He believes that today’s society does not fulfill the person in one’s social nature. He is clear to point out that the thing that is wrong “is a style of life which is presumed to be better when it is directed towards "having" rather than "being", and which wants to have more, not in order to be more but in order to spend life in enjoyment as an end in itself”(36,4). His social encyclical appearing on the ninetieth anniversary of Rerum Novarum was entitled On Human Work, and in that encyclical, John Paul stated that work was perhaps the key to the social question(OHW3,2). It is a call to conversion, to correct these failures, and to reconstruct our relationships. Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice (CAPP) (it: Fondazione Centesimus Annus – Pro Pontifice) is a pontifical foundation. If economic life becomes absolutized, with production and consumption of goods as the center of social life and the only value of society, ignoring the ethical and religious dimension, then economic freedom no longer maintains its necessary relationship to the person, but ends up alienating and oppressing him(39,4-5). New Catholic Encyclopedia. Within the “Cite this article” tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Many people are struggling just to earn a bare minimum: “These are situations in which the rules of the earliest period of capitalism still flourish in conditions of ‘ruthlessness’ in no way inferior to the darkest moments of the first phase of industrialization. John Paul is clear on the role of the laws of the state. Indeed, a responsible freedom can be the occasion for private property to meet fully the duties imposed by the principle of the universal destination of goods. Central Themes... A preliminary summary by the United States Catholic Conference. How may we view the apparent conflict between the standard economic vision of preferences and John Paul’s vision? Each culture, for example, reveals its understanding of economic life through the choices it makes in production and consumption. Can I Live by Nick Cannon 9. We have seen that John’s conception of justice revolves around structuring our individual social lives to meet the authentic needs of the person in all the dimensions of our lives. Encyclopedia.com. This papal letter to the entire Church gave John Paul the opportunity to offer his reflections on capitalism in the period after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the context of this document, it is clear that what is due to the person is what is necessary for fulfillment and integral development of the person. One way to introduce students to the moral concerns raised in the social encyclicals is to assign portions of Centesimus annus. John Paul concludes similarly as to the reasons for the inefficiencies of the Eastern bloc system, which he sees as a cause of its final crisis. Further, work which is structured by a responsible freedom which fully respects the human dignity of all who work can be the occasion for work to result in a ever expanding solidarity (a firm and persevering commitment to the good of others) in meeting the needs of others. Heal the World by Michael Jackson 5. John Paul uses the term need or human need to refer to the full set of the human goods of life, spiritual and temporal, that are necessary for the dignity, full development and flourishing of the person. Centesimus annus (Latin for "hundredth year") is an encyclical which was written by Pope John Paul II in 1991 on the hundredth anniversary of Rerum novarum, an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII in 1891. The response in solidarity to human need brings forth the transcendence of the self in service to another and serves as the necessary antidote to what John Paul regards as key problems, the individualism and materialism of our age. They prevent society from becoming an anonymous and impersonal mass, with society collapsing around two poles represented by the State and the marketplace. . Selling the News by Switchfoot 4. Culture is perhaps the single most important element of our social nature. Venerati Fratres, carissimi Filii et Filiae, salutem et Apostolicam Benedictionem. Centesimus Annus summarises Catholic objections to communism and explains the reasons for its failure. Finn’s counter-arguments pointed to the socially conditioned nature of property rights; the strong importance of forms of community not based on self interest but on support for the common good; the expansive nature of John Paul’s “juridical framework” - not a minimalist property rights and court system to enforce said rights, but acceptance of a system of extensive regulation of markets; and on the strong critique of individualism found in Centesimus Annus.