeconv inced
thattheirsubjectsar enotjusti nstrument sintheachiev ementofgoal s,
butfell
owwor kerswhoal sohav eadi rectresponsibi
li
tyt oGodandwho
arecalledt otheirpersonal contributioni nthepr omotionofGod' s
creati
veandsal vif
icdesign.Thosei naut horit
yar ei
nv estedwi t
hpower
overot hersnotf orthei
rownbenef it,butf ortheindivi
dual sand
communi t
iestheyrule.Accor dinglysuper i
orsar eboundt ouset heir
authorityforthegoodoft heirsubor dinates.Theymayf ai
lagainstthis
dutynotonl ybyov er-
protectiveanddespot icuseofaut hori
ty,butalso
bynegl ectofitsnecessar yexer cise.Ont heonehandsuper iorsmust
 79

resi
stthet empt ationtopaternalistictutel
ageoft heirsubjects,not
taki
ngt hem ser i
ousl yaspersonswi ththeirowncompet ence, orwor se,
toasel f-
pleasingabuseoft heirpower .Suchaut horitar
ianconductcan
provoker efusal,embi tt
erment,secr etcompensat ionandr ebell
ion.On
theotherhandt heyshoul dnotadoptanev er
ythingi sokayat t
itude.
Furt
hermor e,t
heyar eboundt oseekt hecompet encet heyneedf orthei
r
offi
ceandnott oabandont hemsel vestoeaseandi ndolence.I norder
toensur ethenecessar ycompet ence, theywi l
lalsoconsul tothers,admit
cri
ti
cism andser iouslyexamineit ,andseekasi ncer edialoguewi ththeir
subjects.Forasbr i
lli
antasaper sonmaybe, hewi llneverdivineby
himselfalonewhati sgoodf orhissubj ect
si nallv i
cissit
udes, especiall
y
i
nal argercommuni ty.

Sinceauthori
tyexist
sinordert
opr omotethecommongoodandt o
coordinat
ethef or
cesfortheachi evementoft
hecommont asks,i
tcan
commandonl ywithi
nthespheredel imit
edbythepurposeoft he
communi tyconcerned.Superiorsmustkeepwi thi
nthel imi
tsoft he
l
aws, consti
tut
ionsandendsoft hecommuni t
yandgr anttheirsubject
s
thenecessaryspaceoff r
eedom.Att hesametimepr eceptsandl aws
oughtnottobecomet oonumer ousandcompl ex.

Itshouldalsobebor neinmi ndt hatthoseinaut horityareequallybound

bythel awsoft hecommuni ty.Fort helawsareest abli
shedfort hesake
ofthecommongood, whosepr omot ionpreci
selyist hetaskpropert o
authority.Thi sdoesnotpr ecludet hatsuperi
orsmaymor efr
equent ly
haver easonsf orexcept i
onsordi spensati
onst hansi mpl esubj
ect s,but
theytooneedasuf fi
cientcausef orit.Thesuper i
or sexampleisof
greatimpor tancef orthewil
li
ngobedi enceofsubj ects.Theyexpect
thattheper sonal att
it
udeoft hebear erofauthor i
tyagr eewiththev alues
her epresents.

Finall
ysuperiorsmustbeabl etoavailt
hemselvesasmuchaspossi ble
oft hecontri
buti
onst hei
rsubject
scanmaket ot hecommonwel f
are.
Theymustbeheedf ul nott
ost i
fl
epersonal
init
iati
ve,butonthecontrar
y
promot eitasasour ceofenrichmentandfrui
tful
ness.Super i
orsare
requestedtogiv et
heki ndofleader
shipwhichwi l
lencour
agesubjectsto
bringanact i
veandr esponsi
bleobediencet
ot heof f
icest
heyshoulder
andt heactivi
ti
estheyundertake.

Inasmuchassuperior
shav er
eceivedt
hei
rauthori
tyforthewelf
areof
theirsubj
ect
sandofthesociet
ytheygover
n,allt
heirjustcommands
standintheser
viceofthi
swelfar
e.Superi
orsthemsel vesmustobey
 80

thedemandsresult
ingf r
om t heneedsoftheirsubj
ects,thecommon
goodandthewillofGodi nt hesespheres.Theobedi enceofsubjects
ther
efor
einthelastanalysisdoesnotsubmi tthem t
ot hesuperi
or'
swi l
l,
butrat
heror
ient
atest hem tot hei
rowngood, tothegoodandgoal oft
he
communityandtot hewillofGodf orthem.

8.
2.2Obedi
ence

Thewor dobedi
encehasi
tsori
ginint
heLati
nandisderiv
edfrom the
verbaudir
e,t
ohear.Theli
ter
alsenseofobedi
encethendenotesa
readi
nesstoli
stent
otheexpr
essionofanot
her
swi l
landtodoit.

Thisli
teralsenseiswhathasbeent hecommonconcept i
onof
obedience.Formanyy earsobedi encehasbeenunder st
oodasgivi
ng
uponesownwi l
l.Blindobedi ence,whichist
hecar r
yingoutofthe
commandf oritsownsake, wast henregar
dedast heidealf
orm of
obedience.Under st
oodi nthi
sext remesense,obediencecannot
necessaril
ybeamor alvalue.

Anotherextr
emei stheonewef i
ndinourownagewheremanyshow
greatreser
vati
onaboutobedi enceandthesubmi
ssi
onofoneswil
lto
another.Obedience,then,i
sconsider
edanobstacl
eint
hewaytoaself
-
rel
iantandcreati
veindependence.

Obedi enceasav i
rtueisratherthepr ompt nesst ocarryoutt he
commandofsomebodyi naspi ri
tofr esponsibil
ity
.I tstheologicalbasis
i
st hedet erminat
iont oaccompl ishthewi l
lofGodi nallthings.The
problem t hi
stheologicalbasishast of ace,though,i Howdowe
s:
recogniset hewil
lofGod? Godr ev
ealshi swi l
lthr
oughhumanaut horit
y
buthecanr ev
ealhiswi l
lthroughhumansubj ectsaswel l.Thisi swhyi t
i
si mpor tanttounderstandt hemeani ngofobedi ence.

Obediencei snotsimplyt
heabandonmentofoneswi l
l,
noramer e
mechani calful
fi
ll
mentoforder
sgivenbyasuper i
or.Sinceallhuman
bei
ngsar eequalindi
gnit
y,nohumanbeinghasanabsol utecl
aimt ot
he
obedienceofanot her
.Nobodyshoul dsubj
ectthemsel
v estoanother
personuncondi t
ional
l
yandwi t
houtreser
vat
ions.
 81

82
8.
3St
ruct
uresi
nSoci
ety

8.
3.1Thef
ami
ly

Thef amilyisthe“ fi
rst”communi ty
.Ast hef ontofnewhumanl if
e,iti s
thenor mal,i
fnott heonlycent reinwhicht hehumanper soncandev elop
bodilyandspirit
uallyinaheal thyfashion.Themor alandr el
i
giousli
feof
manandhi scapabi l
it
yt ol ovear ef i
rstawakenedbypar entallov e.
Throught hefami l
y,societymai nt
ainsandr enewsi tself.Vat i
canIIj
ust ly
observ esthat“t hewel l-
beingoft heindivi
dualper sonandofhuman
Christi
ansoci etyisi nt
imatelyl i
nkedwi ththeheal thconditionoft hat
communi typroducedbymar ri
ageandf amily”( GS47) . Ther ef
oret he
restorati
onofhumansoci etyasawhol econst antlybeginswi tht he
renewaloft hefami l
y.I t
sprot ect
ion,formationandf urt
herancemustbe
offoremostconcer ntotheSt ateandChur ch( GS52) .

Recentdev el
opment sseem t oindicateacr i
sisoft hef ami l
ytoday .
Groundsf ort
heconcer nar ethehi ghr ateofdi vorcei nmanynat i
ons, a
strongerasser t
ionoft hei ndependenceofspouses, anincreasing
numberofsi ngle-parentf ami l
ies,aweakeni ngoft heaut hori
tyofpar ents
overtheirchildren,agr eat erincidenceofst ep-parents,andt hegr owing
practi
ceofnon- mar i
tal unions.Ont heot herhand, t
herear ealso
encouragi ngsignst hatt hef amilyst i
llenjoysahi ghest eem i ntodays
wor l
d.St udi
esshowt hatamongy ouths, t
hehi ghestpr i
orityis
attri
butedt othef amilyf ormeani ngfulli
fe.Ther ei sstil
lamar keddesi re
forchil
dr enandmonogamousmar riageisst il
ldesi r
edandaccept edas
thebasi softhef ami l
y.

8.
3.1.
2Nat
ureandFunct
ionsoft
heFami
ly

Thef amilyist hecommuni tyofparentsandchi l

dren.Theneedsand
i
nclinati
onsoft hechil
d,theaf fecti
onsandi nnatetendenciesofthe
parents,andt het i
esofbl oodwi thallt
hei mpli
edbodi l
yandspi ri
tual
affi
niti
esleav enodoubtofi tsnaturalconsti
tuti
on.Thepur poseand
tasksoft hef amilyconsistintheupbr i
ngingofchi l
drenandi nthecare
forthedai l
yneedsofi tsmember s.Thr eebasi
cf uncti
onsoft hefami l
y
canbedi stinguished.Iti
st hepr i
mar yeconomi ccommuni ty ,
theprimary
educational unit,
andt hepr i
mar yspiri
tualcommuni tyforhumani ty.

82
InourexposéoftheStruct
uresinSoci
ety(t
heFamily
,theStat
e,andtheChurch)wewi l
lheavi
l
yrel
y
onH. Chr
K.PESCHKE, i
sti
anEthicsII
,565-
627. Inf
actwhatwehav einthefol
l
owi ngpagesisinsome
pl
acesasummar yandotherplacesword-f
or-
wordaccountofPeschkespr
esentati
on.
 82

Aseconomi cuni t
,thef
ami l
yprovi
desf ormansev erydaywant sinf ood,
shelt
erandcl ot
hing.Thisisveryl
argelyataskofhousekeepi ng, and
hardl
yanyofi tsothert
asksisentir
elyindependentofthis.Ethically,al
l
whobel ongtothef ami
lyandareablet ocontri
butetheirworkort heir
earni
ngt otheupkeepoft hehousehold,areobli
gedtodoso, atleastt o
theextentthatthefamil
ycommuni tyisinneedoft hi
scont r
ibution.

Sinceatpresenttheeconomi ccondi ti
onofaf amilyistoaconsiderabl
e
extentaquestionoff amilyincome, iti
sani mpor tanttaskofthestateto
secureajustfamilywagef orwage- earnerswhohav etosupportaf amil
y.
Buttheeconomi ccondi t
ioni sequallyhalfaquest ionofhousehold
managementandr esponsibleuseofmoney .Youngpeopl ether
efore
whoi nt
endt omar ryoughtt opreparet hemsel vesforproper
housekeeping.Theyhav et heseriousr esponsibil
it
ynott owastetheir
moneyt hr
oughdr inking,exorbit
antsmoki ng,gambl i
ngetc.

