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• The term “social doctrine” goes back to Pope Pius XI and designates the doctrinal corpus on issues relevant to society which, from the Encyclical Letter Rerum Novarum of Pope Leo XIII, has developed in the Church through the Magisterium of the Roman Pontiffs and the Bishops in communion with them.
• Centesimus Annus emphasizes the dignity of human work.
• Centesimus Annus encourages a spirituality of the struggle for social justice.
• Centesimus Annus highlights the universal destination of goods.
• Centesimus Annus calls for a new social order.
• In the 19th century, events of an economic nature – Industrial Revolution – produced a dramatic social, political and cultural impact.
• The Church felt the need to be involved and intervene in a new way: the res novae “new things” brought about by these events represented a challenge to her teaching and motivated her special pastoral concern for masses of people.
• Rerum Novarum “Condition of Labor” – May 15, 1891
• The writing of this encyclical was prompted by the ill effects of the Industrial Revolution and the dominant way of thinking called the “Enlightenment”.
• Pope Leo XIII described the dreadful situation of the industrial workers in the hands of the capitalists who treated them merely as part of their resources.
• Rerum Novarum clearly rejected the solution of socialism and he repeatedly insisted that the remedy of socialism was worse than a disease it was trying to cure.
• The right to private property is not absolute.
• The key words in the encyclical are community and socialization: the Church is called in truth, justice, freedom and love to cooperate in building with all men and women an authentic communion
• The State has the responsibility to intervene and exercise its authority in case of serious violation of the rights of the people, especially of the workers.
• The concept of sin was extended to collective efforts.
• The social question is becoming universal and involves all countries: together with the labor question and the industrial Revolution, there come to the fore problems of agriculture , developing regions , increasing population and those concerning the need for global economic cooperation
• Workers’ unions serve as their venue and means to forward their concerns.
• The superfluous wealth and possessions of the rich are not meant for themselves alone but to be shared.
• A new form of socialism had emerged known as “mitigated” socialism exercised in line with certain Christian principles, thus, in view of this, an alternative social concept was created between strict capitalism and rigid socialism called the “corporate society”
• Workers deserve to receive a family wage – enough to raise and sustain a family.
• Economic growth will not be limited to satisfying men’s needs but it will also promote their dignity
• Pope St. John XXIII, in his Encyclical Mater et Magistra aims at updating the already known documents and at taking a further step forward in the process of involving the whole Christian Community”
• Sollicitudo Rei Socialis emphasized that though the Church proposes its vision of development, it does not offer a technical solution to social problems.
• Octogesima Adveniens is a call to action, particularly to the local Churches, to respond to specific situations of the people.
• Sollicitudo Rei Socialis was written by Pope John Paul II on the 20th Anniversary of Populorum Progressio and deals with the theme of development along two fundamental lines: the dramatic situation of the modern world, under the aspect of the failed development of the third world, and the meaning of the conditions and requirements for development worthy of man.
• Laborem Exercens outlines a spirituality and ethic of work in the context of a profound theological and philosophical reflection.
• On the 100th Anniversary of Rerum Novarum, Pope John Paul II released Centesimus Annus, reviewing the fundamental social teachings of the Church that grew and developed over the past 100 years and concluded that the Church Social Doctrine is a valid instrument for evangelization.
• Human persons are dignified by and are the proper subject of work.
• Ninety years after Rerum Novarum, Pope John Paul II devoted the Encyclical Laborem Exercens to work, the fundamental good of the human person, the primary element of economic activity and the key to the entire social question.
• The socialists at that time advocated the notion of economic equality and the total abolition of private ownership of property through class struggle.
• Quadragesimo Anno “Reconstruction of the Social Order” – May 15, 1931
• “Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World” Gaudium et Spes, one of the sixteen documents of the Second Vatican Council is a significant response of the Church to the expectations of the contemporary world
• Gaudium et Spes presents systematically the themes of culture, economic and social life, marriage and the family, political community; peace and the community of peoples, in the light of a Christian anthropological outlook and the Church’s mission
• Rights and duties of people – human rights must be respected by individuals, public authorities, national governments and world communities
• Gaudium et Spes presents the face of a Church that “cherishes a feeling of deep solidarity with the human race and its history”, that travels the same journey as all mankind and shares the same earthly lot with the world, but at the same time “is to be a leaven and the soul of human society in its renewal by Christ and transformation into the family of God”
• “On the Development of Peoples” – March 26, 1967 Populorum Progressio, an encyclical by Pope Paul VI, introduces some significant new elements, particularly presenting the outlines of an integral development of man and a development in solidarity with all humanity.
• Duty of the people to take part in public life – all people – Catholic and non-Catholics – are challenged or morally obliged to work together on matters of social change
• Significance of socialism – concerning this issue, the Pope distinguished between the philosophical teachings of socialism and its socio-economic movements
• Pacem in Terris Blessed Pope John XXIII asserted that peace could be attained only if the order designed by God is observed
• Forty years after Rerum Novarum, Pope Pius XI released this encyclical to go over and expand the themes of Rerum Novarum.