Foundational Documents of Catholic Social Teaching

PAPAL AND VATICAN DOCUMENTS ON SOCIAL JUSTICE
1891--- PRESENT

RERUM NOVARUM (The Condition of Labor, Leo XIII, 1891). Announces a just society which affirms the dignity of work, the right to private property and the right to form and join professional associations such as labor unions.

QUADRAGESIMO ANNO (The Reconstruction of the Social Order, Pius XI 1931, 40 years after Rerum Novarum). Written in the midst of a world-wide depression, it denounces the growing concentration of wealth and power in the socio-economic reality. It develops the principle of “subsidiarity,” a centerpiece of Catholic Social Teaching stating that decisions should take place at the level closest to those involved. It says social reconstruction should be based on the social responsibilities of private property and the rights to a job, a just wage and membership in a labor union.

MATER ET MAGISTRA (Christianity and Social Progress, John XXIII, 1961). Adopts an international perspective denouncing the unequal distribution of the world’s wealth and resources. Special concern is given to the plight of farmers and farm workers. John XXIII says government must take the initiative and play a major part if economic justice is to be achieved.

PACEM IN TERRIS (Peace on Earth, John XXIII, 1963). Although focusing on peace, this document includes a comprehensive charter of human rights, including the opportunity to work without coercion, to enjoy safe working conditions, to participate in the economic process to the full extent of one’s abilities, to receive just recompense for work and to own private property.

GAUDIUM ET SPES (The Church in the Modern World, Vatican II, 1965). A watershed document, defining the role of the Church in the world, it declares that the Church is called to be an agent of transformation. It states that the Church must try to read “the signs of the times” so that it can denounce the injustices in the world and contribute to the announcing new possibilities. It makes the human person central to the theological and philosophical thinking of the church, and it recognizes the social nature of the person. Community is seen as integral to the authentic self-definition of every person.

POPULORUM PROGRESSIO (The Development of Peoples, Paul VI, 1967). Focuses on the widening gap between the rich and poor nations and denounces the increasing concentration of wealth in the world. It raises serious questions about the justice of existing governmental and private economic structures. The encyclical states that the government has the right to expropriate those pieces of private property which are ill-used, underused or cause hardship for the people of the nation. It urges a new sense of global solidarity which will shape new economic structures.

OCTOGESIMA ADVENIENS (A Call to Action, Paul VI, 1971). Commemorates the 80th anniversary of Rerum Novarum. It makes action in the political arena an integral part of being a Christian. It addresses a new sense of Christian responsibility for social reform. Dealing with the environment, it challenges the increasing domination of humans over nature and urges a reexamination of the traditional concept of stewardship.

JUSTICE IN THE WORLD (World Synod of Bishops, 1971). A strong document that emphasizes the structures of injustice and the need for structural change incorporating principles of justice. It suggests that part of the Gospel mandate is to stand with the poor and oppressed. It defines justice as being at the core of the mission of the Church: “Action in pursuit of justice and participation in the transformation of the world are constitutive elements of the Church’s mission of preaching the Gospel.” The document proposes that the principles of justice be applied to the practice of justice in the internal life of the Church.

EVANGELII NUNTIANDI (Evangelization in the Modern World, Paul VI, 1975). Expresses a contemporary theology of evangelization and reaffirms the link between proclaiming the Gospel and struggling for social justice. It calls for a transformation of culture and announces that Christians must have a special concern for the poor and “eliminate the social consequences of sin which are translated in unjust social and political structures.”

REDEMPTOR HOMINIS (Redemption and Dignity of the Human Race, John Paul II, 1979). Denounces the consumer mentality, the greed of rich countries and unjust social situations that threaten humanity and the environment. Announces the need for humanity to be rooted in a sense of solidarity in order to undertake a major overhaul of economic structures.

LABOREM EXERCENS (On Human Work, John Paul II, 1981, 90 years after Rerum Novarum). Emphasizes the centrality of work to the whole social question. A key teaching in the encyclical is that the value of work comes from the value of the worker and not the product. It states that labor must be given priority over capital. Work is seen as a creative expression of the human person and a way of participating directly in the act of creation.