Secondl y,asaneducat i
onalunit,thereiswideagr eementt hatthe
i
nt el
lectualandmor al developmentoft hehumanper sondepends
decisivelyont heeducat i
onwi t
hint hefami l
y.Youngpeopl ereceivetheir
fi
rstknowl edgeandunder standingoft hewor l
dfrom thefamily.Her e
theyar efir
sttaughtt heunselfi
shnessofmut uallove.Thetwomost
i
mpor tantsocialvi
rt
ues, charit
yandj ustice,arebasicall
ytaughtinfamily
l
ife.Thel if
eint hefamilyalsolayst hefoundat i
onf ormanyot hervi
rtues,
suchasr eadinesstohel p,considerati
on, f
airness,si
ncerit
y,dil
i
gence.

Yetfami l
yeducationisbynomeansl imitedtot heeducationalroleof
theparents.Everymemberoft hefamilyhasbot hanact iv
eanda
passiveshareinit.Theeducat ionwhicht hechildrengiveoneanot her
canhar dl
ybeov erlooked.Sucheducat i
oni slackingwheret her
ei sonly
onechild,anditattai
nsi tsgreatestef
fecti nafami l
ywithsev er
al
chil
dren.Chil
drenwhohav ebrothersandsi ster
slearnfrom thev ery
beginni
ngbyt heex periencesofdai l
yli
fet ocont r
olthemselves,tocl ai
m
nomor einwardst rengtht ocarrythem throughlif
e.

Fi
nal l
y,t
hefami l
yprovi
desthemosti mpor antspi
t rit
ualhomef orits
member s.Indai l
yli
vi
ng,basedonl ov e, t
rust,est
eem andr espect,there
i
sal soanex changeofideas,convictions, valuesandat t
itudes, ashar i
ng
oftheex per
ienceofjoysandsor r
ows, successesandt r
ials,suchaswe
fi
ndi nnoothergroup.Thef amilypr ov idestheper sonaltouch, the
humanenv i
ronmentofwar mth,fri
endl inessandl ov i
ngnesswhi ch
 83

peopl
eneedsomuchev ery
where.I tist
he“househol
doffai
th”
,cal
led
topassonthefai
thoftheancestors,t
oculti
vat
etherel
igi
oustr
adit
ions
andtotr
anslat
eit
srel
igiousconvict
ionsint
odail
yli
fe.

8.
3.1.
3.Mut
ualr
ight
sandobl
igat
ionsofspouses

Theuni onofhusbandandwi fecallsf oramostcompr ehensi vesolidarit

y
i
nal lneedsofbodyandsoul ,i
nal lsorrowsandj oys. Thet r ustand
awar enesst hattheonepar t
nerf eelsresponsibleforthehappi nessand
dev el
opmentoft heot hergr antsasecur i
tywhi chbridgesov ermany
anxieti
es.Bycont rast,iftheonepar t
nerdoesnotcar ef ortheanxi eties,
j
oy s,hopesandneedsoft heot her,hewillsoonhav east r
angerathi s
side.Opennesst oeachot heri sanessent ialconditi
ont hattwopeopl e
canbecl osetoeachot her ;i
tmakesaspouseshar ehi sorherownj oys
andsor rowswi ththeot her,justasi tpreparesthem t osharei nthoseof
thepar tner .Thisintur npr esupposest i
mef oreachot her,f
or
conv ersat i
on,aqui etbei ngtoget her,anexchangeofsent i
ment sand
thought s.

Spouseswillhardlyeverbetot
allyofonemi ndandhear tfrom thev
ery
beginni
ngoft hei
rmar ri
age.Di
fferencesinupbr
inging,dif
ferencesi
n
i
nterest
s,dif
ferencesinbehaviouralatt
it
udescausef ri
cti
ons.Such
dif
fi
cult
ieshav etober eal
i
sti
call
yev al
uatedandappr oachedaspartof
everymarri
age.Chr i
sti
anspousesoughtt oconfrontthem inthespir
itof
thegospel.

Thecl oseinti
macyofhusbandandwi feexpressesit
selfinaspeci alway
i
nconj ugal l
ove.Spouseshav eamut ual r
ightanddutytot hemar i
talact
,
butalsot heobli
gat i
ont oli
vetheirsexual i
tywi t
hduerespectf orthe
di
gni t
yoft heother.Sexual i
tyshouldbeusedi nthi
sencount erbetween
partnerstotheex tentthatitwil
lfosteruni on,andsubordinatedtot he
extentthatitwoul dhinderit.Thei nti
mat e, mutual
belongi ngand
dependenceoft hespousesaccountf orthedemandoft heirabsolute
fi
delit
yt oeachot her,apartfr
om thechi ldrensneedofast ableand
harmoni ousfami l
y.

Bothspouseshav ethedutytoseet othemateri

al andspiri
tualwel
far
e
ofthefamily,t
houghpart
lyindif
ferentrol
es.Inthet radi
ti
onalnucl
ear
famil
yt hehusbandwasusuallythepr i
marybr
ead- winner,whil
ethewif
e
caredforthemanagementoft hehouseholdandl ookedaf tert
he
chi
ldren.Yetinfamil
yfarms,wor kshopsandstorest hewifealsowas
 84

oft
enpitchi
nginwithherhel
p.Todaywomentoanev
er-
lar
gerextent
contr
ibutet
otheincomeofthefamil
ybyanempl
oymentofthei
rown.

Spousescanofcour sesi nagai nsteachot herbyal lthedif

ferentsins
againstcharit
y.Mor epar t
icularf ort heirstatusasmar ri
edpeopl eare
thefoll
owingof fences: pet tyjealousy ,whichf ostersgroundless
suspicionregardingt hepar tnersf aithfulnessandsuppr esses
fri
endshipsbey ondt hef ami lycircle; squander ingofcommuni tygoods
oftheiruseforper sonal; par t
ialint erestst othenegl ectofther ight
sof
theother;despoticgov er nmentoft hef amilybyoneort heotherpar tner
;
l
ong- l
asti
ngabsencef r
om t hefami lywi thoutjustif
iedreason; and
offencesagainstconj ugal faithfulness.

8.
3.1.
4 Par
ent
aldut
iesandr
ight
s

Theresponsibi
li
tyofparentsfortheirchil
drenari
sesfr
om thef
actthey
havegivenl
ifetothem andt hattheyounghumanbei ngscomehelpless
i
ntothewor l
d,entir
elydependentont heirl
ovingcar
e.Theyneed
par
entst of
eedt hem andtohel pthem inthei
rspir
it
ualandmental
devel
opmenti nallr
egards.

Parentshaveaper sonal aut hori

tyoverthechi l
dbecauseoft heiroverall
physicalandspiri
tualsuper i
ori
ty.Si
ncet heyar eclosestt othechi l
d
emot i
onall
y,innaturaltendenci esandgi fts,andbyr esponsibil
ity,t
heir
authori
tyisprimaryandf undament al
, whilethatofchur chandst atei
s
secondaryandsubsi diary.Thest at
easwel lasthechur chuniversall
y
confi
rmt herightsanddut iesofparentsbycust omsandl aws, which
grantparentsalsoanof ficialauthori
tyov ertheirchi
ldren.Ifanypar ental
functi
onsarebei ngexer cisedbyf oster-
par ents,t
hecor respondingr i
ghts
anddut i
eswi l
lpasst othet othesameext ent .

Sincechi l
drenarebor nofbot hpar ents,bothhav eequal dutiesandequal
ri
ghts.Butast hetwopar entspl aydi f
ferentrol
esi nthebeget ti
ng,
reari
ngandeducat ionoftheirchildren,acer t
aindivisi
onofl abour
naturall
yoccursandt her
eforeacer tai
ndi vi
sionofdut i
esandr i
ghts.
Thisdi v
isionoftaskspar t
lyarisesf r
om t henatureoff atherhoodand
mot herhood(e.g.feedingofthebaby )
,andpar tl
yresultsfrom the
customsofsoci et
y.Hencei tcannoteasi l
ybedet erminedapr i
ori
andin
auni versalway.

Parent
smayl oset
heirr
ight
sovert
hei
rchil
dreni
ftheynegl
ectthem or
proveunabl
etoprovi
desuit
abl
eeducat
ion.Howeverfor
fei
tur
eof
 85

par
ent
alr
ight
sdoesnotautomati
cal
l
yabsolvef
rom par
entaldut
ies.
Thi
scanbeimpor
tant,f
orexampl
e,i
nthecaseofi
ll
egit
imatechi
ldrenor
i
nasit
uati
onofdi
vorce.

Par
ent
aldut
ies:

Thepr imarydutyofparents,whichpr ecedesalltheother

s,is
responsibl
eassumpt ionofpar enthood.Par entsmayonlybr i
ngachil
d
i
nt othewor l
diftheyhaver easonabl ehopest hattheywil
lbeableto
rearandeducat eiti
nawaywor thyofahumanbei ng.Theymaynot
givemor echil
drenli
fethant heycanhopet ofeedandt oprovidef
or
suffi
cientl
y.Forthesamer eason, pr
ocreati
onout si
demar r
iagemustbe
regardedasimper missi
ble.

Ifnev erthelessani l
legit
imat echildisborn,thedut i
esoft heunmar r
ied
parent sarei npr i
nciplethesameast hoseofmar riedparents.Thef ather
i
s bound t o aidt he unmar ri
ed mot herwi th materi
almeans i nt he
upbr i
ngingofhi schi l
d,inaccor dancewi thhisownf i
nanci alcondi t
ion
andt heneedoft hemot herandchi l
d.Ev enthoughhemaybeabl et o
escape t he l egali mpositi
ons obl igi
ng him t o contri
but et ot he
sustenanceoft hechi ld,hest i
llhasamor aldutytoprov i
deal i
veli
hood
andpr ofessional t
rainingforhim.Adopt i
onof i l
legi
ti
mat echi l
dren,who
cannotbe wel ltaken car e ofbyt hei
rpar ents,is certainl
ya v ery
praisewor thywor kofChr isti
anchar it
y. Besides,suchadopt ionsmay
signif
yabl essi ngandr ewardingj oyespecial
lyforchil
dlessf ami l
ies,to
whom t hesechi ldr
encangi veenr i
chmentandnewmeani ng.

Loveist hef undament alobligationofpar ents.Asanat uralfeeli

ng, it
almostal way smot i
v atesthehear tsoft hepar entsinast rongerand
mor efor ceful waythant hehear tsoft hechi ldren.I tisat ragedyi f
chil
drendonotex periencebei ngl ov edathome.Chi ldrenwhohav elost
thei
rpar ent sorar esepar atedf rom t hem ar emor ereadi l
yexposedt o
suchasi tuation.Althoughdi sciplineandt hewi lltoefficientwor kar e
j
ustifi
edgoal sofeducat ion,exagger ateddemands, lackof
acknowl edgement ,cont i
nuousdi scont entandcr iti
cism wi llfi
nall
yr esult
i
nqui etadv erseresul t
s.Lov epr ov idesbet terl i
mi t
sandgr owthpat terns
thanrigidr ulesandunbendi ngj ust iceaboutt hem.Posi tivefeedback
usuall
ycr eatesmor echangef orgoodt hancr iti
cism.Byexcess, parents
canof fendagai nstlov ethroughpamper i
ng, t
oogr eatleniency ,undue
prefer
ence.Ex agger atedlov ei snol essdet ri
ment altothechi l
dthant oo
l
itt
lelov e.
 86

Par
entshav et
heseriousdutytolookaft
erthei
rchildr
eninamanner
wort
hyofhumanbei ngs.Theyhav etoprov
ideforfood,cl
othing,
healt
h,
l
odgingandhome.Fur thermoretheymustalsoprocuresomedegr eeof
materi
alsecur
it
yfortheirchi
l
drensfutur
eandhelpt hem t
of oundthei
r
ownhomeswhent hetimecomes.

