Matthew 10, 26-33 + CSDC and CV

(CV 15a) Two further documents by Paul VI without any direct link to social doctrine — the Encyclical Humanae Vitae (25 July 1968) and the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi (8 December 1975) — are highly important for delineating the fully human meaning of the development that the Church proposes. It is therefore helpful to consider these texts too in relation to  Populorum Progressio. The Encyclical Humanae Vitae emphasizes both the unitive and the procreative meaning of sexuality, thereby locating at the foundation of society the married couple, man and woman, who accept one another mutually, in distinction and in complementarity: a couple, therefore, that is open to life [27].

Notes: [27] Cf. nos. 8-9: AAS 60 (1968), 485-487; Benedict XVI, Address to the participants at the International Congress promoted by the Pontifical Lateran University on the fortieth anniversary of Paul VI’s Encyclical  Humanae Vitae, 10 May 2008.   

Church’s social doctrine: knowledge illuminated by faith

 
CSDC 73a. The Church's social doctrine is therefore of a theological nature, specifically theological-moral, “since it is a doctrine aimed at guiding people's behaviour”[103]. “This teaching ... is to be found at the crossroads where Christian life and conscience come into contact with the real world. [It] is seen in the efforts of individuals, families, people involved in cultural and social life, as well as politicians and statesmen to give it a concrete form and application in history”[104].

Notes: [103] John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 41: AAS 80 (1988), 572. [104] John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 59: AAS 83 (1991), 864-865.

(Mt 10, 26-33) Social doctrine, evangelization and human promotion  

[26] "Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. [27] What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. [28] And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. [29] Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. [30] Even all the hairs of your head are counted. [31] So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. [32] Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. [33] But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.

Social doctrine, evangelization and human promotion

CSDC 66. The Church's social doctrine is an integral part of her evangelizing ministry. Nothing that concerns the community of men and women — situations and problems regarding justice, freedom, development, relations between peoples, peace — is foreign to evangelization, and evangelization would be incomplete if it did not take into account the mutual demands continually made by the Gospel and by the concrete, personal and social life of man[85]. Profound links exist between evangelization and human promotion: “These include links of an anthropological order, because the man who is to be evangelized is not an abstract being but is subject to social and economic questions. They also include links in the theological order, since one cannot disassociate the plan of creation from the plan of Redemption. The latter plan touches the very concrete situations of injustice to be combated and of justice to be restored. They include links of the eminently evangelical order, which is that of charity: how in fact can one proclaim the new commandment without promoting in justice and in peace the true, authentic advancement of man?”[86].

Notes: [85] Cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Evangelii Nuntiandi, 29: AAS 68 (1976), 25. [86] Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Evangelii Nuntiandi, 31: AAS 68 (1976), 26.

[Initials and Abbreviations.- CSDC: Pontifical Council for Justice And Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church; -  SDC: Social Doctrine of the Church; - CV: Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in truth)]

Matthew 10, 16-25 + CSDC and CV

(CV 14c) The idea of a world without development indicates a lack of trust in man and in God. It is therefore a serious mistake to undervalue human capacity to exercise control over the deviations of development or to overlook the fact that man is constitutionally oriented towards “being more”. Idealizing technical progress, or contemplating the utopia of a return to humanity's original natural state, are two contrasting ways of detaching progress from its moral evaluation and hence from our responsibility.

The aim is of Church's social doctrine is to guide Christian behaviour

CSDC 184b. It cannot be defined according to socio-economic parameters. It is not an ideological or pragmatic system intended to define and generate economic, political and social relationships, but is a category unto itself. It is “the accurate formulation of the results of a careful reflection on the complex realities of human existence, in society and in the international order, in the light of faith and of the Church's tradition. Its main aim is to interpret these realities, determining their conformity with or divergence from the lines of the Gospel teaching on man and his vocation, a vocation which is at once earthly and transcendent; its aim is thus to guide Christian behaviour”[102]. 

Notes: [102] John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 41: AAS 80 (1988), 571.

(Mt 10, 16-25) Freedom in seeking and knowing the truth   

[16] "Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. [17] But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, [18] and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. [19] When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. [20] For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. [21] Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. [22] You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. [23] When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. [24] No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. [25] It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household!  

  b. The specification of rights

CSDC 155. The teachings of Pope John XXIII,[314] the Second Vatican Council,[315] and Pope Paul VI [316] have given abundant indication of the concept of human rights as articulated by the Magisterium. Pope John Paul II has drawn up a list of them in the Encyclical Centesimus Annus: “the right to life, an integral part of which is the right of the child to develop in the mother's womb from the moment of conception; the right to live in a united family and in a moral environment conducive to the growth of the child's personality; the right to develop one's intelligence and freedom in seeking and knowing the truth; the right to share in the work which makes wise use of the earth's material resources, and to derive from that work the means to support oneself and one's dependents; and the right freely to establish a family, to have and to rear children through the responsible exercise of one's sexuality. In a certain sense, the source and synthesis of these rights is religious freedom, understood as the right to live in the truth of one's faith and in conformity with one's transcendent dignity as a person”[317]. The first right presented in this list is the right to life, from conception to its natural end,[318] which is the condition for the exercise of all other rights and, in particular, implies the illicitness of every form of procured abortion and of euthanasia.[319] Emphasis is given to the paramount value of the right to religious freedom: “all men are to be immune from coercion on the part of individuals or of social groups and of any human power, in such wise that no one is to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his own beliefs, whether privately or publicly, whether alone or in association with others, within due limits”.[320] The respect of this right is an indicative sign of “man's authentic progress in any regime, in any society, system or milieu”[321].