SOLLICITUDO REI SOCIALIS (The Social Concern of the Church, John Paul II, 1989). Addresses the state of global development. It denounces the poor distribution of wealth and resources and the ongoing arms trade, as well as the “super-development” that benefits the very few at the expense of the many poor. It denounces both liberal capitalism of the West and Marxist collectivism of the East. It names the obstacles hindering development as “structures of sin.” It announces a world where interdependence is transformed into solidarity, based on the principle that the good of creation are meant for all.

CENTESIMUS ANNUS (The 100th Year, John Paul II, 1991). Issued for the centenary of Pope Leo XIII’s “Rerum Novarum,” it reaffirms the principles of the earlier encyclical. Written in the wake of communism’s collapse in Eastern Europe, it looks to the new things (rerum novarum) influencing the social order. It identifies failures of both socialist and market economies, and calls for a society of free work, enterprise and participation.

EVANGELIUM VITAE (The Gospel of Life, John Paul II, 1995).  Pope John Paul II explores threats to human life and signs of hopefulness. He decries the culture of death and calls for a culture of life. The encyclical names a wide range of old and new life issues but concentrates on newer threats.

COMPENDIUM OF THE SOCIAL DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH (Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, 2004). The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, a unique, unprecedented document in the history of the Church, serves as a tool to inspire and guide the faithful, who are faced with moral and pastoral challenges daily. The Compendium was published to serve as a tool to inspire and guide the Catholic community through the moral and pastoral challenges that confront the Church today. The informed and informative text is organized into specific sections dedicated to revealing God's plan of love for humanity; the family as the vital nucleus of society; the relationship between social doctrines and ecclesial actions; and the fundamentals required for developing and maintaining a 'civilization of love'.

DEUS CARITAS EST (God is Love, Benedict XVI, 2005). In today's high-tech, fast-paced world, love is often portrayed as being separate from Church teaching. With his first encyclical, Pope Benedict XVI hopes to overturn that perception and describe the essential place of love in the life of the Church. The Holy Father explains the various dimensions of love, highlighting the distinctions between "eros" and "agape," Jesus as the incarnate love of God, and the scriptural law of love. In part two, he links the Church's charitable work with the love of God as Trinity, noting that the Church must express love through acts of justice and charity. This encyclical is an ideal reflection for religious and civic leaders, those preparing for marriage, and those engaged in justice and charitable work.

CARITAS IN VERITATE (Charity in Truth, Benedict XVI, 2009) In Pope Benedict’s third encyclical, he calls us to see the relationship between human and environmental ecologies and to link charity and truth in the pursuit of justice, the common good, and authentic human development. In doing so, the pope points out the responsibilities and limitations of government and the private market, challenges traditional ideologies of right and left, and calls all men and women to think and act anew.  The core of the encyclical is the essential connection between the duty to live out an expansive and demanding definition of charity and to anchor this love in the truth about the human person and the ethical requirements of economic life. “The more we strive to secure a common good corresponding to the real needs of our neighbors, the more effectively we love them. Every Christian is called to practice this charity . . . This is the institutional path — we might also call it the political path — of charity, no less excellent and effective than the kind of charity which encounters the neighbor directly.” (7)

EVANGELII GAUDIUM (The Joy of the Gospel, Francis, 2013) This Papal Exhortation of Pope Francis on the proclamation of the Gospel. Pope Francis is calling upon the Church and the world to begin a new chapter in evangelization. This dynamic document outlines the Pope’s vision for a missionary Church, whose “doors should always be open”. The Pope speaks on themes including evangelization, peace, homiletics, social justice, the family, respect for creation, faith and politics, ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, and the role of women and of the laity in the Church. “For the Church, the option for the poor is primarily a theological category rather than a cultural, sociological, political or philosophical one. God shows the poor ‘his first mercy’. This divine preference has consequences for the faith life of all Christians, since we are called to have ‘this mind… which was in Jesus Christ’ (Phil 2:5). Inspired by this, the Church has made an option for the poor which is understood as a ‘special form of primacy in the exercise of Christian charity, to which the whole tradition of the Church bears witness’. This option – as Benedict XVI has taught – ‘is implicit in our Christian faith in a God who became poor for us, so as to enrich us with his poverty’. This is why I want a Church which is poor and for the poor.”