Parentsareabsolutelyboundt oeducat etheirchil

drent othebestof
theirabi
l
iti
esandt olookaf tertheirspiri
tualwelfare.Thedev elopment
ofthechildr
ensper sonalit
yisthemostexcel l
enttaskoft hepar ents.
Sinceparentshaveconf erredli
feont heirchil
dren,theyhav eamost
solemnobl i
gati
ont oeducat etheiroffspring.Hence, parentsmustbe
acknowledgedast hef ir
standf oremosteducat orsoft hei
rchildren.
Theirrol
easeducat orsissodeci siv
et hatscarcelyany thi
ngcan
compensat efortheirfai
lureinit.

Theeducat ionaltaskrequirest hatpar entslookaf terthemor aland

personaldev el
opmentoft heirchi l
dren.Thehumanper sonmustbe
formedi nv i
ewofhi scalli
ngbyGodandofhi sfut ureresponsi bil
iti
esi n
societ
y.Thi sincludesthet raini
ngi nt hesocial,
r eli
giousandal lthose
othervirt
ueswhi char enecessar yf orawel l
-order ed,happyl i
fe.Ast hey
advancei nyears,theyshoul dbegi venpositiveandpr udentsexual
education.Asl ongaschi ldrencannotbeexpect edtocopewi thmor al
dangersbyt heirownf orces, parentsar eobligedt opr otectt hem agai nst
suchev il
.Thisalsodemandsacer tainsuper vi
sionoft hechi ldrens
acti
vit
iesout si
det hefamily.Ont heot herhand,tot heext entt hatthe
chil
drengr owolder ,t
heirabili
tyfori ndependent, responsi bledeci sions
mustbef oster
ed, andtheymustbehel pedtost andont heirownf eet.

Parent
sarealsototeacht heyoungchil
dtheknowledgeandworshipof
God.Ifthepray
ers,l
it
urgiesandnarrati
vesofScri
ptur
earepract
ised
andlear
nedearlyi
nchildhood,theybecomedeeplyengravedi
nthe
consci
ousnessofchil
drenandr emainwiththem f
orli
fe.

Intel
l
ect ualtr
ainingandschool i
ngi sanotheraspectofgr eati mportance
i
nt hechi l
dseducat i
on.Par ent shav ethedutyt oprovideforschool ing
andf or
mat i
on,maki ngt hebestoft hei
rchildrenscapabi li
ties.They
wouldf ailseri
ousl yi
nt hisdutyi ftheydidnotcar eforthatbasi c
schooli
ngwhi chst atesusual l
yof fertoallyouthsandev endemandf r
om
them.Thi salsoincludest her eli
giouseducat ion.Dur i
ngt hey earsof
schooli
ngpar entsareobl igedt oseet oitthatt heirchi
ldrenr eceive
rel
igi
ousi nstructionasof feredbyt heschool orchur ch,i
naccor dance
withtheirownf ai
thandconv i
ctions.
 87

Ast hechildrengrowup,theymustbeaccust omedtowork,evenift

he
parentsarewel l-
to-
do.Foronl ythuswil
ltheybeabletomakeadecent
l
ivi
ng, beusef ulmembersoft hecommuni tyandnotaburdent oi
t.The
chi
ldrenseducat ionmustfinall
ybecompl etedbyenabl
ingthem t
olear
n
ausef ulprofessi
on,bywhicht heycansustainthemsel
vesanda
possiblefuturefamil
y.

Ifpar
ent sseri
ousl
ynegl ectordi sregardtheireducationaldutiesori
f
theyproveunablet ocompl ywi t
ht hem, thestatewoul dhav etheri
ghtt
o
i
ntervene.Itcan,forexampl e,forcepar entstocarryoutt heir
educati
onal dut
iesandt osendt heirchi
ldrentoschool .Inext reme
casesitevenhast her i
ghttot akechi l
drenf r
om theirparents,
temporaril
yorpermanent l
y,andt oplacet hem underguar diansinan
i
nstit
utionorinanot herfamily

Par
ent
alr
ight
s:

Justasparentshavet hedutytotakecar eoft heirchi

ldrensneedsand
educati
on,sotheyalsohav etheri
ghttoi tregulatethesear eas.Above
al
lparentsareenti
tl
edt odecideont hef orm andcont entoft he
educati
onoftheirchil
drenaccordingtot heoppor tuni
tiesav ail
abl
e.This
ri
ghtisfr
equentlyendangeredbyanov er-poweringstatei nt
ervent
ioni
n
mattersofeducati
on, whi
chundulynar rowsdownt herightsofparent
s.
Suchunwar r
antedinterf
erenceisanof fenceagai nstaf undamental
humanr i
ghtandmustber esolut
elyputi nitsproperplace.

Indet ailthepar entseducat i

onal rightembr aces( 1)theor i
ginaland
pri
mar yr i
ghttodet ermi nethechi l
dsr el
igiousandmor al educati
onand
tor ecei vef r
om soci etytheassi stancewhi chi snecessar ytofulfi
ltheir
educat ional r
olesui t
abl y;
(2)ther ightfr
eelyt oselectschool sandot her
educat ional meansf ort heeducat ionoft heirchil
dreninaccor dancewi th
theirconv icti
onsandnott obef orcedt osendt hei
rchildrentoschool sat
variancewi t
ht heirmor alandr eli
giousbel i
efs;(3)thenr i
ghtt oa
propor ti
onat econt r
ibutionfrom thest atet othepr i
vateschool soft hei
r
choi ce, namel yt otheamountwhi chi sequivalenttotheexpensesav ed
tot hest atethroughsuchpr ivateschool s;(4)ther i
ghttopr ovisi
onof
rel
igi ouseducat ionint hepublicschool swhi cht hei
rchi l
drenhav eto
attend.

Afurt
herr
ightofparent
sistheirr
ightt
oanadequatehel
pbythest
ate
f
ortheupbri
ngingofthei
rchil
dren;t
heyoughtnott
obesubj
ectedt
o
 88

discri
mi nat
ionforhavinganumer ousfami ly.Thewayt hi
shelpistobe
achiev edwil
lvarywithdiff
erenteconomi candsoci alsyst
ems.
Childrensall
owancesmaybegr antedbyt hest ateortaxreducti
onsor
stil
lotherhelps;of
tenacombi nati
onofv ariousmodesofassi st
anceis
provided.Itisagainstdist
ri
butivejust
iceifr esponsibl
eparentsare
expect edtoacceptal owerstandardoflivingt hanchildl
esspeopleof
thesamesoci algr
oup.

Theeconomi candsoci alorderoughtt obeor ganizedi nawaywhi chhas

regardfortheneedsoft hef ami l
y.Aboveal lt
her emuner ati
onf orl
abour
oughttobesucht hatitissuf fi
cienttomaintainaf ami l
ywi t
hdignityand
mot her
sar enotcompel l
edt owor koutsidethehomet othedet r
imentof
theeducationoft heirchi l
dren.Obv i
ousl
yt heincomeoff ami l
i
es
dependsonr ealj
oboppor t
unities.Poli
cieswhi chpr ovideforahealthy
economyandeconomi cgr owt har et
hereforear emedi alanda
preventi
vestrategyt hatwi l
l benefitf
amili
es,especi all
yofdependent
workers,tothegr eatestext ent.

Li
mit
sofpar
ent
aldut
iesandr
ight
s:

Parent
sdonotpossessanunr estr
ainedaut hor
it
yoverthei
rchil
dren,but
thei
rri
ght
sanddut i
esareli
mitedbyt herightsanddut
iesofothers,
dir
ectl
ybythoseofthei
rchil
dren,i
ndirect
lybythoseofStateandChur ch
andbythoseofothereducat
ors,e.
g.r el
ativ
esandteachers.

Parentalauthori
tyisli
mitedbytheri
ghtsofthechil
dren.Forchi l
dren
arenottheirparentspropert
y,buti
nprinci
pleequalpart
nerswithequal
andinali
enablehumanr i
ghts.Parentsmustnotattempttol i
mitor
i
nfluencetheirchil
drenswill
sexceptasfarasisnecessaryinthe
chil
drensinterest
,properl
yunderst
ood.

Parentsareobligedt ograntt hestateandchur cht heexer ciseoft heir

subsidi
aryri
ghts,especi all
yineducat ional matters,sincet hey
themselvesarenoti naposi tiontopr ovideev erythingtheirchildrenneed
andthecommongoodmaydemand.Ther eforethest atehast herightto
enforceaneducat ionalstandardappr opr i
atetot heneedsoft he
communi tyandi t
scul t
ur e.Ifparentsnegl ecttheirchi l
dren, t
hest ate
caninsistt
hatpar entscar r
youtt hesedut ies.Thechur cht oocani nsist
thatparent
sallowhert heoppor t
unityf orreli
giousi nstruction,al
though
i
tcanonl yusemor almeansandsanct i
onst oenf orceherr ights.
 89

Teachers,guar dians,relati
vesorot herper sonswi t
heducat i
onal
functi
onsequal l
yhav er i
ght swithregardt othegui danceandi nstr
uct
ion
ofthechildren,whi chmustber espectedbypar ent
s.Par ent
scannot
adviseororderachi l
dwhati si
ncont r
adicti
ont othej ust
ifi
edruli
ngsof
theothereducat ors.Forex ample,theycannotadv iseachi l
d,whom t
hey
havesentt oaboar dingschool ,todi sr
egardt hecommonor derandgo
outatnightf orent er
tainment sagai nsttherulesoft hehouse.nthe
contrar
y,theymustsuppor ttheeducat i
onal eff
ortsoft heother
educatorsandconst ruct i
velycooper atewiththem.

8.
3.1.
5 Dut
iesofChi
l
drent
owar
dsPar
ent
s

Thechi ldrensobl i
gationofloveandr ever
encei sbasedont hef actthat
thepar entsar e,af
terGod, “
thesecondsour ceoflif
e, growthand
educat i
on” .Doubtlessinanor malfamilythechi l
drenowet hei
rpar ents
manybenef i
ts.Consequent l
ythechildhast heobligationoflove,
reverenceandgr atit
ude.Thepar entsresponsi bi
li
tyforagoodeducat i
on
mor eov erdemandsobedi enceont hepartoft hechild.Al l
these
obli
gat i
onsar ealr
eadyspont aneouslyexper i
encedbyt hechil
djustly,or
evendonotwanti t.Thatmaymodi fytheobl i
gati
onsoft hechil
d, t
hough
theobl i
gat i
onofgener al
Christi
anlovenev erceases.