[1]. historical background an encyclical letter written by Pope John Paul II in commemoration of Hundredth Anniversary of Rerum Novarum summarized the teaching of Rerum Novarum emphasizing events and ideas John Paul strongly argues against atheism and Part I of this paper provides a look at key parts of John Paul’s theological anthropology, the underpinning of his views on the nature of the person and hence on human needs that must be met for the fulfillment and integral development of the person. Like its predecessor, Centesimus Annus clarifies in detail the teaching of the church on contemporary social, economic, and political questions, solidly building on the teaching of the Scriptures and the tradition of the church while moving the church's social teaching in a new direction. If by "capitalism" is meant an economic system which recognizes the fundamental and positive role of business, the market, private property and the resulting responsibility for the means of production, as well as free human creativity in the economic sector, then the answer is certainly in the affirmative, even though it would perhaps be more appropriate to speak of a "business economy", "market economy" or simply "free economy". Amidst the excitement of John Paul II’s beatification on May 1, the 20th anniversary of the late pope’s most important social encyclical Centesimus Annus, got a bit lost. In particular, many, perhaps most, of the people in the world cannot participate in this process because they are either exploited or marginalized. John Paul links alienation at work with deficiencies in the personal and social dimensions of work: “Alienation is found also in work, when it is organized so as to ensure maximum returns and profits with no concern whether the worker, through his own labour, grows or diminishes as a person, either through increased sharing in a genuinely supportive community or through increased isolation in a maze of relationships marked by destructive competitiveness and estrangement, in which he is considered only a means and not an end”(41,2). The person who cannot control his passions may be free in terms of absence of constraints to action, but it is a false freedom. Human dignity for the full person, just wages, respect for private property, protection of the poor by the State, the existence of natural rights and their protection by the State; these are all true needs of persons. It is a strict duty of justice and truth not to allow fundamental human needs to remain unsatisfied, and not to allow those burdened by such needs to perish. Persons are fulfilled both by using their property to help others along the process of development, by working with private property to fulfill personal and social goals, as well as by providing work for others. Alienation shows up in the environmental ecological problem when nature is treated as a mere object to be subjugated to human plans with no concern for nature. We must note that John Paul faults both socialism and unrestrained liberalism for their absence of ethical or juridical considerations; he faults socialism for its endorsement of the unrestrained class struggle and its denial of private property, liberalism for its abuse of freedom by the powerful and the growth of a society and state that allowed the dignity of the poor to deteriorate(14,2;10,1). Created in the image of God, the human person possesses an inherent and inalienable dignity, which is never to be violated. Human dignity is the source of rights in Catholic social teaching inasmuch as rights are the means for ensuring the dignity of the person. He proceeds by praising the wisdom of Pope Leo XIII in his use of the Christian view of the person both to condemn socialism in Rerum Novarum and to point out the weaknesses of the liberal economic and political system of the time. Written during the period when the economies of the Soviet bloc nations were crumbling, Pope John Paul II’s 1991 encyclical focuses on the dignity of the human person with regard to work and the sphere of economics. How may we view this in term of John Paul’s program? The teaching is clear that the “use” of goods is subordinated to the original common destination as created goods; there is therefore an inherent social limit on the use of private property, sometimes called a “social mortgage” on private property: It is necessary to state once more the characteristic principle of Christian social doctrine: the goods of this world are originally meant for all.78 The right to private property is valid and necessary, but it does not nullify the value of this principle. We see in Centesimus Annus that work is the primary means available to most of us of meeting the basic needs of everyone and hence meeting the conditions for the universal destination of goods. However, although the basis of the modern economy is human freedom in the economic sphere, the principle of the universal destination of goods requires the responsible use of freedom. He adds immediately, however, that it is a responsible freedom that is called for and that there are “risks and problems associated with this kind of process”(33,1). It came on the heels of the fall of … Without this decision, there is no solution to the social question. Words added for continuity are in square brackets. Indeed, he praises the free market precisely for its efficiency in relation to meeting human needs, while taking care to point out the limits to the benefits of markets. At the heart of the social question, as it arose historically, the freedom of the person acting in the economic sphere of life was and remains an essential element of Catholic social teaching. Freedom, necessary for moral decision-making, for development of true culture, as well as for successful market activity, must be a responsible freedom held firmly in service to our spiritual nature and not subject to our instincts or our passions. John Paul is calling on us, in all the ways in which we exhibit our humanity and sociality, to help our brothers and sisters by freely choosing to give a gift of self and share brotherly love, solidarity, and charity with them. He explicitly calls on the forces of society and the State to take on such tasks as the responsibility for protecting workers from unemployment, via assuring strong economic growth, full employment policies, unemployment insurance, and retraining