LAUDATO SI’ (On Care for our Common Home, Francis, 2015) This is Pope Francis’ Encyclical on the environment. Laudato Si means “Praise be to you” which is the first line of a canticle by St. Francis that praises God with all of his creation. Pope Francis states the goal of the document: “In this Encyclical, I would like to enter into dialogue with all people about our common home” (#3). Normally, papal documents are addressed to the bishops of the Church or the lay faithful. But, similar to Pope Saint John XXIII’s Pacem in Terris, Pope Francis addresses his message to all people. The goal of the dialogue: “I urgently appeal, then, for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. “The ecological crisis is also a summons to profound interior conversion. It must be said that some committed and prayerful Christians, with the excuse of realism and pragmatism, tend to ridicule expressions of concern for the environment. Others are passive; they choose not to change their habits and thus become inconsistent. So what they all need is an ‘ecological conversion’, whereby the effects of their encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in their relationship with the world around them. Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience” (#217).

FRATELLI TUTTI (On fraternity and social friendship, Francis, 2020) Pope Francis offers a radical challenge, a blueprint for a world after coronavirus pandemic. It places at the center human dignity and how we are interconnected. There are no "others,” no "them," there is only "us." Jesus’s provocative story of the Good Samaritan, the foreigner who acts as a true neighbor to the man robbed and beaten by the side of the road, offers the "criterion for judging every economic, political, social and religious project” (FT, 69). This moves us to respond to our sister or brother in need, whoever they are, wherever they may come from (FT, 72). We are challenged to turn outwards, to act as neighbors, and to reach out to all those who are in need. Also central is the conviction that love for all brothers and sisters will not shy away from politics. Knowing how to dialogue is the way to open the world and build social friendship (Ch. 6) which manifests an open heart and provides the basis for a better politics. Dialogue seeks and respects the truth and gives rise to the culture of encounter, which becomes a way of life, a way of recognizing and respecting the other. Pope Francis calls us all to be peacemakers, and to focus on becoming a neighbor to others – in particular, to welcome migrants, and to resist racism, prejudice, and discrimination. He mentions specific threats to social friendship, peace, and dialogue, such as: political nationalism, violence, racism, trickle-down economics, relativism and consumerist individualism, a lost sense of history and memory, the death penalty, and the development of weapons of war. We need to heal the wounds, which requires seeking and offering forgiveness. We need to be daring and start from the truth—the recognition of historical truth—which is the inseparable companion of justice and mercy and work together as brothers and sisters to advance towards peace.

QUERIDA AMAZONIA (Beloved Amazon)—Pope Francis, 2020

LAUDATE DEUM (Praise God, Francis, 2023) Laudate Deum is a sequel to Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, where he named the need to take greater care of our common home. This addendum, an apostolic exhortation, is short and covers several subjects from the use of technology to the role of international politicians, but the overarching theme is one of urgency, with the Pope suggesting more needs to be done quickly, to tackle climate change. The Pope is quick to challenge sceptics on climate change and global warming, pointing out that “the overwhelming majority of scientists specializing in climate” acknowledge the phenomenon, while “only a very small percentage seek to deny the evidence”. Francis bluntly states that “our responses have not been adequate.” He says “unchecked human intervention on nature” over the past 200 years has led to irreversible damage such as higher ocean temperatures and decreased continental ice sheets. Laudate Deum stresses the need for us to act quickly or face “immensely grave consequences.” The Pope explains that the planet is warming at an unusually quick rate and that rising sea levels will mean “probably in a few years many populations will have to move their homes.” Francis notes that Western nations have a responsibility to lead the way on climate change. While acknowledging the need to embrace technology, the Pope suggests it should not be the immediate answer when it comes to protecting the environment.

 

EPISCOPAL DOCUMENTS ON SOCIAL JUSTICE

Brothers and Sisters to Us: Pastoral Letter on Racism (1979)
The Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise and Our Response (1983)
Economic Justice for All (1985)
A Century of Social Teaching (1990)
Communities of Salt and Light (1993)
The Harvest of Justice is Sown in Peace (1993)
Sharing Catholic Social Teaching: Challenges and Directions (1998)
Everyday Christianity: To Hunger and Thirst for Justice (1998)
Jubilee Call for Debt Forgiveness (1999)
A Place at the Table: A Catholic Recommitment to Overcome Poverty and to Respect the Dignity of All God’s Children (2002)
Strangers No Longer (2003)
For I Was Hungry & You Gave Me Food (2003)
Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love (2018)
Christ’s Light of Christ’s Peace: A Conversation Toward Nuclear Disarmament (2022)
Faithful Citizenship (2023)

All the resources listed above can be found in this downloadable pdf.