Thef ourthcommandmentoft heDecal oguedi r

ect l
yst r
essest hechi l
ds
dutytor ev ereandhonouri tspar ents.“Honoury ourf atherandy our
mot her,thaty ourday smaybel ongi nthel andwhi chtheLor dyourGod
givesy ou”( Ex20: 12; Deut5:4;19:19).Rev erencef orpar ent sfl
owsf rom
themy st
er yofl i
fe,inwhi chtheyar ecooper at
or swi thGod.I ti
sl i
kewise
foundedi nt hegr eatr esponsibili
ti
eswhi chpar ent shav ef orthechild
beforeGod.Nat ural
lyifparentsar efoundt obei rresponsi ble,
theywi l
l
greatl
yhi ndert hedev elopmentoft ruerev erencei nt hechi l
dshear t.The
i
nnerspi ritofr everencemustmani festitselfi
next ernalsignsofhonour .
Childrensi nagai nstthehonourduet opar entsift heyar eashamedof
them anddi sownt hem becauseoft heirhumbl est ateorpov er
ty;orif
theyuseof fensiv espeech, t
reatt hem cont empt uousl y,orraisetheir
handagai nstthem.I tishowev ernotagai nstr everencet orestrainones
parent si
nacaseofnecessi tyev enbyf or ce,i
ft heyar einsane,
i
ntox i
cated, orf orsomeot herr easonoutofcont rol.

Chi
ldrenar
erequir
edtoobeythei
rpar
ent
sinallthings(
Eph6:1;2Tim
3:
2).Obedi
enceistheaccept
anceoft
hehierar
chicalor
derofcr
eat i
on,
andulti
matel
ytheaccept
anceofGodsri
ghts,f
orhehassoconst ructed
 90

andor deredhumanex istencet hatmendependonandar esubordinate

toeachot her.Theentiredev elopmentofchil
drenrequir
esthehelpand
guidanceofpar ent
sandeducat or
sandtheref
oreenjoinsobedi
ence
upont hem (educat
ionalobedi ence).Asl
ongaschildrenneedparent al
guidanceandar enoty etful
lyabl eandcompetenttomaket hei
rown
decisi
ons, t
heymustobeypar entsinal
lgoodandlawf ulmat
ter
sr elated
totheireducati
onandt raini
ng.

8.
3.2TheSt
ate

Humanbei ngsaredependentont hehelpoft hestat

eforfullreali
zati
on
oftheirper
sonalexi
stenceaswel lasthecompr ehensi
veachiev ementof
thetasksreachi
ngbey ondtheiri
ndivi
dualperson.Fort hereasont hatit
hastot akecareoftheuniversalcommongoodoft hecivi
c-communi ty,
thestateenj
oyspre-
emi nenceoveralltheothernatur
alsoci
eties.

Thenatur eoft hestat

eisconceivedi ndiff
erentways. HegelandMar x
beli
evet hatthest ateisthegoalofhumandev el
opment ,the“mor al
univ
erse”wi ththehighest,
evendi vi
nerights.Assuch, thepowerofthe
stat
ei sal mightyandr esi
stanceagai nstitisimmor al
. Someot her
peoplethinkthatthestateisnothingbutani nstr
umentatt heser
viceof
i
ndivi
dualcl ai
msandi nter
ests. Assuchi tcannotreachouttosupra-
i
ndivi
dual andsupra-nati
onalgoals.

Quitecont raryt otheseand si milarconcept soft hestate,Chri

st i
an
philosophyl ooksupont hest ateasaser vanti ntheat t
ainmentoft he
common good. The st atei s nott he highestpur pose ofhuman
existence,sot hatmenandwomenar eaccor dedr i
ghtsonlytotheextent
thattheyhar moni zewi t
htheai msoft hestateent it
y. Peoplehavet hei
r
ownexi st
ent i
alandnat uralrights(summar i
sedi nt heHumanRi ghts
Char ter
)whicht hestatepowerhast orespect.Thest at
ei sli
kewi
senot
mer elytheser vantoftheindividual
swel far
eandi nt
erests;humani
tyhas
anet ernaldestiny,whichtranscendsallearthlyreali
ti
es.

Thestatecanbedef inedasageogr aphicall

ydeli
mit edindependentor
sover
eignpoli
tical
communi tyaut
horit
yf ortheest
abl i
shmentand
promotionoft
heuni v er
salcommongood.Theest abli
shmentoft he
commongoodi scircumscr i
bedbyaposi ti
velegalandconst it
utional
order
,whichalsodet erminesandlegal
izesthepoliti
calauthorit
y.
 91

Everyphi l
osophyoft hest ateagreest hatt
hest at
eisnotaf r
eei nventi
on
oft hehumanwi l
l,butanecessi t
yf oundedi nhumannat ure,sinceno
societycan“hol dt ogetherunl esssomeonei sincommandt ogive
effecti
vedirecti
onanduni tyofpur pose. Thenecessityofthest ateand
ofst ateaut hor
ityulti
mat elyhasi t
ssour cei nGodhi mself,whohas
createdmanasasoci alandpol iti
calbeing.StPaulcant hereforesay
that“thereexist
snoaut horit
yexceptf rom Godandt hosewhoexi sthave
beenappoi ntedbyGod”( Rom.3: 1;cf.Jn.19:11). Thisdoesnotmean
thatev eryindiv
idualrulerhasbeenappoi ntedbyGod;butr atherthat
politi
calauthori
tyassuchi swil
ledbyGod.

Whilet hei nsti

tutionoft hest ateandst at eaut hor
ityar
enecessi t
ies
foundedi nhumannat ure,theconcr etef orm andt heconcr et
epol i
ti
cal
ordert hest atetakesdependsont hef reeagr eementoft hecitizens.
Thef orm ofgov ernment( monar chi
c,ar i
stocr at
ic,democrat i
c,etc.),the
constituti
onalst ructureoft hest ate,thel eaderandpar tiesinpower
deri
v etheirauthor i
tyfrom thepeopl e, ei
therbydi r
ectconsentoratl east
bytacitappr oval.Toassumet hatindivi
dual personsaredirectl
ychosen
byGodandpl acedi npower( asi st hecasei ndi v
inerightofki ngs)
contradicts human exper i
ence and Gods way ofwor king through
secondar ycauses. Ther oleofthepeopl ei nthechoi ceofthebear erof
thest ateaut hori
tyi st hef undament alr easonwhyani ncompet entor
corruptauthor i
tycanber emov edbyt heci t
izens.

Accor dingtotheChur chsteaching, diff

erentfor msofgov ernmentar e
possi bleandacceptableassuch—al t
houghonemustexcl udet he
totalit
arianst
atewhichdoesnotr ecognizeanyl i
mitstoitsarbit
rary
power .Thedecisiv
ef actorinev eryfor m ofgov er
nment ,bywhi chits
basicr ightt
oauthorit
yi sj
udged, isitswi l
li
ngnessandabi li
tytoser vethe
commongoodandi tsdisposit
iont or espectpeopl esfundament al r
ights.
Yeti talsoholdsasagener alprinciplethati nthechoiceofconcr et
e
form ofgov ernmentthemat uri
tyoft hecitizensmustbet akenint o
account .Thegreaterthepolit
ical mat uri
tyoft hepeoplethegr eateris
theirrightofcooper
at i
nginthegov ernment .

Thepur pose ofthest at

ei sthe promoti
on oft hegeneral,poli
ti
cal
commongood, whichconsi
stsintheestabl
i
shmentofjusti
ceandor der,
thesecuri
ngofdomest ictr
anquil
l
ity
,theprovi
sionofcommondef ence,
thepromotionofgeneralwelfar
eandt heensur i
ngofthebl essi
ngsof
l
iber
tyforall
.
 92

8.
3.2.
1Pol
it
icalaut
hor
it
yandr
equi
rement
sfori
tsexer
cise

From thepurposeofthestat
etherefl
owsasanecessar yconsequence
i
tsendowmentwi t
hpolit
ical
author
it
y-becausethestatecannot
executeit
sfuncti
onsunlessenti
tl
edtocombatarbit
rary
, i
l
legalpowers
thatendangerthecommongood.Pol i
ti
calaut
hori
tyshouldtheref
orebe
seenasaser vantoft
hecommongood.

Publicauthor i
ti
esultimatel
yhav et hesamef inalendast heirsubjects:
thegl or
if
icati
onofGodandt hecooper ati
oninhi suniv
er salplanof
creationandsal vati
on.Ther ef
ore, publi
caut hori
ti
esar etor emain
responsibletoGodandmustexer cisetheirdomi nioni
nr esponsibili
ty
beforehim, thatis,withi
nthel i
mi t
soft hemor all
aw.Thi sholdsf or
i
ndiv i
dualrulersaswel lasforpar li
ament arybodies.“ Polit
icalauthori
ty,
whet herinthecommuni tyassuchori ninstit
ut i
onsrepresent i
ngthe
state,mustal way sbeexercisedwi thinthelimitsofmor alit
yandon
behalfoft hedy namicall
yconcei vedcommongoodaccor di
ngt oa
j
ur i
dicalorderenjoyinglegalstatus.”(GS74)

Inasmuchashumanbei ngsar eli

mitedininsi
ght
,aref
alli
ble,areincl
ined
topart
iali
tyandarel
i
ablet ousingpowerforthei
rowninterests,poli
ti
cal
author
itymustbesubjecttocontrol
.Thi siswhyther
eisneedt oask
oursel
ves:whataret
her equi
rementsf ort
heresponsi
bleexerciseof
poli
ti
calauthor
it
y?

Fir
st,
allthepubl
icoffi
cial
sconcer
nedareobl
igedtobefai
thfulserv
ant
s
ofthestateexer
cisi
ngtheiraut
hor
itywi
thdi
scret
ionandwithfull
knowledgeofthelaw.

Secondl y,i t must be r emember ed t hat a good and ef f

ici
ent
admi nist
rat i
oncanbeachi evedonlyifwor thyandcompet entcandidates
areappoi ntedf orpubl icof fi
ce. Di st
r i
buti
onofof ficesaccor di
ngt o
patronageort omember shipinf av
our edgr oups(ofapol it
ical,social
rel
igiousnat ure,etc)isunj ustandinadmi ssibl
e. Likewi seaccept ance
ofanof fi
cei sf orbiddent oany oneincapableoff i
l
li
ngi t. Ont heother
handi tist horoughl yrespectedandpr aiseworthyi
fthosewhoar esuited
forcivicof fi
ces,orcanbecomeso,pr epar ethemselvesf orthisdiffi
cult
butmosthonour abletask.Hewhopossessest heabi l
it
iesmayev enbe
obli
gedt oseekand/ oracceptapubl icof f
iceifnoothercapabl eper son
i
sav ailableandi fthereisnov ali
dexcuse.
 93

Thir
dly
,gov erningaut hori
ti
esareboundt oj ust,i
mparti
alandr el
iabl
e
admini
strat
ionoft heiroffi
ce. Vat i
canIIv eryappropr
iat
elyrequir
es
them t
oexer cisetheircharge“wit
houtthoughtofpersonalconv
enience
andwithoutbenefitofbr i
bery”(
GS75).

Fourthly,si
ncesocialli
feint hemoder nwor l
di ssocompl ex,evena
j
uridicalstr
uct
urewhichhasbeenpr udentl
yandthoughtf
ull
yestabl
ished
i
sal way stoacertainextentinadequateoftheneedsofsoci ety
.Thi s
requiresfrom ci
vilauthori
ti
escl earideasaboutt henatureandt rue
meani ngoflaws(hencetheneedf orconstantaggi
ornamento)andgreat
fl
exibili
tyi
nthei
rappli
cati
on.