programs(15.2); maintaining adequate wage levels and controls and measures to block exploitation(15,3); and defending the collective goods that provide the necessary framework for the pursuit of personal goals(40.1). Rights protect the dignity of the person in turn by insuring the conditions for the fulfillment and development of the entire person. Centesimus Annus book. Alienation is found also in work, when it is organized so as to ensure maximum returns and profits with no concern whether the worker, through his own labour, grows or diminishes as a person, either through increased sharing in a genuinely supportive community or through increased isolation in a maze of relationships marked by destructive competitiveness and estrangement, in which he is considered only a means and not an end(41,2). (Para. The common good is another key element of Catholic social teaching that reflects our social nature. An exemplification of true freedom is the use of our intelligence and freedom to pursue God’s will that we enter into a relationship of solidarity and communion with others through a free gift of self(41,3). Commutative justice is the form of justice governing fairness in exchange; about it John Paul states: “Even prior to the logic of a fair exchange of goods and the forms of justice appropriate to it, there exists something which is due to man because he is man, by reason of his lofty dignity”(34,1). The Catholic Social teaching is directed toward Man, who is the core of society. The third general problem is that of marginalization, a problem also mainly for the Third World. When society is organized to suppress the sphere of the legitimate exercise of freedom, the life of society becomes progressively disorganized and begins to decline(25,2). We are only fulfilled as human by being part of and helping to create loving families, communities, associations, and societies. Amidst the excitement of John Paul II’s beatification on May 1, the 20th anniversary of the late pope’s most important social encyclical, Centesimus Annus, got a bit lost.Blessed John Paul II was not a man given to rubbing it in. Freedom must be turned into a responsible freedom by virtuous living by the person, via the support of intermediate organizations, especially the church, and by a strong juridical framework, the province of the state. Markets are the means or mechanism for the collaboration with others which allows for the transformation of natural and human environments(32,3). Return to Table of Contents Print Article. US invasion of Panama 1990: South Africa’s Nelson Mandela freed from prison after 26 years Background 3. The remainder of the paragraph elaborates on this last theme: “Even prior to the logic of a fair exchange of goods and the forms of justice appropriate to it, there exists something which is due to man because he is man, by reason of his lofty dignity. Both society and the state have the responsibility to control markets to guarantee the basic needs of the society(35,2); to defend the collective goods that are the framework for the legitimate pursuit of personal goals by the individual(40,1); and to oversee and direct the exercise of human rights in the economic sector(48,2). There is the right to private property in the means of production as a central right. In other cases the land is still the central element in the economic process, but those who cultivate it are excluded from ownership and are reduced to a state of quasi-servitude.71 In these cases, it is still possible today, as in the days of Rerum Novarum, to speak of inhuman exploitation”(33,2). The principle of subsidiarity is clearly at work as John Paul explains the loss of human energies as the state intrudes on the domain of intermediate organizations. Profit is a regulator of the life of a business, but it is not the only one; other human and moral factors must also be considered which, in the long term, are at least equally important for the life of a business”(35.2). Work holds a place of particular prominence in the thinking of John Paul. John Paul's major social encyclical is divided into six sections. In fact, the encyclical presents a detailed critique of contemporary capitalism. We need only recall that both society and State are to assume responsibility for protecting the worker from unemployment and that the state and society are to oversee and direct the exercise of human rights in the economic sphere. I have chosen, therefore, to give Centesimus Annus a very detailed look; this is partly because many people are unfamiliar with the specifics, as well as the tenor, of John Paul’s encyclical. The first problem is alienation, a problem mainly of the developed world. This is partly captured by the different elements of justice pointed out in the document. The person is made in the image and likeness of God and is the subject of rights to protect that dignity. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Pope John Paul II. And: “Whereas at one time the decisive factor of production was the land, and later capital — understood as a total complex of the instruments of production — today the decisive factor is increasingly man himself, that is, his knowledge, especially his scientific knowledge, his capacity for interrelated and compact organization, as well as his ability to perceive the needs of others and to satisfy them.”(32.4) Indeed, the role of disciplined and creative work, of initiative and entrepreneurial ability is precisely to meet those human needs(32.2). 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