Notes: [314] Cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris: AAS 55 (1963), 259-264. [315] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 26: AAS 58 (1966), 1046-1047. [316] Cf. Paul VI, Address to the General Assembly of the United Nations (4 October 1965), 6: AAS 57 (1965), 883-884; Paul VI, Message to the Bishops Gathered for the Synod (26 October 1974): AAS 66 (1974), 631-639. [317] John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 47: AAS 83 (1991), 851-852; cf. also Address to the 34th General Assembly of the United Nations (2 October 1979), 13: AAS 71 (1979) 1152-1153. [318] Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Evangelium Vitae, 2: AAS 87 (1995), 402. [319] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 27: AAS 58 (1966), 1047-1048; John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Veritatis Splendor, 80: AAS 85 (1993), 1197-1198; John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Evangelium Vitae, 7-28: AAS 87 (1995), 408-433. [320] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Declaration Dignitatis Humanae, 2: AAS 58 (1966), 930-931. [321] John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptor Hominis, 17: AAS 71 (1979), 300.

[Initials and Abbreviations.- CSDC: Pontifical Council for Justice And Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church; -  SDC: Social Doctrine of the Church; - CV: Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in truth)]

Matthew 10, 1-15 + CSDC and CV

Matthew 10, 1-15 + CSDC and CV

(CV 14b) Technology, viewed in itself, is ambivalent. If on the one hand, some today would be inclined to entrust the entire process of development to technology, on the other hand we are witnessing an upsurge of ideologies that deny in toto the very value of development, viewing it as radically anti-human and merely a source of degradation. This leads to a rejection, not only of the distorted and unjust way in which progress is sometimes directed, but also of scientific discoveries themselves, which, if well used, could serve as an opportunity of growth for all.

Church's social doctrine belongs to the field of theology and particularly of moral theology

CSDC 72a. The Church's social doctrine was not initially thought of as an organic system but was formed over the course of time, through the numerous interventions of the Magisterium on social issues. The fact that it came about in this manner makes it understandable that certain changes may have taken place with regard to its nature, method and epistemological structure. With significant allusions already being made in Laborem Exercens [100], a decisive clarification in this regard was made in the Encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis: the Church's social doctrine “belongs to the field, not of ideology, but of theology and particularly of moral theology”[101].

Notes: [100] Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Laborem Exercens, 3: AAS 73 (1981), 583-584. [101] John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 41: AAS 80 (1988), 571.

(Mt 10, 1-15) Church's love for the poor inspired by the Gospel

[1] Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. [2] The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; [3] Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; [4] Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him. [5] Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, "Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. [6] Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. [7] As you go, make this proclamation: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' [8] Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. [9] Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; [10] no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. [11] Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. [12] As you enter a house, wish it peace. [13] If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you. [14] Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words - go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. [15] Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

CSDC 184a. The Church's love for the poor is inspired by the Gospel of the Beatitudes, by the poverty of Jesus and by his attention to the poor. This love concerns material poverty and also the numerous forms of cultural and religious poverty[389]. The Church, “since her origin and in spite of the failing of many of her members, has not ceased to work for their relief, defence and liberation through numerous works of charity which remain indispensable always and everywhere”[390]. Prompted by the Gospel injunction, “You have received without paying, give without pay” (Mt 10:8), the Church teaches that one should assist one's fellow man in his various needs and fills the human community with countless works of corporal and spiritual mercy. “Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God”[391], even if the practice of charity is not limited to alms-giving but implies addressing the social and political dimensions of the problem of poverty. In her teaching the Church constantly returns to this relationship between charity and justice: “When we attend to the needs of those in want, we give them what is theirs, not ours. More than performing works of mercy, we are paying a debt of justice”[392]. The Council Fathers strongly recommended that this duty be fulfilled correctly, remembering that “what is already due in justice is not to be offered as a gift of charity”[393]. Love for the poor is certainly “incompatible with immoderate love of riches or their selfish use” [394] (cf. Jas 5:1-6).

    

 Notes: [389] Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2444. [390] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2448. [391] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2447. [392] Saint Gregory the Great, Regula Pastoralis, 3, 21: PL 77, 87: “Nam cum qualibet necessaria indigentibus ministramus, sua illis reddimus, non nostra largimur; iustitiae potius debitum soluimus, quam misericordiae opera implemus”. [393] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree Apostolicam Actuositatem, 8: AAS 58 (1966), 845; cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2446. [394] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2445.

[Initials and Abbreviations.- CSDC: Pontifical Council for Justice And Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church; -  SDC: Social Doctrine of the Church; - CV: Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in truth)]