Fi
nal l
y,int hespir
itoft
hepr i
ncipl
eofsubsi
diar
it
y,stat
eaut hor
it
ymust
grant indiv i
dual
s,associat
ions and i
nter
mediate bodies as much
fr
eedom f orpersonali
nit
iat
ivesaspossibl
eandi nter
veneonlyt ot
he
extentt hattheyarenotcapableofperf
ormingaf uncti
onbyt hei
rown
st
r ength.

8.
3.2.
2Legi
slat
ionandadmi
nist
rat
ionofJust
ice

Throughtheenactmentoflawsandtheappli
cati
onofsancti
onswhen
necessar
y,thestat
eupholdsanddefendsther i
ghtsofal
lcit
izenst o
maintai
npubli
corderandt
ranqui
l
li
tyandpr
omot ethecommonwel far
e.

Inaconst it
uti
onalst ate,lawsmustbedecr eedont hebasisoft he
const it
ution—adocumentt hatref
lectsthev aluesofapar ti
cul
arsoci ety
i
nabi dtopr ot
ectpeoplesf undament alr
ight sanddi gnityandgui dethe
83
relationshipbetweenci tizensandt hestate. TheConst i
tut
ioni sthe
highestl aw oft helandbywhi cht hev ariousor gansoft hest atear e
est abli
shedandr uninal egalandor derl
ymanner .Iti salsotheul ti
mat e
meansbywhi chcitiz
enscont roltheexer ciseofal ll egalandpol it
ical
aut horit
yinthecount ry. Assuch, anygoodconst i
tutionwi l
lcontainthe
kind of gov ernmentt he peopl e want ,t he di f
ferentpar t
s of t he
gov ernmentand t heirpower s,the guiding pr i
nciples and r ules for
maki ngt helawsoft heland, andaBi llofRights.

I
n any democr ati
c government
,there ar
et hr
ee br
anches of t
he
government provi
ded f
or i nthe const
it
uti
on:the Execut
ive,t
he
Legisl
atur
e,andtheJudi
ciary
.

83
See,DEMOCRACY CONSOLI ON PROGRAMME,Bu
DATI il
dinganInf
ormedNat
ion:A Handbookf
orCi
vi
c
Educat
iononGov er
nanceandHumanRi ghts,
Lil
ongwe2004.
 94

TheExecutiveBr anchisheadedbythePresi
dentwhoi sinact
ualterms
theChiefExecuti
v eofthecount
ry.Otherpeopleassi
sti
ngthepresident
i
nt heExecutiv
ebr ancharethevi
cepresi
dent,
thecabinetmini
ster
s, and
all
civi
lservants.

TheLegi slat ur eist hel aw- maki ngbodywhi chi nmanycount ri

esi sthe
84
Parli
ament . Parli
amenti st he legislative bodywher el aws ar e
for
mul ated, debat edandpassed. TheNat i
onalAssembl y,howev er,can
onlypassl awst hatconf ormt ot hegui deli
nesoft heconst it
ution. I n
generalt erms,i tmustber ecalledt hataj ustl egi
slationwi llhav eto
conformt ot hecommongood, t
hel awofnat ur e(asexpr essedi nt heBi l
l
ofRight si nt heConst itution,t heUni versalDecl arati
onofHumanRi ghts
andot heri nt ernationalcov enant s),andt hehumanper sonsdi v i
nely-
appoint edend. Consequent l
ythel egislativeaut hor
it
yi scl earl
yl i
mi ted:
nothingt hatconf li
ct swi tht hecommongood,wi t
hnat uralr i
ghtand
div
iner evelat i
oncanr eal lybecomel aw t hroughanyenact mentoft he
Legislativebr anchoft hest ate.Consi deri
ngt hatconditionschangeand
humanl egi sl ati
oni sal way ssubj ecttoi mper fecti
onsandof tenar rivedat
asar esul tofcompr omi se, noconst i
tuti
oncanbeconsi deredsof inalas
tobeunal ter able. Henceev er
yconst it
ut i
onmustpr ov i
def ort ranquil
evolutionandor der edchange.Howev er,theci ti
zensshoul dbeont heir
guardagai nstsuchamendment st ot heconst i
tuti
onaimedatbenef i
ti
ng
afewpower fulindividual s.

Member s ofPar l
iament( M. P.s)mustcont ributet heirshar etot he
promotionofgoodl awsandmustmaket heful lforceoft hei
rinfl
uence
fel
tintheprevent
ionofev i
llegislat
ion.Parti
cipationi nthedeli
berati
ons
andi nthepassingofr esoluti
onsi sobli
gator y;thedut yur gesmor e
strongl
ythemor eimportantthemat t
eri
ndiscussi oni s. Cooperati
ngin
evill
egi
slat
ionissinf
ul,
exceptwhenagr eaterev ili
st obeav oi
ded.

Theadmi ni
str
ationofjusticehasthepurposeofenfor
cinglawsand
defendi
ngagainstinj
usti
ceandal soimparti
ngtothecit
izensproper
i
nsighti
ntotheirri
ght
sanddut i
es.ThisiswheretheJudici
aryasa
branchofgovernmentisv eryi
mpor t
ant.Lawy er
sandjudgesar e
requi
redtopossesapar ti
cularl
ysoli
dknowledgeofthelaw.Theymust
alsobeacquaintedwit
ht heconcretecondi
tionsofmodernlif
e,towhich

84
The1994Consti
tuti
onofMalawiprovi
dedfortwoarmsoft heLegi
slat
ure:theSenate(chi
efsand
r
epresent
ati
vesofdi f
fer
entint
erest
ssuch asr el
i
gion and women)and t heNationalAssembly
(
Member sofParl
iament). I
nJanuary,2001,i
nsuspici
ouscircumst
ances,Parli
amentsaw itfi
tto
r
epealthel
awthatprovi
dedfort
heSenate.
 95

thel awsar etobeappl ied.Anot herofthef oremostobl igat ionsof

j
udgesandl awy ersi st hei ncor r
uptandi mpar ti
alappl icat ionoft helaw
accor dingt othepr inci pleofequal it
y.TheUni versalDecl ar ationof
HumanRi ghtsjust l
yur gest heequal it
yofal lbeforet hel aw.“ Allare
equal bef or ethelawandar eent i
tl
edwi t
houtanydi scr imi nat iont oequal
protect i
onoft helaw”( art7) .Althoughmoder nstatesusual l
ypr ofess
equal i
tyofal lbefor et hel aw, muchr emai nstobedonet or eal i
zeitfull
y
i
npr actice.Thehi ghcost sofl iti
gati
on,forexampl e,of tenpl acepoor er
peopl eatadi sadv ant age.Ar rangement soughtt obemadet opr ovide
poorpeopl ewi t
hl egal facil
iti
esatmoder atef ees,per hapsby
cooper at i
onbet weent hest ate,thelocalauthor i
ti
esandt hel awy ers
associ ation.Mor eov er, j
ustascodesofmedi calethicsst at et hatfees
mustbeadj ustedt ot heabi l
ityofthecl i
enttopayandf reeser vi
cest obe
givent ot hepoori nneedofi t,soethicalcodesf orlawy er soughtt o
i
ncl udeal ikepr ovision.

8.
3.2.
3Pr
omot
ionofsoci
al-
economi
cwel
far
eandpubl
icheal
th

Iti
salsot
hetaskofthegov
ernmenttotakecareofeconomicgrowt h,
social
pol
icy
,sani
tar
yandhygieni
ccondit
ions,
andecologi
calpoli
ciesof
thecount
ry.

Wi t
hr egardtoeconomi cplanning, li
beral
ism adv ocatesami ni
mum of
stateinterventi
on, whereassoci al
ism f av
our sahi ghdegr eeofstate
control.Bot hsy stemshav edanger swhi chmustbeav oided.If
everythingisleftinpr i
vatehands,t hereisar ealdangert hatwealthand
poweri samassedbyaf ewrichpeopl ewhiletheneedyar eentrenched
furt
her .Ont heotherhandanunl imi t
edr i
ghttost ateintervent
ionin
economi cmat t
erst endstost i
fl
epr ivateini
tiat
ive.Stateaut hori
tymust
thereforetakecar et oassociateprivateinit
iati
veandi ntermediary
bodieswi thitsowneconomi cpl anning.

Soci alpolicyconsi st
sinmeasur esandi nsti
tut
ionsofthest ateto
protectsoci al groupsagainstadisadv ant
ageousposi t
ionespeci al
lyin
suchar easasl abourcondit
ionsandi ncomesecur i
ty.Asr egardslabour
condi t
ions, thereisneedf oralegi
slationcover
ingthepr otecti
onoft he
wor kers,theirlifeandtheirheal
th.I ncomesecur i
tyisprimar i
lyserved
bypr ovisionsi ninstancesofmi sf
ortune,suchassickness, accident,
disabil
ityandunempl oyment,andalsof ori
ncreasedfami l
y
responsi bili
ti
es.
 96

8.
3.2.
4Car
eforcul
tur
alandmor
alv
alues

Thecultur
alfunct
ionofthest
atei
ncludesgenerali
nstr
uct
ionand
schooli
ng,t
heculti
vat
ionofsci
encesandarts,andfost
eri
ngofgood
morals.

Thest atehastherighttorequi
reabasic, general
school
ingofi
ts
cit
izens,toprescr
ibestandardsofeducat i
onandt omaintai
nschoolsfor
thei
rat t
ainment.Italsopertai
nstothet asksofthestatetopr
ovidethe
cit
izenswi t
hthebenef i
tsofbasiccul
tural v
alues.

Thestatesfuncti
oninthesphereofcultureconsi stsi
nthepr otect
ionof
cul
turalval
uesagainstanythr
eatsofmi suseandoppr ession,aswellas
i
ntheirpromotiontotheendthatallci
ti
zensbeenabl edt oshareinthem.
Whilethefi
ghttofreedom ofopi
nionandexpr ession,
informationand
communi cati
onofideasisafundament alvalueinanyf reesociety
,it
s
guaranteei
sofspecialimport
anceforcultural l
if
e.

Withr egar dto publ ic mor ali

ty,Christi
an ethics has always upheld,
agai
nstl iberal
istindiffer
enti
sm,t hati tbelongst othehighestgoodsof
thecommonweal . Thest at easdef enderoft hecommongoodhast o
aver
tdest ructi
v eforcesi nt hisspher e. Thest atehasadut y,for
exampl e,topr otectandpr omot etheaut henti
cnat ureofmar r
iageand
thefami l
y( GS52) ,tohel pcr eat
econdi ti
onsf avourabl
et othefoster
ing
ofreli
giousl if
e( DH6) ,andt oguar anteef r
eedom ofr el
igi
on. Societ y
i
tsel
fwi l
lpr ofi
tbyt her el
igiousandmor alv i
rtueswhichor i
ginatein
humanbei ngsf ai
thfulnesstoGodswi ll
.

Nowaday s,thediscussiononpubl i
cmor al
it
ycent resi naspecialwayon
radio,fi
lms,telev
ision,l
iteratureandamusement st hatareaccessibl
eto
they oung.Whi l
eitistruet hatv er
yst r
ictandrigidmeasur esmayat
ti
mesdomor eharmt hangood, therecanal sobenodoubtt hat
particul
arlytheyoungandadol escentsneedpr otect i
onagai nst
i
nfluencest hataredest ructi
v eofmor ali
ty.Fort hisr easonitismost
praiseworthyandnecessar yt hatstatesenactlawsi nprotecti
onofthe
young.

8.
3.2.
5Requi
rement
sofaj
ustf
iscal(
publ
icr
evenue)pol
icy

Publ
i
cr ev
enueandbudgetar
ypol
ici
esareofgreatimportancetothe
commongoodi ngener
alandtot
heeconomicdev elopmentofacount r
y
i
nparti
cular
.Inordert
oaccompli
shit
stasksandf uncti
ons,thestat
eis
 97

i
nabsolut
eneedoff
inanci
ali
ncomebytaxes.Thev er
ynecessit
iesof
thecommongoodareatthebasi
soft
hestatesr
ighttolev
ytaxesand
alsopr
ovi
dethel
i
mittothi
sright
.

Af undament al
pr incipleofj ustf iscal policy,whi chr eal l
yemanat esfrom
thepr incipleofdi stri
but ivejust i
ce, ist hattaxbur densbedi stri
but ed
equitabl yandi naccor dancewi t
hcapaci ty.Ther efor e, t
hepoorcl asses
shouldnotbedi spr opor tionatelybur denedi ncompar i
sonwi tht he
wealthi erclasses.Taxl awsoughtt opr ovidef orani ncreasi ngt axati
on
ofhigheri ncomesandt hepr ogr essiv elylowert axat ionofgoodsneeded
gener allyincont rastwi t
hl uxurygoods.Thepr incipleofdi stri
but ive
j
ust i
cei sof ten,though, frustratedbycompl icatedmar ketcondi t i
onsi n
moder nsoci ety.Thedi f
ficultyint axingsel f
-gener atedi ncomehasl ed
somet obel i
evet hatt hebestwayi st ocol l
ectt axf rom r eal estate
proper ty,from wageandsal ar year ner s,andf rom cer taingoods.The
fai
rdi stributi
onoft hei ntendedbur dencanal sobef rust ratedthr ough
thepassi ngonoft axes.Forwhet hert axesar epassedonornott othe
consumerdependsnotonl yont hel egi sl
atorbutal soont hosewhohol d
85
positi
onsofpoweri nt hemar kets.

Taxati
onal soservesasani
nstr
umentofeconomi cpol
icy.Taxati
on
doesinfluencetheeconomi
cpict
ureinsuchareasastheadjustmentof
thesocialorder
,invest
ment
,andthegapbetweent her
ichandthepoor.

Thel i
mitsofaredeterminedbyt heprinci
pleofeconomi cproducti
vit
y
andt hepri
ncipl
eofcommongood.Toohi ghtaxeshav earetar
ding
effectoneconomi cprogress.Taxesmustbeconsi deredasharmf uli
f
theystagnatethewillt
oeconomi cventur
e,impaircapitalformati
onand
cri
ppleeconomi cproductivi
ty.Taxesar eunjusti
ft heydistr
ibut
e
burdensunfairl
y,i
ftheyhitthesmal li
ncomer elat
ivelymuchhar der,ori
f
theyplacefamili
eswithmanychi l
drenatadisadv antage.

8.
3.2.
6Cr
imi
nalj
uri
sdi
cti
onoft
hest
ate

Threeanci
entmaxi
msar
est
il
lthef
undament
alpr
inci
plesofanyj
ust
penalsy
stem:

- Nul
l
apoenasi
nel
ege:Nooneshal
lbehel
dguil
tyofanyactor
omi
ssi
onwhi
chdi
dnotconst
it
uteapenal
off
ence,undernat
ional

85
Chr
SeeJ.HOFFNER, ist
ianSoci
aslTeachi
ng,
216.
 98

orinter
nati
onal law,attheti
mewheni twascommi tt
ed.Norshal l
aheav i
erpenaltybei mposedt hantheonet hatwasapplicableat
thetimetheof fencewascommi t
ted.
- Nullapoenasi neculpa:Nooneshal lbepunishedforaviolati
onof
thelawwhi chdi dnotresul
tfrom personalguil
t;nooneshal lbe
subjecttoarbit
rarydetenti
on.
-I ndubiopror eo:Aper sonistobepr esumedi nnocentunti
l prov
en
guil
tyaccordingt oduelegalprocess.

Therightoft hest at
et opunishevil
-doersisindi
spensableiforderi
n
soci
ety, whichconst it
utesahighlyi
mpor t
antaspectofthecommon
good,ist obesaf eguarded.Thi sri
ghtisnotpr inci
pal
lydir
ectedtowar
ds
theguiltofthecr i
mi nalbuttheprot
ectionoft hecommongood.
Therefore,allpunishment sandprecautionar
ymeasur esulti
mat el
yhav
e
fort
heirobj ectsthedef enceofthecommongood.

Ther i
ghtoft hestat
et opuni shev il
-doersortointernotherl aw-
breaker s
i
si ndispensabl
etot hesafeguar dofor derinsociety,whichconst i
tutesa
highlyimportantaspectoft hecommongood. Thef actt hatthest ate
canal sointernabnormall aw-breaker smakesi tplaint hattheprincipal
reasonf orthi
srightisnott hegui ltofthecriminalbutt hepr ot
ectionof
the common good. Al lpuni shment s and precautionary measur es
ulti
mat el
yhav efortheirobjectst hedef enceoft hecommongood. I n
practi
calt er
ms,t herightoft hest atet oexactpuni tarymeasur est o
offendersofthelawst emsf rom thef oll
owingconsiderat i
ons:

Fir
st, i
tseemsnor mal thatdamagescausedt oot hersber epai r
edand
compensat edf or .Just icecertai
nlydemandst hatst olengoodsbe
ret
ur nedt ot heowner ,mat eri
aldamagesr epair
ed, defamat i
ons
correctedandot herinjuriescompensat edbymeani ngful satisfacti
on.
Obv i
ousl ythesat i
sfactionmustbepr opor ti
onatet othei njurycaused.
Inthedet ermi nationofwhi chsatisfaction( i.
e.punishment )the
communi tywi llconsideraduer epar ation, t
hecommuni t
ymustl imit
i
tselft othatmi nimum whi chisnecessar yandsuf f
ici
entt or estorethe
balanceofj usti
ceandt hestabil
it
yoft hel egalorder.Aj ustsent ence
wil
l alsohav et ot akeint oconsiderationwhatcr imedoest ov icti
msi n
psychol ogicalregar d,e.g.incasesofr apeorot herv i
olence.

Penallegislat
ionshoul dalso aim atinstructi
ng theciti
zenryont he
i
nadmi ssi
bili
tyofcer tai
n conduct,insof
arast hi
sof f
endspenal t
ies,
str
ivest o confi
rm them intheirlegalallegiance. Penall egi
slat
ion
shouldthereforeactasadet errentfrom crimef orsubj
ectsincl
i
nedt o
 99

evi
lconduct
. Theact ualinfl
i
cti
on oft hepenaltyon the off
ender
expr
essespubli
cdisappr
ovalofthedeedandbyt hismeansunder gi
rds
theval
i
dit
yofthenorm .Thisisthepurposeofgeneral
prev
ention.

Thosewhohav eoff
endedagainstthelawarealsot oberef
ormed. I n
thi
sr egard,pri
sonconditi
onsoughttobesucht hatthepurposeof
correct
ioncanbeachi evedinthebestpossibleway . Caremustbe
takentocr eat
etheconditi
onsfort
hesocialint
egrati
onofthepr i
soner
oncehehasser vedhi
st er
m andret
urnstol
ibert
y.

Theprotect
ion ofthe common wel
fare demandsthatcri
minal
sbe
prev
ent
edf r
om furt
hercri
mesbysuffi
cient
lysaf
emeans. Thesaf et
y
measurestobet akenwi l
lbedet
erminedbyt herequi
rementofthe
prot
ect
ionofthepubl
ic.

Finallyitshouldnotbeov erlookedt hatcr i

minali
tycannotbej udged
ent i
rel
yinisolat
ionf rom thesoci alcont extwhereitoccur s. Cr
iminal
offendersoftencomef rom asoci all
ydi st
urbedbackgr ound. Ithas
been conf i
rmed t hatcr i
mi nali
tyis notan i sol
ated pr obl
em,to be
resolvedexclusivelyinandbyt heper sonoft hei ndiv
idualoff
ender.
Rat heratthesamet imei traisessocialquest i
ons,whichconcernsthe
relati
on of the of fender to hi s environment,t or el
at i
ves,f
ri
ends
neighboursandf ell
owwor kers.

Grantedthatthestat
ehast heri
ghtt
opunishevi
ldoer
s,t
hecont
rover
sial
i
ssuet odayiswhet herornotthisri
ghtalsogoesasfarasthedeath
penalty
. Hast hestatetheri
ghtandper
hapstheobli
gat
iont
oinfl
i
ctthe
deathpenaltyformajorcri
mes?

Thosewhoadv ancet
herightofthest
atet
oexactt
hedeat
hpenal
ty
presentar
gument
sasthef
ollowi
ng:

TheHol yScr ipt

uresandt hetheol ogicaltradit
ionhaveat tr
ibutedt othe
statebotht herightandt heobl i
gat ionoft hedeathpenal t
yf orsome
seri
ouscr imes. TheHol yScripturesi ntheOldTest amentexpr essly
attr
ibutetot hestatebotht herightandt heobligati
onoft hedeat h
penaltyformor eser i
ouscr i
mes.“ Forbloodpol l
utestheland, andno
expiati
oncanbemadef orthel and, forthebloodthati sshedi nit,except
bythebl oodofhi m whoshedi t.”( Num 35: 33alsoGen9: 5f ;Ex21:12-25;
Num 35: 16-34).TheNewTest ament ,
althoughlessexpl i
citinthis
regardthant heOT, neverthelessdoesnotdenyt hest atether i
ghtt o
capitalpunishment .Inhist r
ialbef orePilate,
Jesusdoesnotcont estthe
 100

governorsaut hori
tyoverli
feanddeat h(Jn.19:10f).Romans13: 4also
presumest heauthori
tyofthest atet openal
izewiththesword:“ifyou
dowr ong, beafrai
d,forhe(t heper soni nauthori
ty)doesnotbearthe
swordinv ain;
heistheser vantofGodt oexecutehiswrathonthe
wrongdoer .” Foll
owingthisl i
neoft hought,
althoughtheChurchhas
alwaysf oughtagainstbloodv engeance, i
thasnev ert
helessr
ecognised
86
thestatesr i
ghttouset heswor d.

Othersar guethatt hr
ought hedeat hpenal ty,
thesanct i
tyofthedivi
ne
order,whichcr i
mi nal
shav eviolatedi nthemostser iousway ,i
sforci
bly
andef f
ect i
velyrecognisedandr estored.I ti
sf urt
herar guedthat
eli
minationoft hedeat hpenaltycanposeat hreatt othelivesofthe
pri
songuar dsandt oout si
dersincaset heprisonershoul descape.
From aspi ri
tualpointofv i
ew, deathpenal tyisadv antageous:many
pri
sonersconv ertint
hef aceofdeat hwher easal ongpeni tent
iaryl
if
e
sentencewear speopledownanddoesnotpr omot ethespiri
tofrenewal.
From aneconomi cpointofview, deathpenal tyischeapert hanincur
ring
theexpensesofkeepi ngacr i
mi nal inprisonforlif
e.

Thoseagainstt
hedeat
hpenal
tyadv
ancesuchpassi
onat
ear
gument
sas
thefol
l
owing:

Nohumani nstit
uti
onhast her ighttodi sposeofahumanl i
fe—t hi
sis
87
theprerogat i
v eofGodalone! I nthisr egard,noJudgecanandshoul d
arr
ogatet ohi mselfthedecisionwhet hersomeonehasi ncur r
edaguilt
deservi
ngofdeat hornot .Thedeat hpenal tyi
si nfactar emnantofthe
Medieval cor por
alandcapital punishmentwhi chdoesnotcor r
espondto
moder nideaofaci vi
li
sedhumani ty. Mor eover,i
tisfurtherargued,
cri
mesar ef requentlycondit
ionedbysoci alcir
cumst ances, sothata
goodsoci al poli
cyisthebestcr i
minal policy
.

Thedeat hpenal
tydebatetakesanint
erest
ingtur
nwhent hearguments
presentedareexaminedagainstt
hereasonsjust
if
yingtheri
ghtofthe
st
at etoimposepunishmentsingeneral
.Ifweconsi derr
efor
mation,f
or

86
PopeInnocentIII( 1198-1216)decl aredt otheWal densianswhower egener all
ycr i
ti
caloftheri
ght
ofanygov er
nment alauthorit
yt oimposedeat hpenal ty
:“ Wedeclarethatt hegov ernmentalaut
hority
canimposet hedeat hpenal tywi t
houtser ioussin,presupposi ngt
hatthispenal t
yi simposed,notout
ofhate,butont hebasi sofj udgement ,notarbitr
ari
lybutaf termatur
er efl
ecti
on.”I nthesamev ein,
PopePiusXI Iin1952decl aredt hatitisreservedt othepubl i
cauthori
ty“todepr i
vet hecondemnedof
thei
rli
vesasr eperati
onf ortheircri
mesaf tertheyhav ealreadyfor
feit
edt heirr
ighttolif
ethroughtheir
cri
mes.”Quot edfrom J.HOFFNER, Christi
anSoci alTeaching,217.
87
Cf
.
 101

ex ample,adeathpenalt
ydoesnotseem t ogivechancef orthe
transgressortoberefor
med.Howev er,
somepeopl earguet hati
fthe
transgressoraccept
shisdeathinaspiri
tofatonementf ort
he
i
rresponsibil
it
yofhisacti
ons,hi
sdignit
yasamor albeingcanbe
restored.Thiscanstil
lbeconsi
deredar efor
mationoft hecriminal
,
whi chisofapr of
oundsocial
andreli
gioussignif
icance.

Ther eparati
ont heoryr equi resthatt hewoundi nfli
ctedber epai r
edby
him whocausedi t
.Nat ural ly,
bel i
evingt hatt
hegr av erthewound, t
he
graverthesat i
sfactionr equi red,peopl ehav eoftenjudgedt hatt hemost
appropriateatonementf orv eryser i
ouscr i
messhoul dbet hedeat hof
thecriminal.Ifhowev eracommuni t
yconcl udest hatundert heconcr et
e
conditi
onsoft het imeot hersev ereformsofexpi ati
oncanr estore
j
ust i
ceandsuf f
iceasat onementf orev env er
ygr avecr imes, itisupto
prudentjudgementofanat iontosubst i
tuteotherpuni shment sf ort
he
deathpenal ty.Twoaddi tional factorswoul darguei nf avourofsucha
substit
ution:first,t
heev er-presentdangerofexecut ingani nnocent
person;and, secondl y
, givent hecour ageandt hewi ckednessi twould
taketospi ll
humanbl ood, forexampl e,itwouldbedi f f
icul
tt odr awa
clear-
cutlinebet weensani tyandi nsanityanddet ermi netheact ual
responsibili
tyoftheof fenderi nt hecr i
mecommi tt
ed.

Ast ot hedet errenteffectoft hedeat hpenal t

y,somecr i
minologists
quest i
onwhet heri
tisanygr eaterthant hatofothergravepenaltiesli
ke
l
ifelongi mpr i
sonment .Howev er,studi
eshav eshownt hatinstates
wher et hedeat hpenaltyi sstill
infli
ctedandi sar ealt
hreattothel i
feof
thecr i
mi nal,thecrimer ateseemst ober educedef f
ecti
vely
.Ther e
seemst obesomet ruthi nthest rongandv erycommonconv i
cti
onof
peopl eofal lti
mest hatt hedeat hpenaltyisadet err
entandthat
criminalsf eardeat hmor ethanl i
felongimpr i
sonment .

Ofspeciali
mpor tancei nt hi
squest i
onisthear gumentoft hepr otection
ofthecommonwel fare.Cr iminalswhoser iouslyendangert hewel fare
ofothercit
izensandoft hecommuni tyhavet obehi nderedfrom st i
ll
harmingother s.Whet herthisnecessit
ytopr otectthepublicrequi r
es
thedeathoft hecr iminal ornot,dependsont hequestionwhet herhi s
deathistheonl yef fi
cientandmor al
lypossiblemeansofsaf eguar ding
theli
feandwel l
-beingoft hecommuni t
yofci ti
zens.Thequest i
onof
whetherornotast ateisnor mall
yint hecondi t
iontokeept hecrimi nals
undersafedet entioni satst akehere.
 102

Whilet hedebat ei snotaboutt obeconcl udedast hequest i

onst i
l
l
remai nsunr esolved,threepr i
nciplesf rom Chr i
stianSoci al Teachingi n
88
thi
sr egar dshoul dbebor nei nmi nd :Fi r
st,thest ate,andonl ythest ate
i
slawf ul
lyent i
tl
edt opassandexecut ethedeat hsent enceasa
punishmentf orser i
ouscr mes.Secondl
i y,thestat esr i
ghtoft heswor d
i
sbutaf orcefulrecogniti
onoft hei nv iolabil
ityoft hehi ghesthuman
goods, t
hatofhumanl ie.Fi
f nally,ther ightoft hest at
et oi mposet he
deathpenal tydoesnoti mpl ythatt hest ateisnotal lowedt or enounce
theexer ciseoft hisri
ght .Itcannotbepr ovedt hatt hest atemust
uncondi ti
onal l
yhav erighttoinfli
ctt hedeat hpenal t
yati tsdi sposal;
alt
houghi tisnotequal lyevidentt hatt hest ateisev enobl igedt oabol i
sh
thedeat hpenal tyaltogether.Butwher ev erthedeat hpenal t
yisinf orce,
suff
icientpr ecaut i
onsmustbet akent hataner rorofl awandaj udicial
murderbeav oidedatal lcost.Mor eov ersomeaut hor i
tyint hestate
musthav et herightofpar dont ocommut et hedeat hsent encei nt
oot her
penalties.

8.
3.2.
7Pr
omot
ionofpeaceandnat
ionaldef
ence

Peacei scommonl yunder stoodi nt henegat ivesenseast heabsenceof

war,violenceandt err or(negat ivepeace) ,butinitsdeeperposi t
iveroots,
peacer eferstotranqui lit
yofaj ustanddy nami corderofl iber ty.Aj ust
andst ableorderofpeacepr esupposessecur ityofexistenceand
developmentf rom al lpeopl eandi naspeci alwayr espectf ort her i
ghtof
all
.I tisar eal
it
ywhi chneedst ober ealizedatv ari
ousl evel s, i
ncluding
thenat i
onsandgr oupsofnat ions.Al thoughourmai nconcer nher eis
i
nternationalpeace, itmustbenot edt hatt hepeacef ulsolut ionof
worldwideconf li
ctsisbet terformedatt hel evelofindividual persons
andsmal l
ercommuni ties.Theper sonal atti
tudesofj ustice, sensi ti
vit
y
toothers, f
reedom f r
om pr ejudice, tol
erance, abili
tytocompr omi se, and
soli
darityareimpor tantpr econdi ti
onsf orpeaceatt hehi gherl evels.
Peoplef urt
hermor emustbeatpeacewi ththemsel v
eswi thint heirhearts
andconsci enceift her eisgoi ngt obet ruepeacei nt hewor ld.

Ast r
ategyofpeacemustel iminatet hecauseofwarandv iolenceand
respectther i
ghtsanddi gnityofot herpeopleandnat i
ons.Thi scannot
beaconcer nonlyoft heleadersofnat ions;allci
ti
zensandespeci all
ythe
power swhi chform publicopinionhav eani nfl
uenceinthisregard.I ti
s
asinagai nstfr
at er
nal l
oveagai nstthedut ytopromotepeaceamong
meni fcit
izensf osterhatredforothernat i
onsorf orgroupsofdi f
ferent

88
Chr
SeeJ.HOFFNER, ist
ianSoci
alTeachi
ng,217-
218.
 103

r
aceorconv
ict
ionwit
hint
hei
rownnat i
on.I
tisapar
ti
cul
arl
ygr
avesi
nif
t
hisi
sdonebythosewhoinf
luencet
hemassmedia.

Alastingpeacei spossibleonlyifjusti
ceisdonet ot helegitimate
concer nsandexpect at
ionsofal lparti
esinvolved.Thi sist hereason
whydi alogueissoi mportantinthisprocess.Const ruct
ivedi al
oguewill
l
istent otheideasandaspi rati
onsoft hepar t
nerwi thar eadi nessto
adjustonesownposi ti
onwhenev errequir
edbyt hedemandsofj usti
ce.
Danger ousmi sconcepti
onsandmi scalculati
onscanbeav oidedonlyi
f
allsi
desar eseriousl
yandper manent l
ywilli
ngt ore-exami net hei
rown
positi
onandatt hesamet imet ogiv edueconsi derationtot he
experienceandanxi ety
,thei nt
erests,t
heper ceptionsandt hev al
uesof
theotherside.

Itshoul dbebor nei nmi ndt hatattimesv ari

ousanswer sar epossibl
et o
certainquest ionsandt hisawar enessshouldf osteraspiri
toft ol
erance
amongt hepar tner s(Gaudium etspes43) .Apar ti
culardangerto
tolerancei sideol ogieswhi char eusual l
yupheldasuncont establ
et r
uth,
butwhi chinr eali
tycont radictthet r
uenat ureofhumani tyandsoci ety
andt her eforear emostser iousobst aclestoagr eementsand
compr omi se.I nv i
ewoft his,thepar t
iesinvol
v edinconfli
ct sshould
timeandagai nex aminecr i
tical
lytheirpresupposi t
ionsandpr econceived
assumpt ions.

ThewordsofPaulVIthat“
developmenti sthenewnamef orpeace”call
att
enti
ontotheneedofeconomi cj
usticeandofaidfort
hedev el
oping
nati
onsinor
dertosecureastablepeacei nthewor
ld.Theev er-
growing
economici
nter
dependenceofthenationsdemandst hi
sattent
ion.

Inter
nationallawandinternati
onal
or ganizations,especiall
ytheUNOar e
i
mpor tantpill
arsofworldpeace.Ev enwhi letheirauthori
tycanbe
disputedandunder minedbymaj orpower slikeUSA, theyhavethe
capacitytosupportandst rengt
henpeacei niti
ati
vesandt obear bit
ers
andmedi at
orsinconfli
cts.Theaut horit
yoft heseinsti
tuti
onsin
mat t
ersofj usti
ceandpeaceoughtt obef urtherstrengthenedinthe
courseoft i
me.

Respectfortheri
ghtsofothersistheindispensablefoundati
onofpeace
andami nimum demandi nlove.Def enceoft heser i
ghtst
herefor
e
l
ikewiseservest
hecauseoft ruepeace, atleasti
nt helongter
m, andisa
demandofl ove.Forthisreason,t
heChur chhasalway sadheredtothe
necessi
tyofprotect
ingtheinnocentagainstbr ut
ali
tyandoppression.
 104

Thedoctrineofaj
ustdef
encebymili
tar
ymeansagainstavi
olent
aggressi
onandgri
evousinj
ust
iceasalastr
esor
tfi
ndsinthi
sitset
hical
foundati
on.

Theissueofmil
it
arydefencerai
sest
hequest
i f
on,irst
,oft
hebasicri
ght
ofdefencebywarand,secondly
,oft
hemeansmor all
yadmissi
blei
nwar.

Thehor r
orofr ecentwar sandst i
ll moret hedreadfulnessofmoder n
atomi cweaponshav erai
sedashar pdiscussionont hemor al
admi ssibil
it
yofwar .Ther ear ev oicest odaywhichcondemnanywarf or
ourt i
mes.Al thoughwarmayhav eoncebeenj ustif
iedasameansof
defence, theysay ,i
tcannol ongerber egar dedasjustifi
edint hepr
esent
conditions,sincetheev il
sitcausesal way soutweighthehar mthat
mightot herwisebef allastate.Ont heot herhandnat ionscont i
nuetobe
attackedandi nvadedbymi l
i
t aryf orces,andsomet i
meshav eno
al
ternat i
vet odefendt hei
rexist enceot hert hanbyar ms.I nsuch
ci
rcumst ances,canami l
it
arydef encebemor al
lyadmi ssible?

HolyScripturespar ti
cularlytheOl dTestamentregar dswarasaj ust
if
ied
meansofpr otectionthechosenpeopl eanddefendi ngit
sfaith.Yahweh
himsel
for derswaragai nstIsraelsenemies.Thef ateoftheJewsi nthe
ti
meoft heMaccabees, whor ef
usedt oobeythebl asphemousl awsof
thefor
eignoppr essorAnt iochus,butwhoatthesamet i
medecl inedto
fi
ghtont heSabbat hday ,servedtheircompatr
iotsasawar ni
ngagai nst
i
nappropr i
atepr acti
ceofr eligi
on.Foral lt
hosewhodeci dednott of
ight
weremassacr edt ogetherwi ththeirwi
vesandchildrenbyt heenemy .(1
Mac2:29- 41).

TheNewTest amentnowher
econdemnst hesol
diersclassorwar.
JohntheBapti
stdoesnotr
eproachmil
itar
yprof
essionassuch( Lk.3:
14)
andJesusseemst ohav
etakenmili
tar
yservi
ceforgranted(cf
.the
cent
uri
onofCapernaum Mt8:5-
13).

Theological t
radit
ionhasalway smaintai
nedt hatthestatehastheri
ght
todefendi tsexist
enceandt hefundament alwelf
areofitscit
izensby
warasal astmeans.I nfactjustwartheorieshaveformedpar tof
Chri
stiandoct ri
nefrom t
het i
meofAugust i
neint hefourt
hcentury.In
ourownt imes, theri
ghtofanat iont
omi li
tarydefencehasonceagain
beenconf ir
medbyVat i
canII:

Aslongasadangerofwarr emai
nsandther
eisno
competentandsuf
fi
cient
lypower
fulaut
hori
tyatt
he
 105

i
nternati
onall
evel
,gover
nmentscannotbedeniedt heright
tolegit
imat
edefenceonceeverymeansofpeacef ul
settl
ementhasbeenexhausted.Ther
efore,government
authori
ti
esandotherswhosharepubli
cresponsibil
it
yhav e
thedutytoprot
ectthewelf
areofthepeopleentrust
edt o
89
thei
rcareandtoconductsuchgravematterssoberly
.

Indeedt herear
et i
meswhenmi l
i
tarydefencei stheonlymeanst o
defendt hewelfareofanat i
onef
fectivel
yagainstunjustaggression.
Thehi gherthegoodt hatisi
nperil
,thehigherthesacrif
icesthatare
j
ustifi
edanddemandedi nit
sdefence.Wher eanunjustaggr essor
endanger sthehighestgoodsofanat i
on, namelyit
sexistence,itsmoral
andr eli
giousfr
eedom, it
selementaryspiri
tualsubst
ances, anystatehas
therightandev enthedutytodefendthesev aluesagainstassault.

Howev er
,becausewari sboundupwi thmostfearf
ulevi
ls,iti
snev er
j
usti
fiedasanor dinar
ymeansofdef endingonesel
forsettl
ingdisputes.
Warispermissibleforthegrav
estreasonsandunderverif
icat
ionofthe
var
iousconditi
onsf orajustwar.

Fir
st,wari slawfulonlyforaj ustcause, i.
e.i
ndefenceofv i
talgoodsof
thestatecommuni t
y.Justcausef orawari stheneedt or epelanunjust
mili
taryaggr essi
onbyanot hernation, t
hewithhol
dingoft hestate
terr
it
oriesandsov erei
gnrights,thev i
olati
onofessent ialcommer ci
alor
othervitali
nterest
sofanat ion.Theexi st
enceofaj ustif
iedcausemust
bemor al l
ycertai
n.Theser easonsal sojust
if
yint
erv enti
ononbehal fof
othersmal lernati
onsat t
ackedorsei zed.

Thesecondcondi ti
onforwarist
hatallot
herpeaceful
meansmusthav e
beenexhausted.Oneoft hesepeacefulmeansistheatt
emptata
negoti
atedsett
lementoftheconfl
ictbymediati
onandarbit
rat
ionofa
neutr
alorsuperioraut
hori
tysuchastheUnitedNati
ons.

Thirdl
y,warmustnotjeopar
dizesti
ll
highergoodst hanthosetobe
defendedandther
emustbeasuf fi
cientli
keli
hoodofsuccess.When
thedamagescausedbywarar enotcompar ablet
ot hoseoftol
erat
ed
i
njusti
ce,onemayratherhavetosuffertheinj
usti
ce.

Fourthl
y,t
hemil
i
taryact
ionmaynotextendbeyondt
heneedsofjust
defenceandt
herestor
ati
onoft
hev i
olatedr
ight
s.Cont
inuat
ionofawar

89
Gaudi
um etspes,
79.
 106

becomesunjustaf
tert
heessent i
algoalsofi
thavebeenachieved.To
conti
nueawarsimplywiththeintent
iontopuni
shtheadversar
yis
i
mmor al.Furt
hermorethecombat antsmustatal
lti
mesbepr epar edf
or
apeaceful
settl
ementofdif
ferencesshouldachancefori
tresurface
duri
ngthewar.

Finally
,warmustbeorderedbythecompet
entaut
hori
ty.Ordinari
lyi
n
factonlytheact
ualgover
nmentofacountryi
sinacondi
ti
ontoor dera
war ,si
nceonlyt
hishascontr
olovert
hearmyandcanmobili
zet he
nation.

Wr i
tersoninternationall awof t
enincl i
net othev iewthataj ustwarcan
onlybeadef ensiv ewaragai nstanact ualarmedaggr essi
on,andt hat
thegui l
typartyist heonewhof ir
stt akesupar ms.Butt hismustbe
regardedast oogr eatasi mpl i
fi
cati
on.Ther eisal sosuchat hingasa
preventiv
ewaragai nstanext r
emet hreat .Agai n,ther
ighttodef enceof
thecommonwel fareal soincludest her ightf
orast atecommuni tyto
forceclaimsofgr eati mpor tancewhi char ewithheldbyahost i
lenati
on.
Thear medenf orcementofsuchcl ai
mscannotsi mplybecondemnedas
anunj ustwarofaggr ession. Howev ert hever yhorr
orofmoder nwar
restr
ictsthi
slatterr i
ghtmuchmor etodayt haninf ormertimes.

Ajustwar ,howev er ,doesnotj ust i

fyallthemeans!Themeansand
met hodsempl oyedmustbepr opor t
ionatetot hej ustobjecti
vesoft he
war.Thedamagei nfli
ctedmustbecommensur atewitht hegoalsought
bythemi li
taryact ion.Al lact
soff orce(destruct i
onofl i
fe,devastation
ofpr oper ty,r
av ageoft heenvironment )whi chdonotessent ial
ly
contribut etot heat tainmentoft hejustendsoft hewarar eevil
;l
ikewi se
all
inf l
ictionofsuf fer i
ngswhi char enotnecessar yfortheseends.Thus
i
twoul dbeunj ustifi
abl etodest royanent ir
evillaget oeli
mi natea
handf ul ofsol diersi ncidental
lypr esentthere,norwoul ditbejusti
fiable
toindiscr iminat elyat tackcivi
li
ansandnon- mili
taryt ar
gets.Al lschol ar
s
ofinter national lawagr eethatt hedel i
berateattackonnon- combat ant s
andnon- mi li
tarypr oper tyisimmor al.

Immor al fur
ther moreal l
themeansandact i
onswhichar einconf l
ictwit
h
respectf orhumani t
yasdemandedbynat ur
alorint
ernati
onal l
aw.
Amongt hem mustf i
rstbecount edthoseactionsdesignedfort he
met hodicalex terminati
onofanent i
repeople,nati
on,orethnicmi nori
ty.
Forbiddenbyi nternati
onallawar ealsosuchmeansandmet hodsofwar
asthef ollowing: deli
beratekil
l
ingofnon- combatants;destr
uctionor
l
oot i
ngofenemypr opertyforotherthanmi l
it
arypurposes;ki
lli
ngof
 107

woundedorcapt uredenemi esmer el

ybecauset heyareenemi es;
foul
assassinationofcombat antsorenemypopul ation;appr
ehensionof
hostages; mil
itar
yact ionsbyper sonsnotclear l
yrecognizableas
mili
tari
es; useofpoi sonousweapons( e.
g.poi sonousgas) ;useof
weaponsdesi gnedtocauseunnecessar ysuffer i
ng;abuseoft hefl
agof
tr
uce,oft heenemyf lagandmi l
i
taryemblems, oftheRedCr ossorwhit
e
fl
ag;kil
li
ngofper sonsdecl aredimmune: envoy s,armychapl ai
nsand
hospit
al personnel.

Under
lyi
ngt heserequirement sandtranscendingthem isamor e
comprehensiveprinci
ple,theprinci
pleofcivi
li
zati
onorhumani ty.This
pri
nci
plerequir
est hatnotonl yt
heimmedi at
eeffectsandmi l
it
arygai
ns
ofamili
taryactionbetakeni ntoconsiderati
on,butalsothebroader
onesonthel i
feandf l
ourishingofthehumancommuni tyandtheremote
onesontheest abli
shmentofadur ablepeaceaf t
erthewar .

Whi l
eev er
ysoverei
gnst atehastheri
ghtt
oami li
tarydef
ence,t
he
questionofnuclearwarfareandweaponsofmassdest r
ucti
onmustbe
givenspecial
attenti
on.Becauseoft hei
rdestr
uctiv
enature,
theuseof
theseweaponscanhar dlysat
isfyt
hesecondconditi
onofajustwar
,i.
e.
thatthewardoesnotj eopardizest
il
lhi
ghergoodsthanthosetobe
defended.